If you are a Democratic media strategist, what is your biggest problem?

Hillary. She’s a horrible candidate and you’re stuck with her.

You know that your electorate -- and the Republican electorate -- are truly angry at your respective establishments. That’s really not good.

You know you can count on a Republican establishment that still believes electability myth you’ve been peddling for years. They are going to obligingly serve up “electable” establishment candidates that won’t engage their base. That’s helpful, but truthfully, almost any of them can beat Hillary.

A couple of the Republican outsider candidates would be frighteningly effective against Hillary in the general. That’s really, really bad.

It’s a tough situation, and by 2015 you’re drinking a lot. You can’t come up with a way to win.

Suddenly, there is hope. Donald Trump announces on June 16.

Hallelujah, you know how to handle this, you’ve done this before! You have a strategy.

You and our buddies in the media engage the strategy, and within days, start reporting on it as if you are innocent bystanders swept up in the phenomenon you created.

It’s all about Trump. Donald Trump generates gold for Republican bashing every time he opens his mouth. But for once, you don’t pounce on him. Instead, you celebrate him as some kind of never-before-seen media genius, shake your head in amazement, and devote a huge percentage of your airtime to all things Trump.

By mid-July, the establishment candidates start negotiating with you for any crumb of airtime you will give them. They use it to bash other establishment candidates. 

The candidates have already figured out the game. If they bash Trump, you will report it, give Trump all the airtime in response, then your talking heads will agree how futile it’s all going to be, because Trump is a phenomenon. The establishment Republicans are furious with you, but they know they won’t do anything about it because they need the crumbs of airtime you’ll give to keep their donors happy.

You and your compadres execute this strategy for months. People are so caught up in your manufactured Trump phenomenon, they miss the obvious.

Does Trump really have some kind of magic trumpwhammy that that forces the Democratic media put him on all day, every day? Does the trumpwhammy force the Democratic media to shape every interview with every candidate to be about Trump rather than issues? Does the trumpwhammy force every one of your talking heads to endlessly analyze the world as it relates to Trump?

Of course not. 

All that is your comrades in the Democratic media’s choice. You delight in the knowledge that almost nobody has figured it out.

Trump is not breaking all the old rules of the media -- you are.

When asked about why Trump is getting so much airtime, you and your comrades, just a little bit sheepishly, blame each other and the suits at the network who crave ratings. People buy it. They forget that you don’t care as as much about ratings as advancing the Democratic agenda.

Your strategy is beautiful in its simplicity. Help the Republican’s nominate a candidate that is a walking demonstration of every negative stereotype of Republicans you’ve ever constructed, and push establishment candidates to to attack the conservative outsiders.

Iowa gave you some pause, but not much. You made the expected third place finisher, who finished third as expected, the phenomenon for a week. Gosh, it’s fun leading people around by the nose. You’ll keep on this strategy and love it all through to the Republican convention.

Approximately 0.6 seconds after Trump wins the nomination in July, you get to the really fun part. You get to turn Donald Trump into maniac real estate salesman who used to have a reality TV show. 

It’s really easy because Donald Trump is a maniac real estate salesman who used to have a reality TV show. You get to pound on that all day, every day for almost four months.  

Maybe the best part is that Trump has no idea how to campaign against an antagonistic media. He’s never had to. The only thing he’s shown that he knows to do is to go ballistic, whine, or flounce out of the picture. That’s great! More fodder for the you. The videos are really awesome.

During the general, you delight in the demoralization of the the conservative Republican base when they realize that you have, unbelievably, built a coalition that managed to nominate a candidate that embarrasses them. Again.

Republican enthusiasm wanes and Republican turnout drops. Democrat turnout increases, despite Hillary, because you can make the campaign about stopping Trump. He keeps on making it easy. He can’t seem to help himself.

You win. It’s really close, but you pull it off.

Democrat media strategist, you are a master of the universe.

Do you think this is speculative? Consider the incredible Trump rescue mission mounted by the media when Trump skipped the Iowa debate. Trump was hailed as a master of media -- by not showing up. Somehow, that demonstrated his genius and made the focus of the debate the man who wasn’t there. 

Trump just bailed. The media claimed the mastery.

Candidates, do you want wrest control of this runaway strategy from the Democrat media?

Take control of the remaining debates.

Candidates, there are any number of television and Internet media outlets that will jump at the chance to run a real debate. The RNC will not be happy, but, frankly, so what? 

Your audience would be larger and your chance to get your message out is better if you change the game. Changing the game will demonstrate to the Republican electorate that you are not a tool of the establishment or the media.

The first of you to broach this idea publicly gains advantage.

Offer the first three debates to Hillsdale College, the Heritage Foundation, and the Federalist Society.

Use shortened Lincoln-Douglas debate rules. (The format and moderators you have been using are designed to damage you.)

Use moderators who will ask straight questions and simply manage the debate. All three of the institutions can get those people, no problem.

Agree to the the questions ahead of time. Give sufficient time for rebuttals. Turn off the mic for candidates who are not speaking. (Talking over each other drives your potential voters nuts.)

Give yourselves a real chance to make your case. Show the voters that you can handle the kind of tough questions you’ll get as president. Show the voters that you can rebut the kind of false accusations you’ll deal with in a White House press conference.

Gentlemen, every one of you says that you are not a tool of the Establishment and that you are not afraid to speak truth to the people. 

You have the chance to prove it. Will you take that chance? Or will you, once again, let the Democratic media dictate the Republican candidate?