Finally, a little backbone.
The Republican National Committee has pulled out of a planned Feb. 26 debate with NBC News after widespread criticism of this week’s CNBC debate from both the party and campaigns.
But some say the RNC’s action may be too late to satisfy candidates who were upset with the questions asked by CNBC moderators on Wednesday night.
“We are suspending the partnership with NBC News for the Republican primary debate at the University of Houston on February 26, 2016,” RNC Chairman Reince Priebus wrote in a letter to NBC News Chairman Andrew Lack.
“CNBC network is one of your media properties, and its handling of the debate was conducted in bad faith,” Priebus wrote.
I think that pulling out of these debates is a tactical mistake. The CNBC debate was the best two hour of political education that many of its viewers will have ever seen. Many of them will have never heard politicians speak that way: the Dem debate was a contest between the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks; the MSN is Dem/Hillary PAC; Hillary is a liar, and so on. It as a tremendous GOP victory. Finally, GOP candidates are beginning to treat these events as what they are. They are not debates; they are not primarily opportunities for candidates to showcase their wares. They never were, and they were never treated as such by their MSN hosts. Quite to the contrary, they have always been treated as opportunities to insult and destroy, if possible, conservative candidates. The GOP has been quite helpful in this endeavor by pretending that they were debates, trying to be polite, with few exceptions—Newt, most prominently—trying to showcase their political platforms despite the MSM hosts efforts to derail them.
If the GOP now refuse them, they will be missing a golden opportunity to continue America’s education. The current slate of candidates is a veritable wrecking crew of the MSM-DNC cabal, and they are more than willing to take the fight to that enemy. So let them! Let’s have many more of them; make it a weekly event. The ratings would be through the roof. We needn’t worry that the MSM will soon wise up, since they are not only not the least bit embarrassed by their behaviour, they are proud of it; they think it a moral imperative to destroy their “enemies” (see Hillary is the last Dem “debate”, to destroy the real terrorists (see Obama, repeatedly). This crew of able, smart, quick-witted, well-informed GOP candidates is more than a match for anything the MSM might throw at them. Almost everyone on that stage the other night can be a formidable opponent—Paul, Huckabee, Fiorina, and of course Cruz, Trump and Rubio, made excellent points. The only weak sisters were Kasich and Bush—the GOP would be stronger without them. I’d pay hard cash to see the wrecking crew go up against Chris Mathews, George Stephanopolis, Chuck Todd, and etc. It would be the best political theatre we ever would have seen. Let them “debate” the editorial board of the NY Times and WaPost!
Are you listening RNC? Stop thinking that the main point of the GOP primary is to select from a slate of candidates the best one to run in the election. That’s one purpose, but it is not the most important. Better to think of them as battles in a political war that has been waged against the GOP for decades, while the GOP pretended otherwise. So treat them that way: load the stage with the smartest, strongest, most quick-witted conservatives you can find. Think Andrew McCarthy, Mark Levin, people of the caliber of Ted Cruz. No matter that many of them would eventually drop out of the contest, since the purpose of these events would be to school the public and the genuine candidates, themselves. Schedule these events each week for the duration of the campaign.
To run from the “debates” now, as Rinse Previous seems to be about to do, will only play into the MSM-Dem narrative. Why give up the opportunity to beat them at their own game?
(Apologies for this being largely a repetition of comments made elsewhere on the intertubes in recent days)
“RNC Chairman Reince Priebus…” or, as the chairman of the GOPee is affectionately called- Rancid Penis. These fools have been setting their candidates for failure by allowing the debates to be conducted by Democrat party operatives, who sole purpose was to make them look like fools, which to be fair, was not that hard to do in some instances.
“Suspending”, not cancelling. So this arrangement with Nuthin But Crap will probably be resuscitated by this pathetc excuse for a RNC chair.
Cnbc’s mistake was to treat all the candidates with equal disdain. Had they confined themselves to denigrating only Trump and Carson, there wouldn’t be a peep from Priebus
I think I agree with you Nick. This was the media party’s enemy hitting back on their playground. The media party lost that debate. I think perhaps there should be more, but the RNC wants to “punish” the media party.
But the RNC is part of the media party cabal.
It started when the “Outsider” candidates (Carson & Trump) said they were meeting Thursday with the other candidates to discuss changes to their debates. This was after Carson and Trump said “NO, we will not participate in a 3 hour CNBC Debate.” CNBC suddenly lopped an hour off the debate, and agreed to every other demand. The RNC did nothing.
The candidates have a lot of power. The establishment candidates are too co-opted, indoctrinated, and beaten down to notice. Watch the debate again. Which candidates stupidly took the bait from the moderators and attacked each other? Much to the glee of the DNC and the MSM?
It started with Trump saying a question was mean spirited. Then Cruz hammered it home. By the end, even Christie realized what was up. The smart candidates rallied together, and started complimenting each other (F You CNBC!)
Too bad, some were not smart enough to understand. No wonder why they are falling in the polls.
Ummmmmmmm….when are you Yanks going to realize your country is sooooooo fubared, you are screwed beyond all reason???
Justthinkin @ 7:14 PM | Reply “Ummmmmmmm….when are you Yanks going to realize your country is sooooooo fubared, you are screwed beyond all reason???”
This is sarcasm , right JT?
Sheee-it give us 4 years we’ll pass them on the road to prog hell
I think we passed the US on the road to “prog hell” during Trudeau I reign.
Not really. The biggest unfunded economic bomb facing the U.S. government is Social Security which was enacted by FDR(1935) decades before Canada got Pearson’s Canada Pension Plan(1965).
Thanks for the great comment Nick.
I think you’re on the right track with your approach What a novel concept to think that candidates on one side actually unite (at least partially) to send a unified message against the current establishment and especially against the Media Party.
Cheers,
Warren
Good one nick, never thought of that.
Yes it was sarc, however sometimes it can be the truth. I need a break. 🙂
Ben Shapiro
NBC? NBC? Hmmmmm… Does not ring a bell.
No seriously, people still lamestream media? The sooner republicans boycott these completely the better.
“RNC Chairman Reince Priebus” He is a slow learner that sits on the Production deck of these circus events, most likely cheering on the freaks…RNC debates have become cheap entertainment. He has no idea how bad this is for the candidates.
NBC should be reminded that CNBC “had”, at one time, a reputation as a serious Business Cable Network… They disgraced themselves by becoming freaks seeking the killer question. NBC will lose Money in all their Business units & serious influence if the RNC candidates refuse to play the trained seals…
The media can’t help themselves because without Trump’s name in every headline they have nothing to sell… They hate him, but they must cover his every utterance….He is their paycheck.
Trump will win unless a blimp falls on his head. He is what is called a “Mover & Shaker”… He will change America in more ways than are anticipated.. He is a real CEO from the old mold.
JMHO
Canadians are going to enjoy a good 15 or 20 years of Justin Time unless Conservatives get a handle on the Media in this country. Something has to change.(certain verbs and adjectives used facetiously)
Guaranteed to replay the 90’s and 00’s wherein the Conservative Party is solely responsible for all the country’s problems.And there will be many.
Just watch.