Nolte: A Night of Softball Questions at the MSNBC-Washington Post Debate

The all-lady moderators for Wednesday night’s MSNBC-Washington Post debate should start a softball league. They sure know how pitch ’em.

It’s not like a Democrat debate hosted by this sorry lot promised any surprises. As any sane person would expect from a debate hosted by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow and Andrea Mitchell, NBC’s Kristen Welker, and Ashley Parker of the far-left Washington Post, the questions to the Democrat Party’s sorry excuse for a line-up basically ranged from:

Please tell us how awesome you would be in solving this terrible problem brought on by the Orange Bad Man and his followers.

To:

Please tell us how awesome you would be in bringing together a country destroyed by the Orange Bad Man and his followers.

It was pretty obvious what NBC and the Washington Post were up to. The lady moderators have seen the polls and know that even with this stupid and fake impeachment breathing down his neck, even with a 24/7 media jihad out to annihilate him, Trump is holding strong in all the states that matter.

What’s more, the lady moderators also know that if past is prologue, once Trump escapes the confines of the White House and is able to make his case for re-election on the road, this will improve his standing enormously.

And so far, all of the media’s coup attempts have failed. The Russia Collusion Hoax failed. Those months the media spent trying to talk America into a recession failed. This impeachment hoax is a total bust.

But the biggest problem for media and Democrats is that there is no Barack Obama running against Trump. More importantly, there is no Ronald Reagan or Bill Clinton, no “acceptable alternative” to Trump — who is overseeing a thriving economy, who hasn’t launched any stupid wars, and who has wisely held tight to his base of support.

If America is going to fire an elected president, something that has only happened twice since Herbert Hoover lost to Franklin Roosevelt in 1932 (Gerald Ford was appointed by Nixon), there has to be a compelling reason. And this country has never, ever, ever booted a sitting president when the economy is in good shape. So the need for the media to find an “acceptable alternative” is especially acute, and that is what last night was all about.

Actually, it was about something more… What the left-wing moderators were hoping to do last night was to try and create an “acceptable alternative” by avoiding all the issues this group of extremists have gone crazy on. Namely, abortion, stripping every American of their health insurance, opening the borders to the rest of the world, gun confiscation, forcing Christians to participate in gay marriages, increasing our taxes, and so on…

On issue after issue after issue, the Democratic field is way to the left of the average American. Everyone knows this, and last night the moderators walked in with an obvious game plan: rehabilitate this group of fanatics into something acceptable — especially to Independents.

To be fair, there was at least one semi-decent questioner last night, and that was Parker. She dropped about seven questions, but only one probing one: She asked Cherokee Warren if she would use taxpayer money to tear down the wall Trump is building.

That was it… That was the only question designed to give voters a glimpse into just how unacceptable this field is, how extreme they all are, and it is the extremism that media should be relentlessly exposing.

Here’s a look at last night’s two-hour rehabilitation campaign, starting with Maddow:

MADDOW: Senator Warren, you have said already that you’ve seen enough to convict the president and remove him from office. You and four of your colleagues on this stage tonight who are also U.S. senators may soon have to take that vote. Will you try to convince your Republican colleagues in the Senate to vote the same way? And if so, how?

Why not ask the following question: What crime did the president commit? What specifically is his impeachable offense?

MADDOW: Mayor Buttigieg, let me put the same question to you. How central should the president’s conduct uncovered by the impeachment inquiry be to a Democratic nominee’s campaign? How central would it be to yours?

This isn’t a question. It’s a warning. This is Maddow giving the field an opportunity to reassure the American people they are all keeping their eyes on the ball and not obsessed with an absurd impeachment crusade that is becoming more unpopular by the day.

MADDOW: Chants of “Lock Her Up” are still heard at President Trump’s rallies today. Now some opponents of the president are turning the same slogan against him. They’ve chanted “Lock Him Up” at a recent World Series game in Washington and at a Veterans Day event in New York and, Senator Sanders, and at least two of your campaign events recently. Senator, should Democrats discourage this? Or are you OK with it?

Another warning. This has to stop, guys… We in the media can’t beat up the MAGAtards if you allow this. So stop it, guys. I mean, seriously.

MADDOW: Vice President Biden, let me ask you to pick up on the issue that Senator Sanders just raised about no one being above the law. When President Ford pardoned President Nixon, he said it was to heal the country. Would you support a potential criminal investigation into President Trump after he leaves office, even if you thought it might further inflame the country’s divisions?

Translation: Soothe us, presumptive frontrunner, soothe us by telling us all about your mighty healing powers.

MADDOW: I want to bring in Mr. Steyer on this. You’ve made climate change a central point of your political career. To this issue of making change — changes that last, making changes that are permanent, could you address that, sir?

Was that question in English?

MADDOW: Senator Warren, only about 1 percent of Americans serve in the United States military right now. Should that number be higher?

What kind of stupid, out-of-nowhere question is this?

But it gets worse. I don’t want to start tossing around conspiracy theories, but read the Fake Indian’s answer and tell me she wasn’t expecting this stupid, out-of-nowhere question:

WARREN: Yes, I think it should be. You know, all three of my brothers served in the military. One was career military. The other two also served. I think it’s an important part of who we are as Americans. And I think the notion of shared service is important.

It’s how we help bring our nation together. It’s how people learn to work together from different regions, people who grew up differently. It’s also about how families share that sacrifice.

I remember what it was like when I was a little girl. My brother, my oldest brother, who served five-and-a-half years off and on in combat in Vietnam, what it was like for my mother every day to check the mailbox, had we heard from Don Reed? How is he doing? And if there was a letter, she was brighter than the day. And if there wasn’t, she would say, well, maybe tomorrow.

This is about building for our entire nation. And I believe we should do that. I also believe we should have other service opportunities in this country. So, for example, what I want to do is for our federal lands, I want to bring in 10,000 people who want to be able to serve in our federal lands to be able to help rebuild our national forests and national parks as a way to express both their public service and their commitment to fighting back against climate change. We can do this as a nation.

So Warren expertly pings off of Maddow’s stupid, out-of-nowhere question into this endless reverie that ends with hiring 10,000 union-member bureaucrats planting trees we don’t need (America has more trees today than we did a hundred years ago), and rather than pin her down about things like a draft or some other compulsory service, Maddow says, “Thank you, Senator.”

MADDOW: Many states, including right here where we are tonight in Georgia, have passed laws that severely limit or outright ban abortion. Right now, Roe v. Wade protects a woman’s right to abortion nationwide. But if Roe gets overturned and abortion access disappears in some states, would you intervene as president to try to bring that access back?

Translation: You have all spent the last six months advocating for infanticide, for removing a live, healthy baby from the womb and beating it until dead with the hardcover edition of The Population Bomb. Here is your opportunity to sound sane again.

MADDOW: Just this weekend, Louisiana re-elected a Democratic governor, John Bel Edwards. He has signed one of the country’s toughest laws restricting abortion. Is there room in the Democratic Party for someone like him, someone who can win in a deep red state but who does not support abortion rights?

To be fair, this is actually a pretty good question.

And now we come to the hideous Andrea Mitchell who, unlike Maddow, pretends to be an objective unbiased journalist, even though she is, without question, a far-left rape denier.

MITCHELL: Vice President Biden, you’ve suggested in your campaign that if you defeat President Trump, Republicans will start working with Democrats again. But right now, Republicans in Congress, including some of whom you’ve worked with for decades, are demanding investigations not only of you but also of your son. How would you get those same Republicans to work with you?

Translation: Soothe us, presumptive frontrunner, soothe us by telling us all about your mighty healing powers.

MITCHELL: Mayor Buttigieg, you have said, quote, “I will never allow us to get so wrapped up in the fighting that we start to think fighting is the point.” The Republican Party never stopped fighting President Obama in his eight years in office. So what would you do that President Obama didn’t do to change that.

The Mean Little Mayor launched his campaign trashing Christians as un-Christian but he gets served with one of those Soothe us about your mighty healing powers questions.

On every major issue, school choice, guns, abortion, sexuality, immigration, faith… This is the most divisive group of politicians ever assembled, and this is the third or fourth question asking the same thing: Tell us how you will bring America back together as one.

MITCHELL: Mayor Buttigieg, let’s talk about your record as a candidate. You were elected mayor in a Democratic city receiving just under 11,000 votes. And in your only statewide race, you lost by 25 points. Why should Democrats take the risk of betting on you?

Translation: Tell us how awesome you are.

MITCHELL: President Trump has dramatically changed America’s approach to our adversaries by holding summits with Kim Jong Un, getting out of the Iran nuclear deal, and at times embracing Vladimir Putin and other strongmen. So let’s talk about what kind of commander-in-chief you would be.

Translation: Now that I’ve explained how evil Trump is, tell us how awesome you will be.

MITCHELL: Mr. Vice President, the CIA has concluded that the leader of Saudi Arabia directed the murder of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The State Department also says the Saudi government is responsible for executing nonviolent offenders and for torture. President Trump has not punished senior Saudi leaders. Would you?

Translation: Now that I’ve explained who evil Trump is, tell us how awesome you will be.

MITCHELL: Senator Klobuchar, just to follow up, would you go against the Saudis, even though that would potentially help Iran, their adversaries?

Mitchell’s only decent question, but note how she asked the candidate sitting at 1 percent, which is how you ensure the frontrunners have time to formulate an answer.

PARKER: Thank you. Mr. Yang, if you win the 2020 election, what would you say in your first call with Russian President Vladimir Putin?

Translation: Tell us how awful Trump is and how awesome you are.

PARKER: Mr. Yang, I want to bring you in. Mr. Yang — Mr. Yang, you’ve made a virtue of your outsider status. You’ve never served in military or in government. What has prepared you to respond to a terrorist attack or a major disaster?

Translation: Get off the stage and let the anointed frontrunners suck up more talk time.

And here’s the biggest softball of the evening….

WELKER: Let’s talk about Medicare for all. Senator Warren, you are running on Medicare for all. Democrats have been winning elections even in red states with a very different message on health care: protecting Obamacare. Democrats are divided on this issue. What do you say to voters who are worried that your position on Medicare for all could cost you critical votes in the general election?

Translation: Soothe our fears, Cherokee Princess.

Warren’s Medicare for All proposal is an even bigger boondoggle than Obamacare. But no one asked her to explain the math, or to explain any of it!

WELKER: President Obama explicitly said the country is, quote, “less revolutionary than it is interested in improvement. The average American doesn’t think we have to completely tear down the system and remake it,” end quote. Is President Obama wrong?

Translation: Soothe us by telling us all about your mighty healing powers.

WELKER: Mr. Steyer, millions of working Americans are finding that housing has become unaffordable, especially in metropolitan areas. It is particularly acute in your home state of California, in places like Los Angeles and San Francisco. Why are you the best person to fix this problem?

Translation: Tell us how awesome you are.

WELKER: Let’s move now to the issue of race in America. FBI Director Christopher Wray recently told Congress, quote, “The majority of the domestic terrorism cases that we’ve investigated are motivated by white supremacist violence.” Congresswoman Gabbard, to you. As president, would you direct the federal government to do something about this problem that it is not currently doing?

Translation: Trump is evil, now tell us how awesome you are.

Nothing probing.

Nothing challenging.

No fact checks.

Not contradictory proposals or statements exposed with a request for an explanation.

Not one question that puts the candidate in a position where they will have to choose between their insane base and the moderate voters who will decide the election… Questions like,  Would you strip Christian and Muslim religious organizations of their tax-exempt status if they refuse to perform gay weddings?

Obviously there were no #MeToo questions coming from the all-lady moderators, which might have seem strange to those unaware of the fact that NBC News is now credibly accused of shielding two accused rapists: Harvey Weinstein and Matt Lauer.

Democrats sure got it good. 

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