After RNC Chairman Reince Priebus threatened to pull out of any GOP primary debates on CNN and NBC if they decide to air Hillary Clinton documentaries before the election, the question of just who should moderate GOP primary debates is being asked by party insiders.
Sources are now saying that the three biggest names in conservative talk radio might be on the top of that list.
Report from the Washington Examiner:
The Republican National Committee, already threatening to block CNN and NBC from hosting 2016 primary debates if they air planned features on Hillary Clinton, is also looking to scrap the old model of having reporters and news personalities ask the questions at candidate forums.
Miffed that their candidates were singled out for personal questions or CNN John King’s “This or That,” when he asked candidates quirky questions like “Elvis or Johnny Cash,” GOP insiders tell Secrets that they are considering other choices, even a heavyweight panel of radio bigs Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Mark Levin.
They told Secrets that they are eager to bring in questioners who understand Republican policies and beliefs and who have the ability to get candidates to differentiate their positions on core conservative values.
The move comes as several conservatives are pressuring the party to have Limbaugh, Hannity and Levin ask the debate questions. “It makes a lot of sense. We’d get a huge viewership, they’d make a lot of news and maybe have some fun too,” said one of the advocates of the radio trio hosting debates.
This could certainly help the GOP with grassroots credibility but it could also come with some danger as well for the candidates.