Those who hope that Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, and Mark Levin get to moderate a Republican presidential debate include Hannity himself, Ted Cruz, and Joan Walsh. As they (almost) used to put it on Sesame Street, one of these persons is not like the others.
Walsh, who recently joined The Nation after more than a decade and a half at Salon, argued in a Friday article that such a debate would benefit Democrats because it would reinforce Republicans’ overconfidence in the popularity of their ideas, thereby causing them to antagonize most of the public with unfiltered conservatism.
“Let the candidates stay within their wingnut bubble -- the same bubble that let them believe Mitt Romney was cruising to victory in 2012 -- and compete over who can be the most vicious to undocumented immigrants, the cruelest to women seeking abortions, and the kindest to the top one percent," wrote Walsh. "Let the voters watch -- and then cast ballots for the Democrats in droves next November.”
From Walsh’s piece (bolding added):
The Republican whining about debate moderation to date is pathetic…These guys are first-rate cry babies, working the refs by crying “liberal media bias!” like conservatives have for going on 50 years.
…“How about a debate moderated by Sean Hannity and Mark Levin and Rush Limbaugh?” Cruz suggested in an interview with Hannity…
“I’m in,” Hannity replied. “And I think I can speak for the other two—they’re in as well. I do agree with you because these questions are downright hostile. And I believe this was a horrible night for the news media and in many instances tonight a disgrace to the profession of journalism.”
I’m in, too! I think the world should get a clear look at the unvarnished spectacle of a Republican Party that is now run by the “conservative entertainment complex,” in the words of George W. Bush adviser David Frum.
Let the candidates stay within their wingnut bubble–the same bubble that let them believe Mitt Romney was cruising to victory in 2012–and compete over who can be the most vicious to undocumented immigrants, the cruelest to women seeking abortions, and the kindest to the top one percent.
Let the voters watch—and then cast ballots for the Democrats in droves next November...
…[T]he whiny 2016 GOP candidates…apparently want to be hugged, not grilled, by debate moderators. This is a party that’s running against reality, not against the Democrats. They kill the messengers, and now the moderators, who bring them bad news.
