"What do you do to a schoolyard bully? You punch them in the face," Joe Scarborough said Monday morning during a discussion on reforming the GOP after the 2012 election.
Scarborough was specifically referring to talk radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh and their impact on the Republican brand. The latest column by conservative columnist Bill Kristol inspired part of the discussion.
"Do you think any of these people on talk radio if they’re punched in the face by a Republican nominee, do you think they would push back? No, they’re cowards. They’re bullies. Punch them in the face, and they back off. Bullies do that," Scarborough continued.
Scarborough noted that during the 2012 campaign season, Mitt Romney missed his chance to silence Limbaugh.
"Mitt Romney…for two years he would never stand up to these bullies, so they framed his campaign and he got his tail whipped," he said.
Scarborough suggested GOP nominees should push back on Limbaugh and other conservative talk radio hosts and bloggers or the GOP will follow what he called a "pathway to a permanent minority."
"Who are they to say anything about what the future of this party and of this movement is? They’re making tens of millions of dollars…they are destroying the GOP every day," said Scarborough.