Well, half-and-half.  The GOP will still be working with National Review: but NBC is taking the brunt of CNBC’s Dumpster Fire Debate.  From the official letter:

The CNBC network is one of your media properties, and its handling of the debate was conducted in bad faith. We understand that NBC does not exercise full editorial control over CNBC’s journalistic approach. However, the network is an arm of your organization, and we need to ensure there is not a repeat performance.

CNBC billed the debate as one that would focus on “the key issues that matter to all voters—job growth, taxes, technology, retirement and the health of our national economy.”  That was not the case. Before the debate, the candidates were promised an opening question on economic or financial matters. That was not the case. Candidates were promised that speaking time would be carefully monitored to ensure fairness. That was not the case.  Questions were inaccurate or downright offensive. The first question directed to one of our candidates asked if he was running a comic book version of a presidential campaign, hardly in the spirit of how the debate was billed.

The general subtext of the letter is We will make you eat a lot of crow and shoe polish over this, NBC, which I personally don’t have a problem with.  I wouldn’t even have a problem with this even if I thought that Reince Priebus and the RNC were more sinners than sinned-against in this situation: spanking a major network like this over its news celebrities’ shenanigans is a meritorious action in its own right.  Put another way… even if you think that Reince Priebus is merely covering his own rear after screwing up by the numbers, you have to admit that this is at least a good, solid pander towards the sensibilities of the Republican base. And I personally feel that we’re due a little more pandering, thank you very much…

(Image via Shutterstock)

Moe Lane