Ann Coulter reacts to how GOP primary race is shaping up for 2016

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How will the 2016 election be different from 2012?

Ann Coulter provides insight on 'Hannity'

This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," April 6, 2015. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

DAVID WEBB, GUEST HOST: It is battle for the White House as anticipation builds and more Republican candidates throw their hat into the ring. Many are wondering how this presidential election will be different from the past years.

But no matter which Republicans run, my next guest says liberals -- get that, liberals -- should not be able to moderate any of the primary debates. Come on, Ann Coulter, the author, columnist, and liberals, really, shouldn't be allowed to moderate?  Shouldn't we go into the fire?

ANN COULTER, AUTHOR AND COLUMNIST: I didn't know that's what we were talking about, but I'm happy to take that on.

(LAUGHTER)

COULTER: No, I mean in some cases their behavior was so egregiously bad, as with the Candy Crowley incident, that's a very important -- there are only three debates between the Republican nominee and the Democrat nominee.  In the middle of the debate the moderator not only says that Romney is wrong and Obama is right, but she's wrong and admits that after the debate.

As I've said before, I used to debate a lot. Now liberals won't debate me.  But thinking about that, I don't know what you do in that situation if you're Romney. Some conservatives have said, and I think they're wrong about this, that, oh, Romney should have been tougher, he should have said, no, hang on, Candy Crowley, you're wrong. But you remember as a New Yorker what happened to Rick Lazio when he so much as walked across the stage to hand Hillary a piece of paper. Oh, it's so mean. He's being macho. You can't if you're trying to win over independent voters and women voters, you can't be challenging a female moderator like that. That was outrageous.

WEBB: Let me throw this back at you, because this is a rough and tumble world in politics.

COULTER: Only for Republicans. It isn't rough and tumble for Democrats.

WEBB: We're tested in the fire in the primaries. And they're going to go after each other and they're going to have it out. What's really wrong with going and saying, look, if I can take you on in front of 60 million or 70 million people in a debate --

COULTER: I'll tell you, because most people aren't paying that much attention. And what they get are quick sound bites. I think 90 percent of the people watching that very important presidential debate were not still tuned in an hour after the debate when Candy Crowley admitted she was wrong.

The way liberals have been able to create narratives on all these things, on "hands up, don't shoot," in the Indiana law, one thing after another, is just hate week, hate week, hate week. And the way they can create these crazy narratives about our presidential nominee, Mitt Romney as if he's uncaring, and turning birth control into a federal issue? And how did that come about? Again, another moderator, George Stephanopoulos.

WEBB: Fair point.

COULTER: So it does make a difference. And their candidates are coddled.  There was even a "Saturday Night Live" sketch about it back when it was Obama and Hillary where Hillary would be asked name the last three rulers of Burundi, and then Obama would be asked, do you agree? Or is it your mother -- This is actually true. Obama was asked things like --

WEBB: So what would you like to see?

COULTER: -- wouldn't your parents be proud of you tonight?

WEBB: What do you want to see in the debates? How do you want to see this structured, because we're asking someone to be president of the United States.

COULTER: Couple of things.

WEBB: That is a very tough -- to say it lightly, very tough job.

COULTER: I do not think we need 78 debates among the Republican candidates.

WEBB: OK, they dropped the number of debates.

COULTER: Yes, it's now 68. I think we can drop that way down.

I think Romney totally did the right thing by withdrawing because I think we're going to run through, as we were just talking about in the break, I think we're going to run through a lot of these candidates throwing their hat in the ring. I think we'll be down to one or two, I don't know, probably by the end of the year. And I think the Republican primary voters are going to look up at whomever the last two are standing -- I have some predictions -- and say, wow.

WEBB: Let's hear them.

COULTER: We totally blew it by not running Romney again. And then Romney gets back in and, ha-ha, we win.

WEBB: Who do we have then? OK. We've got Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush, Rand Paul, Rubio's going to jump in. We expect more, Mike Huckabee, possibly Rick Santorum. What about Carly Fiorina?

COULTER: Well, a couple of things. Most importantly, please Republican primary voters do not even consider someone who's not been a governor -- maybe a senator, but at least a governor. That is just wasting everybody's time, energy, and money from -- and I've done it myself. I supported Pat Buchanan, Steve Forbes, probably some other ones. But, no, just don't even consider them. It's a waste of time. I love Ben Carson. He can't be our candidate.

WEBB: -- My mistake --

COULTER: Carly Fiorina -- no. Just get them off the list. We have to get serious about this. We have to back a candidate who's going to win. Of all the ones that you mentioned, I think the only ones I would consider at all palatable are Ted Cruz or Scott Walker.

WEBB: All right, so we get down to that point. Are we going to see a good fight against Hillary? Come on, she's the presumptive queen of the Democratic Party.

COULTER: I don't think she's going to be that tough. If we have -- the most important issue right now is whom the Republicans choose, not whom Democrats choose. She's not a likable person. She has a lot of trouble.  She was knocked out once before. You already have the left pushing forward other possibilities. You have governor what's his name, O'Malley from Maryland?

WEBB: Let's talk about their field, because their field is weak if Hillary's out.

COULTER: Their field is weak if Hillary's in. I think they're better off with somebody other than Hillary. I think they think so.

WEBB: So who is it?

COULTER: Well, there are other candidates who could run. Joe Biden, I wouldn't undersell him. Jerry Brown -- they're a youthful party. Like I say, O'Malley with the biceps on The Drudge Report every day.

WEBB: Is Warren too progressive to win?

COULTER: No. Actually, if Warren meant what she said I wouldn't mind some of her positions. But she pretends to rail against Wall Street and then sucks up to Wall Street.

WEBB: Ann Coulter, you always weigh in on the issues. So let's think about this, top issues. The economy, foreign policy, tax reform, regulatory reform, the EPA -- what sells to the base and then to the American people?

COULTER: Definitely not foreign policy. People are sick of foreign policy. We've been through two wars. It's exhausting. It's been a disaster under Obama. We would like someone to right the ship of state but we really don't have to hear about it all day. I keep thinking of the great G. K. Chesterton line, "Which do you care more about, 300,000 people die in an earthquake in India or your dog dies?" People care more about what's happening to them.

WEBB: So the economy.

COULTER: That's the economy and income inequality. That's a huge issue that Republicans have got to stop blowing off. And obviously that means immigration.

WEBB: All right, so nothing else. Those are the big ones for you?

COULTER: I mean, there are cultural issues that come up. And I think Republicans ought to stop backing down to every left wing hate campaign we have to go through week after week after week.

WEBB: All right, we'll see. The agendas, they're all out there. The politicians, they're all out there. You're going to be out there. You're going to be raising heck.

COULTER: Yes, unless it's one of these nominees looking at now, then I'll leave for the campaign season.

(LAUGHTER)

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