Maybe I am just paranoid, but I see signs of danger ahead for the next GOP presidential debate, to be telecast on CNBC. Maybe the actual debate itself, with luminaries such as Lawrence Kudlow, will be fine. But what are we to make of this graphic, produced by CNBC itself (hat tip: Legal Insurrection):

Worst. Graphic. Ever.

And then there is the choice of location. Why on earth stage a GOP debate in a redoubt of the left like Boulder, Colorado? Berkeley wasn’t available? Even the New York Times raised its eyebrows:

 This mountainside city of yoga studios, tech start-ups, and Buddhist-inflected cafes and bookstores, people are likelier to spot a wandering black bear than an elected Republican.

But for one night this month, Boulder will briefly and improbably swing into the center of the conservative orbit as presidential candidates and hundreds of journalists gather Oct. 28 at the University of Colorado’s campus here for the third Republican primary debate. Residents and students are preparing an oh-so-Boulder welcome wagon.

There will be plenty of stories for the media to pick up and cast the GOP as out of touch and controversial:

Immigrant groups and anti-fracking activists are organizing a march that they hope will draw thousands of people. Labor unions will rally in a “free speech zone.” College students who could not get one of the scarce tickets into the debate arena are writing indignant letters and waging protests for a louder voice at the event.

There will be original artwork and maybe an installation on white privilege, organizers said. A “rehumanizing zone” is being planned if people want to share personal stories of trauma or discrimination. There will even be protest clowns with wigs and red noses to offer a “peaceful, out of the box, Boulder-style reception.”

I simply do not understand why the Republican National Committee would agree to a set-up like this.

What am I missing?