Did CNBC moderators do a sufficient job during the 28 Oct GOP debate?

Capt Walter Miller — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 03:10:55 -0400

Republican debate runs off the rails and turns into all-out war as Trump bashes John Kasich, Jeb hits his protege Marco Rubio, and EVERYONE hammers CNBC's moderators for losing control
CNBC hosts progressively lost control of the event
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz turned openly hostile, accusing them all of being Democrats intent on damaging the GOP field
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie soon piled on the network
Donald Trump wrapped up his night by claiming he had strong-armed them into shortening the debate 'so we can get the hell out of here'
'CNBC should be ashamed of how this debate was handled,' Republican Party chairman Reince Priebus said.

Claims of media bias became a major theme of the night, with Cruz letting loose the night's first scathing barrage against moderators Carl Quintanilla, Becky Quick and John Harwood.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3294016/Republican-debate-runs-rails-turns-war-Donald-Trump-bashes-John-Kasich-Jeb-Bush-hits-protege-Marco-Rubio-hammers-CNBC-s-moderators-losing-control.html#ixzz3pwFJvpG5
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Republican debate runs off the rails as CNBC's moderators lose control

CNBC's hosts progressively lost control of Wednesday night's event as the GOP field hammered them for asking inaccurate questions and tryign to turn Republican against Republican.

Response by Capt Seid Waddell made Oct 29 at 2015 3:11 AM

Capt Seid Waddell — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 03:11:53 -0400

Yes, but it will be a different Party.

Response by GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad made Oct 29 at 2015 3:16 AM

GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 03:16:03 -0400

... and if there isn't, would that really be such a bad thing for the country?

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 29 at 2015 3:28 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 03:28:12 -0400

I'd like to see both parties disappear.

Response by PVT Robert Gresham made Oct 29 at 2015 6:27 AM

PVT Robert Gresham — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 06:27:15 -0400

Of course, there will be. There may be some shifts in policy, but the GOP will still be here for quite a while yet. The next POTUS will likely be a Republican.

As for the GOP debate, as soon as the debate stated with John Harwood asking if Donald Trump Donald was running, "a comic-book version of a presidential campaign", it was obvious that the CNBC moderators were only there to insult, and bait the candidates. The moderators tried, rather unsuccessfully, to turn the candidates to ONLY attack each other, until Ted Cruz called them on their disgusting behavior. It could have been a great debate, but it turned out to be mostly garbage thanks to the CNBC moderators.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 29 at 2015 7:07 AM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 07:07:50 -0400

There will always be a left and a right no matter what the parties call themselves. What the real concern is the divide between them. We as American's have given up all semblance of unity in politics, and have given into the divisiveness. The Party's are set to serve the party's and not the people, and the people have lost control over their Government. In many ways I wish both of the Party's would go away.

Response by Capt Walter Miller made Oct 29 at 2015 8:14 AM

Capt Walter Miller — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 08:14:37 -0400

Another F-you to almost everyone from the GOP.

"With that said, it’s important not to get lost in the theater criticism of presidential debates. This was supposed to be on the economy, and while it jumped into issues such as same-sex marriage and marijuana legalization, that was largely true. And after the modest but steady gains of the Obama administration where is the Republican Party on growth, wages, and economic security?

The same place it’s always been. As with Mitt Romney’s campaign in 2012, the signature policy plan for every Republican candidate is a tax cut. “We need somebody who can lead. We need somebody who can balance budgets, cut taxes,” said Ohio Gov. John Kasich, touting his record. “We’re reducing taxes to 15 percent. We’re bringing corporate taxes down, bringing money back in, corporate inversions,” said Donald Trump. “Growth is the answer,” declared Cruz. “And as Reagan demonstrated, if we cut taxes, we can bring back growth.” And the cuts are meant for high earners. Under Rubio’s plan, for example, the government wouldn’t tax income from dividends and capital gains, largely benefiting the wealthiest Americans. And while Rubio includes measures that benefit the bottom 10 percent of income earners, the overall effect of his supply-side cuts is to tilt the tax code toward the top at an even greater angle than exists now.

There’s more: Gov. Chris Christie called for Social Security benefit cuts and demogogued the program as broke (despite all evidence to the contrary) while Sen. Rand Paul and Ben Carson pitched the audience on their plans to slash Medicare benefits. Carson called for a flat tax, Cruz praised “sound money” and the gold standard, and Carly Fiorina attacked the federal minimum wage as unconstitutional. Candidates talked about their modest upbringings but couldn’t articulate plans for reducing student loans and debt. At most, Kasich pointed to online education, Bush pointed to “accountability,” and Rubio promised more vocational training."

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2015/10/jeb_bush_suffered_another_crushing_defeat_in_the_cnbc_debate_republican.html

Walt

Jeb Died on That Stage

Wednesday’s Republican presidential debate was critical for Jeb Bush. He had to show donors and voters that he was a fighter, with life in his campaign—tha

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 29 at 2015 11:14 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 11:14:26 -0400

They did poorly, and confirmed for honest public that the media is biased, with a heavy lean to the failed left. The moderators and their puppet masters should be ashamed, if they were honest. Every one knows they're not. Without the help of the media, the left might be held in check in its destructive practices. But, the followers of the left are to selfish to look past their own wants to deal with the country's needs.

Response by CW3 Jim Norris made Oct 29 at 2015 11:18 AM

CW3 Jim Norris — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 11:18:14 -0400

Thank God the adults, those being the Republican candidates, showed up. CNBC should be ashamed of the caustic and belittling attitude shown by their staff. Senator Cruz's commentary, along with Senator Rubio's where spot on. Dr. Carson is magnificent in his demeanor and grasp of facts and character. Mr. Trump simply ran circles around Mr. Bush, as did Senator Rubio. Ms. Fiorina did a fine job. The RNC must be out of it's collective minds to even consider CNBC as a venue for debating national policy and priorities, why not see if Pravada could provide the 'moderators'? While I have little in agreement with Governor Christie - his 'even in New Jersey what you're doing is considered rude' was a very classy way of pinning the tail on the donkey, the obvious progressive Clintonite moderator. The candidates revealed more knowledge, character and leadership qualities in each of them than either of the Democratic candidates, staying in the substance and controlling the mud slinging minions of CNBC. Bravo Donald, Ben, Marco, Ted...et al.

Response by Capt Walter Miller made Oct 29 at 2015 11:31 AM

Capt Walter Miller — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 11:31:28 -0400

I put in MSNBC vice CNBC in the title. Sorry.

Response by TSgt John Hull made Oct 29 at 2015 11:35 AM

TSgt John Hull — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 11:35:39 -0400

NO! They are no longer journalists but are actually propaganda specialists.

Response by 2d Lt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 29 at 2015 12:03 PM

2d Lt Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 12:03:43 -0400

No. Didn't watch the debate but listened to the recap...those questions were terrible. They did not attack any substantive issues. Ted Cruz's rebuke of the Moderators' juvenile questions was completely warrante.

Response by SMSgt Tony Barnes made Oct 29 at 2015 1:48 PM

SMSgt Tony Barnes — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 13:48:29 -0400

No...they were hostile. They had drug up quotes to try to trip them. Oh, for the days of neutral moderators...true journalists.

Response by SGT Jeremiah B. made Oct 29 at 2015 2:06 PM

SGT Jeremiah B. — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 14:06:28 -0400

The problem is that the current attitude in ALL major media outlets is that stirring the pot is the path to success. No one gives a crap about fair and balanced. They only care about ratings and ad revenue. It doesn't help that you have bombastic personalities like Trump in the mix, talking head personalities might be tempted to go more for the outrageous, viral sound byte than questions that require substance.

Response by SSG Gerhard S. made Oct 29 at 2015 2:31 PM

SSG Gerhard S. — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 14:31:54 -0400

They did a great job of it was their aim to belittle, marginalize and antagonize the candidates. As far as moderating a debate they were extremely lacking. My opinion, which appeared to be shared, in large measure, by the candidates themselves.

Response by PO1 Tony Holland made Oct 29 at 2015 2:34 PM

PO1 Tony Holland — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 14:34:06 -0400

Looks like the clown car circus is in full bloom -- given the inadequacies of these clusterf**k clowns, how could you expect anything else.

Response by Cpl Chris Rice made Oct 29 at 2015 3:06 PM

Cpl Chris Rice — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 15:06:45 -0400

Attacking the media during a debate is a typical Republican strategy, if you look at the last election cycle Newt Gingrich actually one South Carolina primarily for the fact that he was willing to attack the media heavily right before the primary. The Republican national committee had the opportunity to pick whichever networks they wanted for debates to be held on, they used this discretion broadly excluding networks such as MSNBC, and outlets such as politico from holding debates because they felt that they were not in the best interest of the Republican Party.

In fact I really enjoy watching debates, even when it’s not my party, and no interest in voting for anybody on the stage I still enjoy watching them. The one thing I can tell you right now is I’ve never seen a Republican primary debate where all the Republicans said it was a well-structured debate, because in Republican politics it pays to be against the media.

Response by PO1 Glenn Boucher made Oct 29 at 2015 3:16 PM

PO1 Glenn Boucher — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 15:16:27 -0400

I only watched a little bit of it but from what I saw it was a waste of time, the moderators had clownish looks on their faces as they asked questions and never looked to be taking the whole thing seriously.

Response by CW5 Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 29 at 2015 4:33 PM

CW5 Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 16:33:34 -0400

Perhaps the moderators should have viewed this as a debate between candidates rather than interviews between them and the candidates.
A true, unbiased moderator would say: "Issue 1: Federal Budget. Mr. Trump?" etc and move on down the line

Response by MSG Charles Roth made Oct 29 at 2015 6:43 PM

MSG Charles Roth — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 18:43:25 -0400

LSM has always shown favoritism to Libs, giving them softball questions. Conservatives always get the hard ones or more specifically, ignorant ones [questions].

Response by SPC(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 29 at 2015 7:41 PM

SPC(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 19:41:02 -0400

"No" is an understatement. Every debate so far, but exceptionally so this one, has been designed to create infighting or "look how terrible so-n-so is" headlines to slander the GOP the next day.. The debate wasn't even finished before they were broadcasting these headlines across Facebook like "Jeb to Rubio: You should show up to work or resign" "Ted Cruz to Carl Quintailla: "I'll buy you a tequila...or even some famous Colorado brownies." or "You find me a Democrat that's for cutting spending $10, I'll give them a warm kiss." — Jeb Bush"

The event was yet another waste of time. I'm glad to see that the candidates finally began to push back against the BS. Dr. Carson's campaign manager stated that they will be contacting the campaign managers from the other candidates and organizing a revolt of this type of behavior. http://www.thepoliticalinsider.com/ben-carson-calling-revolt-gop-candidates-mainstream-media-debates/ It will be interesting to see if they are successful in organizing debates that actually pertain to the issues and where the candidates stand, instead of who can insult who, or addressing the propaganda.

Ben Carson Calling For GOP REVOLT Against Media For THIS - This Would Change Everything! - The...

In an interview shortly after the debate, Barry Bennett, manager of the Ben Carson campaign, called the session here in Colorado "unfair to everyone"

Response by SPC Nathan Freeman made Oct 29 at 2015 9:03 PM

SPC Nathan Freeman — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 21:03:39 -0400

Obvious bias. This is why CNBC, MSNBC, CNN ratings are tanking. Ted Cruz called them out accurately and in order. Nobody asked about issues that mattered. The mud fest backfired big time. Even mainstream media called them out for being unprofessional.

Response by SSgt Alex Robinson made Oct 29 at 2015 9:44 PM

SSgt Alex Robinson — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 21:44:11 -0400

It was a terrible display of partisanship...

Response by SPC Donald Wright made Oct 29 at 2015 11:37 PM

SPC Donald Wright — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 23:37:19 -0400

No.

Response by SGT William Howell made Oct 30 at 2015 8:59 AM

SGT William Howell — Fri, 30 Oct 2015 08:59:23 -0400

You know when you only have one job, moderator, you should do just that. Now to go along with it, CNBC was trying to drive rating up by having the candidates bash each other. They were trying to get a Kardashian moment. What they got was to look like a hack job news agency that they are. I would just as soon be ignorant of what is happening in the world as to get it from CNBC.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 2 at 2015 10:30 AM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 02 Nov 2015 10:30:19 -0500

Everyone talks about the negative attitude or demeanor of moderators, but fails to acknowledge that the candidates themselves have been caustic and rude throughout. It's not hard to find absurd or rude comments from most of the GOP field. Hell, the rudest and worst-behaved person in that building is the GOP frontrunner.

Response by TSgt Kenneth Ellis made Nov 2 at 2015 11:04 AM

TSgt Kenneth Ellis — Mon, 02 Nov 2015 11:04:00 -0500

Would the moderators at the Hillary debate ask her why she told everyone that mattered that the Riot at our embassy in Libya was not spontaneous and had ties to Al Qaeda. Then told the families that it was all about a video. 7 officers were sent to perk walk him in front of the media. And you even went in front of the UN and told that story.

Or as Berrnie Sanders about his love for Fidel Castro.

I thought O'Mally was going to pee his pants after the moderator asked him to explain his comments about Hillary and political dynasties.

Response by Capt Walter Miller made Nov 11 at 2015 8:23 AM

Capt Walter Miller — Wed, 11 Nov 2015 08:23:56 -0500

Last night was worse.

"The reality is that every single candidate on stage has a tax plan meant to screw over the entire country so that the already wealthy can buy bigger yachts, just as it was under Bush and every Republican before him. Rubio and Bush’s tax plans require cutting so much federal spending it would tank the economy, all so that the Donald Trumps of the world can finally start wiping themselves with gold cloth instead of mere silk sheets. A few dollars thrown to middle class voters in the short term cannot hide the fact that it’s a terrible idea to grind our economy to a halt to make the rich even richer.

The flat taxers are even dumber, which is saying a lot. It is, as it always was, just about giving a bunch of money to the rich by gouging working people.

But such is the power of fantasy in this election cycle. The Republican voters clearly want to believe that they you’re sticking it to the rich by lowering their taxes and somehow that you can afford all of this, while also balancing the budget, while seriously reducing the government’s ability to earn income. Oh yeah, and while we’re in fantasy land, Ted Cruz even went so far as to claim he could abolish the IRS. Maybe we can do this without collecting any income taxes at all!

At this point, there’s no reason for Republicans not to nominate Donald Trump. You almost have to feel sorry for the guy. Everyone calls him out for being full of shit, but, sit through enough Republican debates and you quickly realize he is no more so than the rest of this sorry field."

http://www.salon.com/2015/11/11/the_gop_is_living_in_a_fantasy_world_every_single_republicans_economic_plan_is_made_of_wishes_and_fairy_dust/

Walt

The GOP is living in a fantasy world: Every single Republican’s economic plan is made of wishes...

After listening to Republicans lay out their economic "plans," the only conclusion is they're all barking mad

Response by Capt Walter Miller made Nov 11 at 2015 8:28 AM

Capt Walter Miller — Wed, 11 Nov 2015 08:28:56 -0500

The GOP’s Amateur Hour

The fourth GOP debate revealed that Republican candidates are unprepared for a general election that is fought over the economy.

"There are a few things we can get out of the way about Tuesday’s Republican presidential debate. First, after months of decline, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul had his first great night, challenging Sen. Marco Rubio on tax expenditures and defense spending, pushing Donald Trump on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and stepping into his father’s role as the libertarian gadfly in the race. “If you’re a profligate spender and you spend money in an unlimited fashion for the military, is that a conservative notion?” Paul asked in his closing statement. “We have to be conservative with all spending, domestic spending and welfare spending. I’m the only fiscal conservative on the stage.”

More significant for Americans were the actual views of the candidates. Tuesday’s debate, hosted by Fox Business, was on the economy. The first question of the night was on the fight for a $15 minimum wage, and subsequent questions dealt with tax cuts, job growth, and the Federal Reserve. In several places, the candidates showed disturbing ignorance of basic facts of the American economy. Paul, for example, blamed low interest rates for problems faced by the poor, despite all evidence to the contrary. Likewise, Bush attacked Dodd-Frank financial legislation for reducing capital requirements for banks, when the law does the opposite.

The GOP contenders were out of step with the actual economic needs of ordinary Americans.
Even ignoring these flubs, misstatements, and half-truths, the GOP contenders were out of step with the actual economic needs of ordinary Americans. Each candidate talked about relief for workers and families, but outside of Rubio’s child tax credit, few offered it. Instead, candidates came out against raising the minimum wage, called for a new gold standard for currency, and pushed plans for massive upper-income tax cuts. Unlike the first Democratic debate—when Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Martin O’Malley, Jim Webb, and Lincoln Chaffee tusseled over college affordability and health care costs—there was little in the Republican debate that spoke to the challenges of ordinary people rather than businesses.

Moreover—and more importantly for the politics of economic growth—the Republican candidates were silent on one of the key questions of the 2016 election. “The Democrats will inevitably ask you and voters to compare the recent presidents’ jobs performance,” said moderator Gerard Baker to Carly Fiorina. “In seven years under President Obama, the U.S. has added an average of 107,000 jobs per month. Under Clinton, the economy added about 240,000 per month; under George W. Bush, it was only 13,000 a month. If you win the nomination, you will probably be facing a Democrat named Clinton. How are you going to respond to the claim that Democratic presidents are better at creating jobs than Republicans?”

Fiorina dodged the question. She didn’t have an answer. And neither did anyone else on the stage. Later, moderator Maria Bartiromo threw Rubio a softball on Hillary Clinton. “Why should the American people trust you to lead this country even though she has been so much closer to the office?” His answer was smooth—“[I]f I am our nominee, they’ll be the party of the past”—but it ignored this basic question of economic performance.

This is a problem. Barring disaster, President Obama will finish his term with a growing economy. Republicans need to show Americans that they can do better—that they can deliver growth and resources to the people who need them. Otherwise, little else matters. The Democratic nominee will inherit the Obama economy and prevail."

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2015/11/republican_candidates_aren_t_prepared_to_argue_over_the_economy_in_a_general.html

Walt

The GOP’s Top Candidates Aren’t Prepared to Argue With a Democrat Over the Economy

There are a few things we can get out of the way about Tuesday’s Republican presidential debate. First, after months of decline, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul ha