How Republicans Lie During Debates and Get Away With It

It's easy to lie when you've rehearsed the lie, time and time again. It's even easier to lie when you silence those who hold the truth.

It came as little surprise that during last night's debate, the Republican presidential candidates stretched the truth.

Trump said his campaign is 100 percent self-funded. It is not. Rubio said his tax plan is not more generous to the top 1 percent than the middle class. It is.

But these are lies you expect to hear. These are politically expedient lies.

What surprised me last night, was not the number of lies, but the frequency with which the candidates attacked the mainstream media.

The CNBC moderators, of course, bore the brunt of the candidates' criticism. At times though, the crowd was roaring, as Ted Cruz, Chris Christie and Ben Carson joined forces to disparage the news media at large.

Cruz accused the CNBC moderators of asking the wrong questions. Christie called them rude. And Carson claimed he was the victim of the media's "total propaganda."

These are the same old tricks we've seen in the past. The media has historically been a go-to target for Republicans, but this third debate was uniquely anti-news.

It must be easy to sleep after a debate, knowing that your supporters won't fact-check you, because you've thoroughly convinced them that it's the fact-checkers who lie.