I think we're supposed to believe that the various Republican presidential candidates will be tough enough to defend America against its enemies because they're tough enough to wage war on ... John Harwood.
Ted Cruz is tough enough:
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) says the moderators at CNBC’s GOP presidential debate were “left-wing operatives” trying to weaken Republican presidential candidates.
He added future debates should be hosted by moderators who have voted in the Republican primary at least once in their lives.
“What you wouldn’t have is a bunch of left-wing operatives whose object is that whoever the Republican nominee is, they want him as battered and bruised as possible so the Democrat wins in November,” Cruz said at the Iowa GOP’s Growth and Opportunity Party in Des Moines on Saturday....
Donald Trump is tough enough:
GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Saturday labeled the moderator of Wednesday’s much-maligned CNBC Republican presidential debate a “dope” and a “fool.”
"By the way -- this guy John Harwood, was he a dope?” Trump asked in the middle of comments about the debates.
Harwood’s name was met with boos from the crowd in Norfolk, Va., as Trump continued slamming him.
"What a dope. What a fool,” he said.
"And look what it cost NBC. It hurt their reputation. It’s a shame, actually. But he was really a jerk.”
And Ben Carson just wants to wage total war on the media:
Ben Carson’s campaign wants to take the coming Republican presidential primary debates off television and broadcast them over the Internet, while turning the forums into a series of lengthy candidate statements with far less time for moderators’ questions.
The retired neurosurgeon’s campaign manager, Barry Bennett, ... has told the RNC and other campaigns that Mr. Carson ... would like to strip the cable and broadcast television networks of the rights to carry the debates and instead air them over the Internet, perhaps via Facebook or YouTube.
Mr. Carson’s campaign is also pushing to reduce the number of televised debates....
Poor Scott Walker. He's out of the presidential race, and one widely cited reason is that it was perceived as a terrible gaffe when he claimed that he was qualified to take on ISIS because he took on pro-union protesters in Wisconsin.
But what are the Republican candidates doing now? They're implying that they've got the necessary toughness to be president -- to take on ISIS and Al Qaeda and Putin and Kim Jong-un -- because they won't take any guff from CNBC. That's their message to voters right now. They know who the real enemy is, and it's little-watched cable news channels. They're not afraid of little-watched cable news channels! They've got the guts to face them down!
Yes, Scott, you would have been the ideal warrior for this moment. You quit too soon.
(Crossposted from No More Mister Nice Blog)
