Milbank on GOP Whining

Dana Milbank describes Republican avoidance of policy specifics with complaints about media in The Washington Post.

The Republicans seem to be testing a strategy of winning by whining. Certainly, voters are discontented and even angry. But do they want a leader who campaigns by kvetching?

The constant carping is not without purpose: It avoids the need to engage deeply in substance. Moderator John Harwood asked Trump about his promise to cut taxes by $10 trillion without increasing the deficit and asked whether this is “a comic-book version of a presidential campaign.”

“It’s not a very nicely asked question,” Trump protested.

There was genuine substance over the two hours, but when in doubt the candidates defaulted to complaining about the referee. When Quick pointedly asked Rubio about his personal financial troubles, Rubio responded, “You just listed a litany of discredited attacks from Democrats and my political opponents, and I’m not going to waste 60 seconds detailing them all.”

Minutes after the debate ended, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus tweeted that “CNBC should be ashamed of how this debate was handled.” But how about his petulant would-be presidents?