Larry Kudlow, fond of pushing his conservative talking points, ran into a couple of CEOs unwilling to go along. “Why aren’t businesses investing?” he asked. Was it because of uncertainty? Over-regulation? Obamacare?

No, said John Faraci and Don Peebles. The problem is demand. First and above all else, companies need customers.

It’s good to see some pushback like this at CNBC. Unless, of course, you’re Larry Kudlow.