The final straw was Wednesday night's CNBC Republican debate. While it was a ratings success, drawing a network record 14 million viewers, it was a political disaster.
The three liberal moderators exposed their bias and utter disdain for the candidates. The questions were unfair, trivial and not germane to the supposed topic of the evening, the economy.
The tone of the debate changed when Senator Ted Cruz responded to a question about the budget by blasting the moderators. He said that the loaded questions were examples of why the American people “don't trust the media.”
After his statements, the floodgates were unleashed and several of the other candidates joined in the moderator bashing. It was a remarkable display of turning the tables on the moderators. As a result of the debate, a new rallying cry has been established for all of the candidates.
It is a clear reminder that as Republican presidential candidates they may differ with each other on certain issues, but they are united against two political enemies: the Democrats and the media.
After the backlash, the fools at the RNC finally received the message. RNC Chairman Reince Priebus decided to remove NBC as the broadcast partner for the February 26, 2016 presidential debate in Houston.
In a letter to NBC Chairman Andrew Lack, Priebus said that the decision was made because CNBC, an NBC broadcast network, conducted the last debate in “bad faith.” Priebus noted that many of the questions were “inaccurate or downright offensive” and were designed to “embarrass our candidates.”
Of course Priebus is right, but the only reason he took this step was because of the candidate revolt. He knew prior to Wednesday night that CNBC was a liberal network. The real question is why would the RNC partner with such a network in the first place?
The CNBC debate followed two other GOP presidential debates that were justifiably criticized. In the first debate, moderator Megyn Kelly of Fox News repeatedly targeted Donald Trump with unfair questions.
In the second debate, CNN moderators pitted candidates against each other on various issues, trying to create a political “cage match.”
The real fault for all of these debacles lies with the leadership of the RNC, which sanctioned the presidential debates. The presidential candidates understand the problem which is why they are excluding the RNC from their meeting this weekend.
Now that he realizes the genuine anger among Republican presidential candidates and their supporters, Priebus is doing damage control. In an interview on Fox News, Priebus said that “every debate on the calendar is going to be reevaluated, reset – look at the format, the moderators, everything.”
This corrective action is too little and too late for the RNC to save any credibility. For years, the party leadership agreed to liberal “journalists” moderating debates with GOP candidates.
In 2012, ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, former Clinton White House official, questioned Mitt Romney about whether he supported a “ban” on contraceptives.
This unusual question was part of the Democratic Party's overall campaign to label the GOP as anti-women. This strategy helped Barack Obama garner a strong majority of female voters and defeat Romney in the general election.
The RNC also participates in a bi-partisan commission that sanctioned all of the 2012 presidential debates. Each one was hosted by a liberal moderator with devastating results for Romney.
It was especially painful in the second debate, when Candy Crowley of CNN served as Obama cheerleader and public relations spokeswoman. Thus, Romney battled both Obama and the moderator in each debate.
Finally, the GOP presidential candidates are starting to realize that the RNC has no problem with liberal moderators. For years, the RNC has done a true disservice to their presidential candidates and the party faithful.
It is time for action. Not only should NBC be dropped as a broadcast partner, but RNC Chairman Reince Priebus should be fired. As talk show host Mark Levin noted, “that guy's incompetent, he's a boob.” For the sake of the Republican Party, he needs to go.
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Jeff Crouere is a native of New Orleans, LA and he is the host of a Louisiana based program, “Ringside Politics,” which airs at 7:30 p.m. Fri. and 10:00 p.m. Sun. on WLAE-TV 32, a PBS station, and 7 till 11 a.m. weekdays on WGSO 990 AM in New Orleans and the Northshore.
For more information, visit Jeff's web site at www.ringsidepolitics.com or e-mail him at jeff@ringsidepolitics.com
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