Free Republic

Hillary Clinton lies to the country for 11 hours, and the Democratic Party rallies around her while she declares victory. None of the Americans murdered because of her incompetence were brought back to life and none of the families lied to about a YouTube video were comforted, but still she turned that into the best week ever. Republicans, on the other hand, had a golden opportunity and they blew it. After the CNBC debate and the bias it laid bare, the field was united. The party was united. There was an opportunity to change, maybe even revolutionize the debate process....

It was like a mother trying to lead her naughty son through an apology . . . Last week, Joe Scarborough predicted he would "get in trouble" for calling John Harwood's biased performance as debate moderator "embarrassing." On today's Morning Joe, Mika Brzezinski tried, in what seemed perhaps to be a pre-arranged mea culpa, to force Joe to say "I really respect everyone I work with." Joe didn't play along with the script but did ultimately mutter "of course I do" before quickly moving on. So was this something the MSNBC suits cooked up? Had Joe agreed to mouth the...

WASHINGTON - After the combative, vacuous questions CNBC reporters asked in the last Republican presidential debate, Donald Trump wants to set the terms of the next televised event for himself. The billionaire real estate mogul wants to negotiate the rules for future debates directly with the network television executives. He announced his plan in the midst of an effort by the other GOP candidates and their party to set forth a list of demands on how the debates should be run. Trump's unilateral move appeared to be an attempt to take control of the debates to suit his campaign...

Apparently, integrity and critical thinking are not qualities found in today's mainstream media. We know this after watching the CNBC-hosted Republican debate billed as one which would focus on "the key issues that matter to all voters-job growth, taxes, technology, retirement and the health of our national economy." Obviously, that did not happen. Instead, Americans watched moderators with the seeming intellectual prowess of June bugs disrespectfully hurl boneheaded attacks and stupid questions at GOP presidential hopefuls, offering millions of viewers a front row seat to observe proof positive they are nothing more than extensions of, and left-wing propagandists for, the...

During CNBC's GOP debate, Ted Cruz not only demonstrated that he is the kind of problem solver the American people want, he also showed that he is the kind of leader the American people need. In the aftermath of Cruz's performance, the liberal media and establishment supporters on the right leapt in to spin mode. They've been trying to convince their audiences that the hardest-hitting response of Wednesday night was nothing more than a clever dodge to a tough question. But you can analyze Cruz's sizzling answer and its positive effects all by yourself. Cruz unveiled a dignified contempt...

In the wake of the CNBC debate debacle, Joe Scarborough went on an epic rant on liberal media bias on today's Morning Joe. He summed things up this way, in challenging the panel: "you can't do it and nobody here can do it: name the single Republican that has hosted a Sunday show, that has been an anchor of a news network for the big three networks over the past 50 years: you can not do it." Mark Halperin largely agreed, saying "there's huge liberal media bias." But Mike Barnicle actually claimed that having fair moderators would be a bad...

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, had a standout moment early in Wednesday night's Republican debate when he went after, not other Republicans, but the CNBC moderators, none of whom appeared to have "any intention of voting in a Republican primary." CNBC's Jim Cramer and Rick Santelli later asked questions a conservative would ask, but the event began with questions from moderators John Harwood, Becky Quick and Carl Quintanilla that reinforced Republicans' belief that the network is in the Democrats' pocket. The biggest loser of the night: CNBC's credibility. Harwood launched the debate with a gotcha question for billionaire Donald Trump. Personally,...

After Glenn Beck 'revealed Ted Cruz's "audiographic memory," he shared on the radio Thursday how he put the Texas senator to the test during the Republican presidential debate.' In a particularly strong moment, Cruz shot back at the CNBC debate moderators, calling them out on their questioning tactics."The questions that have been asked so far in this debate illustrate why the American people don't trust the media," Cruz said in response to a question regarding his problem-solving ability from CNBC's Carl Quintanilla. "This is not a cage match."Cruz went on to list the ways in which the debate questioners engaged...

Sens. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz delivered the strongest performances in Wednesday night's Republican presidential debate, a group of GOP strategists told CQ Roll call, and should see a bounce in their poll numbers between now and the next faceoff in two weeks."Rubio delivered yet another solid performance in which he demonstrated what a good candidate he is. And how formidable he could be in November,” said Jason Roe, who has managed and advised congressional campaigns, including that of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas. “Cruz, I think, had his best night yet. And I think that was...

The RNC may regret its approval of John Harwood as lead moderator for Wednesday night’s GOP presidential debate on CNBC if past history is any guide. The CNBC anchor and New York Times columnist admitted he and a producer helped make Rick Perry’s infamous “oops” moment even worse. ... Harwood’s past takes on Republicans versus Democrats also reveal the potential for biased questioning at Wednesday night’s debate. A Harwood interview with Kentucky Senator Rand Paul was so one-sided it actually caused the Paul to press back: “Don’t you have something better to read than crap from people who don’t like...