Is this a turning point? Have the American people (in the form of the debate audience) and the GOP (in the form of the presidential candidates) finally had enough of the obvious left-wing bias of the media? That’s the number one question that emerged after Wednesday night’s debate as the entire GOP field stood out and the CNBC moderators looked pathetic.
This was clearly the worst debate of the season in terms of “gotcha” questions, bias, arrogance, and a clear dislike of anything conservative on the part of the moderators. Question after question after question were directed at the candidates in the form of some kind of personal attack. Finally, Sen. Ted Cruz — who had THE moment of the debate — spoke out and united the GOP field against the moderators and the media in general.
Not only did Cruz sum up the questions and behavior of the moderators perfectly, he also touched on an obvious fact that seems to be forgotten by the Republican leadership when it comes to organizing these debates: “Nobody watching at home believes that any of the moderators has any intention of voting in a Republican primary.” He’s absolutely right, and yet the RNC keeps agreeing to have debates hosting by left-wing advocates for the Democrats who show no signs of being actual journalists.
Cruz was not alone in standing up against the media and the moderators. Sen. Marco Rubio also struck back in comments that nearly matched those of Ted Cruz.
It’s great to see such comments directed at the media. In the case of this debate it seemed to galvanize the entire field of candidates on the stage last night. The fact that the debate was even hosted by CNBC leaves some questions that need to be answered. As Ken Falkenstein writes on BearingDrift.com, “Who didn’t see this coming?”
And with all of that in mind, one important question needs to be asked, and asked loudly: What the hell was Reince Priebus and the RNC thinking when they agreed to allow CNBC to host a Republican debate? How could they not have known that it would be an outright ambush on our candidates and party?
Someone needs to be held responsible and accountable for this travesty, and that reckoning needs to happen immediately. And part of that process must include a review of all of the remaining debates to which the RNC has agreed to ensure that our candidates are never again subjected to this kind of ambush and harassment.
All candidates handled the moderators well, and the audience helped give the GOP field some confidence as the moderators were actually booed after some of the questions.
So, when it was all said and done, who won? Cruz, Rubio, and Christie did very well. They stated their opinions clearly, and they were also the most vocal about the idiotic questions and bias. Trump was actually more mellow than in previous debates, and he sounded a bit more polished. He didn’t have any moments that were homeruns, but he also didn’t have cringe moments either.
Fiorina and Carson performed fairly, but they definitely did not stand out as Cruz, Rubio, and Christie did. Paul, Kasich, and Huckabee were near the bottom, and they surely are on their last legs as far as their campaigns are concerned. The big (and really only) loser of the evening was Jeb Bush. He seemed demoralized from the start, and none of his answers really came across with passion or conviction.
Winner: The GOP field
Loser: The CNBC moderators and the media in general
Standouts: Cruz, Rubio, Christie
How did you see it? Who won the debate?
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