Bye, bye, John. We hardly got to know ye.

I think that he is campaigning for the Democratic vote… 

Did it ever occur to any of you geniuses that Huntsman is essentially running as a center-right independent — in the Republican lane?  Sure looks like this was plan all along.  Got to admit — this guy has guts.

Split the crazy vote three ways… this guy might have a shot.

He also is polling at 3% and our Democratic friends love him…  He has guts?, or is he just wasting his time?  I’ll let you decide.

Stupidity is often mistaken for guts.

Huntsman, the preferred candidate of the media judging by the amount of coverage they are giving him when he is in the low single digits, seems to have forgotten that he is trying to get REPUBLICANS to vote for him.  He might like to skip ahead to the general election, but it doesn’t work that way.

Huntsman, do us all a favor change your party status to Democrat and challenge Obama directly.

Is this liberal still running in the Republican primary?

Huntsman is counting on the fact that the GOP 2012=Democrats 1972.

He’ll stick around long enough to get some sort of attention for 2016.

Actually he’s playing the long game.
It looks almost certain that the GOP will go for Rick Perry has their candidate; dirty tactics/smears will suddenly escalate about Romney and his religion, his liberal Massachusetts background, his RomneyCare, the fact he couldn’t stop Gays being allowed to get married under his watch, so he won’t stop them has President either; leaving Perry the victor…
And, handing the General election to Obama. There’s no way a far-right candidate will win in a General- especially one who looks/sounds/acts exactly like the guy most Americans still hold responsible for the mess the country’s in.
Meaning, that sane, moderate, smart Republicans- will decide that the anti-elite, anti-intellectual, anti-compromise, anti-moderate experiment was bunk and they need to return to being the party they once were, before the radical religious and tea party brigades took over.
Hence, making Huntsman the shoo-in for 2016.

if you were not a coward, your opinion might have some credibility :)

Coward? explain …

Major flaw with your whole little senario there….  as in Obama will lose to Perry. 

That could get him elected…  as he is more appealing to the democrats than he is with conservatives, Obama is losing much support in his party and Huntsman may do well in a primary against the president.

I see that you are back my little deviant friend…  How’s prison treating you anyway?

I understand the language barrier since Huntsman doesn’t speak dog whistle but really. 

What part of “  he would “call on all Americans,” not just the wealthiest among us, to help repair our struggling economy, as your misleading headline states.

Sharpo is just some guy serving a 25yr sentence for raping his best friends grandmother, he is using a prison computer…  I would not pay much attention to his posts.

I always have to wonder about posters who make it personal, coward indeed – considering I voiced pretty much the consensus of many posters here I guess we are all cowards. I have never read anything he/she has posted, clearly I have not missed much.

Ha, you are seriously insane or politically naive if you think Perry could beat Obama (or a anybody for that matter) in a General Election (not a Tea party influenced election, but one were the majority of people will be sane).
You really think a carbon copy of Nixon would have been victorious in the first non-Nixon election. That’s Perry; a carbon copy (some would sa, worse copy) of the guy the GOP has tried to (purposefully) whitewash from it’s history and American’s memories (to no avail).

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Man, not even RONALD REAGAN could run in modern times without being called a DEMOCRAT

HILARIOUS

shows how FAR GONE the Tea Party traitors have taken the right wing.

Too bad the moderates aren’t paying attention to the primaries; they’re gonna end up with a strident LOSER if they don’t pay attention to where the CRAZIES are taking the party

SURE IS HILARIOUS THOUGH

BAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I think that because of your political bias your admiration of a Law Professor you underestimate the lack of confidence that President Obama inspires in America.

I’ll make Huntsman a deal.

I will support higher taxes…

as soon as he gets a brain transplant…from a gnat.

And that would increase his IQ by a good 200%.

I would not generally make such a comment about another poster but I have seen his posts and he is not only vulgar but particularly insulting to women…  His reply to you was rather tame for him. 

As much as I hope Obama wins, there’s plenty of instances where I can see him losing in a General Election. It just seems more and more that the GOP base will not provide those instances.
The only viable candidates that could beat Obama are not looking likely GOP candidates- Pawlenty (quit because of a lack of traction), Huntsman (too liberal according to you) and Romney (if Huntsman’s liberal, wait for the attack ads they’ll have on this guy) 
So, while ‘your politcial bias’ means there’s nothing positive you can see in Obama, I would advise you that a sitting President is always a hard opponent. Add that to one who’ll have all the tools of a well-funded campaign, a base re-energised (every living left/lefto’centre person would come out for Obama against Perry, a lot more then they’d do so if it’s Romney/Huntsman) and the American public in general would be reminded of where the ‘lack of confidence’ in the economy originated from, because Perry would be the breathing replica version.

The fact that so many Dems seem to really like Huntsman is reason enough not to vote for him.

The fact that so many Dems seem to really like Huntsman is reason enough not to vote for him.

This guy’s got about 1% of the poll numbers now.  Yet, he’s pulling much larger share of liberal media attention than his poll numbers should dictate.  Why?  Because he’s spewing the kind of crap that liberals and their media think a Republican SHOULD say.  This guy worked for 0bama and thinks and sounds more like a Dimocrat than even a rino Republican. 

This guy is setting himself up to run as an independent or 3rd party candidate in order to pull a Ross Perot and siphon enough rino and independent votes to get 0blamey back into office without winning the popular vote. 

Dan…

You make good and honest points, I just don’t think that Obama is equipped to handle the Economy, we are getting our clocks cleaned in the Global economy and he has done nothing to grease the gears of commerice…  He seems to think that government has to have some big spending plan to put the country back to work but fails to address big issues that are keeping investors from taking further risks in this economy… 

Regardless of your position on the things that I am going to say, if rather than argue the necessity of these things you take a broader look and consider capital investment, my question would be where do you put your capital, productively in this country or in overseas markets?

Healthcare….  Why did so many companies and even an entire state need waviers?  – costs

Regulations  -  Any progressive agenda items not passed through congress are being regulated and business can not yet tally the costs of these regulations.
 
Taxes -  Dems keep going on about all the evil corporations that they want to tax instead of talking about tax reform that would make taxes more fair across board while lowering rates making America a more competitive place to invest your money.

Energy -  We refuse to develop our own energy and an outrageous cost to our economy, it makes no sense as we are investing in the development of the same energy sources in other countries..
 
Unions – NLRB on South Carolina and also the new posting requirements…  why would a business person feel confident investing his money here?  He can invest in emerging markets and do quite well…

I don’t see the president taking a sincere approach to any of these problems, when he comes back from vacation he will give these things lip service as he has begun to address some of these things in a very shallow manner… but it is my opinion that he will make little progress.

I think that as much as people wish the president well, they will not want to see another 4 years of his policies. 

Because he had the nerve to suggest that shared sacrifice meant the wealthy as well?

I appreciate the fact that he’s out there every day talking sense as a Republican , rather than spouting T Party talking points and pandering. even if he doesn’t have a chance I hope some moderate Republicans will take heed and begin to speak up

I gladly voted for Obama last election but I do think he’s made some mistakes in leadership. I had originally hoped Hillary would win because I saw her and Bill as being able to fight dirty when it was necessary. That would have given Obama eight years to learn more about DC. before he ran.
Still, one thing his presidency has convinced me of is that the issue isn’t politics or ideology as much as it is corruption and the buying of influence in DC. It occurs to me that even a smart well intentioned president may have little real power and influence in modern , bought and paid for, DC. It will IMO take a concerted effort by the public to clean that corruption up. We need to stop looking at political parties as if they were our favorite sports teams. I keep advocating for people to vote in as many real independents as possible next year, and insist on some drastic campaign finance. I recently read about Change Congress which seems genuine and non partisan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Change_Congress

I’d consider voting for Huntsman because he does seem genuine in his desire to serve the country and find real world solutions to problems.

Look at this man’s record of service and tell me he’s stupid. Nonsense.

I was going to make a wise ass remark about you knowing because you’re a couple of cells down from him, but I saw your post about rarely making personal comments so……….I won’t. ;-}

He also worked for Reagan , Bush Sr and Jr. and based on his work has a better understanding of China than any other candidate including Obama.

I hope he does run as an independent , but I wish even more that enough Republicans would wise up and stop catering to the fringe enough to support him.

I remember a lot of people blamed Nader for Bush getting elected but it’s a free country,…sorta,  for a while longer.

Not only that but other issues as well…  You and I have spoken on other occassions and maybe you might remember that I do see need for tax reform, but simply suggesting to tax the rich does not work for me.  It must be much more comprehensive and achive goals other than just added revenues to the government.  I don’t like his overly simplified statements regarding Global Warming either…  without getting into a debate about Global Warming there is no dening that China is all over the globe contracting and exploring for fossil fuels…  are we going to sit back and actually choke our economy while China beats us to our future energy sources…  where is his energy policy?  There are specific things that have happened under president Obama that most conservatives want to see challanged, why is he not speaking directly to those issues instead of making broad statements about Obama’s failure in the economy?   Other of his statements are too contrite for me, I too believe in evolution, but the manner in which Huntsman makes his statements seem more geared for a liberal audience than one that shares my concerns.  I had hopes for him as I and many conservatives are not energized by the field as they all bring baggage…

His family history is remarkable, they have truely been of service to both their community and to other’s..  His father is a billionaire who has on more than one occassion come close to bankruptcy funding their charity hospitals…  I did not start out wanting to see him fail.

Some of you folks ought to learn more about stupid ole RINO Jon Huntsman

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Huntsman,_Jr.

Huntsman was elected Governor of Utah in April, 2004 and won
re-election in 2008 with nearly 78% of the vote. During his tenure,
Huntsman cut taxes by more than $400 million—the largest tax cut in the
state’s history—while still maintaining a budget surplus and Utah was
named the “Best Managed State in America” by Pew Research Center. While governor, he also served as chairman of the Western Governors Association and as a member of the Executive Committee of the National Governors Association. On August 11, 2009, he resigned as governor to accept an appointment as the United States Ambassador to China.

Huntsman has received six honorary doctorate degrees, and in 2007 he was awarded the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award by the BSA. He is a founding director of the Pacific Council on International Policy and has served on the boards of the Brookings Institution Asia Policy Board, the Asia Society in New York, and the National Bureau of Asian Research. Huntsman is married to Mary Kaye Huntsman, and they are the parents of seven children, including two adopted girls—one from China and the other from India.

What’s that you say? Cut taxes and still had a surplus. Best manged State in America??
Aw he still sucks because he dared to serve his country under Obama.

I agree. 

I really don’t get how Jon Huntsman, Jr. is related to his father- he seems so “pissy,” not at all like his dad. 

Someone needs to explain to Huntsman that he meant to throw his hat in the ring for the DEMOCRAT nomination. He seems confused.

Nice post…  maybe he will come to understand that he is currently in a primary race and begin to educate voters on his conservative values.  Obama is a weak president…  Huntsman does not have to seek out the Democratic or even independent voters right now…  he has to get through the primaries if he wants to be president.

Exactly. Some of Huntsman’s recent comments seem more intended to alienate the very people he needs, than to gather them to his side. I realize he needs to say SOMETHING to get people to notice him since he’s barely registering in the poles, but I’m not sure this is the right way.

Yeah Evan, because a man who served in the Reagan White House as Huntsman did, who served twice as our Ambassador under President George Bush and President Obama, not to mention successfully helm the Governorship of Utah, doesn’t deserve our consideration.

Let’s just reward the attention-hungry Sarah Palin who’s only popular because she says what the people want to hear. Like pouring poison in their year while they’re sleeping.

that pretty much proved you’re not capable of real serious reasoning. You’re doing the opposite of something that the other side is doing? So if the other side decides to stay on the bridge, would you jump off of it just to spite them?

 I think he’s handled as well as anyone faced with the hurdles he has, could.
Healthcare- The final plan was by no means perfect, by the situation before was even worse. The main problem to me seemed that for any bill to pass in our system , it’ll get ate and slobbered up by every Tom, Dick and Harry, who’ll attach their own little bits to it (sometimes just out of spite) meaning that all legislation  results in pleasing nobody by the end.
 
Any particular regulations?  Because while ‘regulations’ has become as dirty a word as ‘taxation’, it seems to me a lack of or weak regulations were the main factors in some of the worst events over the last few years alone; the near collapse of our economy; the oil in our ocean; the kitchen water taps that you can light up. Yeah, over-regulation is bad, but opposition to regulation to allow companies to cut a few further curbs is even worse.
Taxes- When Dems speak about these corporations paying (sometimes) 0% corporate tax, it’s not some BS class warfare, it’s trying to bring about tax reform- because it’s loopholes in the tax codes that allows companies with billions in profits to pay less %-wise then a small business. But many Republicans, held accountable to Grover and his Pledge are opposed to even this most basic and fair of reforms because they jusge it has a tax ‘increase’.
Energy- I agree with you here. It’s perplexed me since I was a kid that we rely on the most fragile part of the world for something that is so vital to our basic living needs. This isn’t a President Obama- thing, this is an every President since Kennedy-thing. They’ve all payed lip service to alternative and domestic energy policies, knowing the time this would be a necessity would be sooner rather than later, yet they all sat idly while other countries have had the smarts to move on and develop other means of energy for themselves.
Unions, ah another right wing dirty word. The thing is many non-union jobs and industries have been sent to the other side of the world, because Unions aren’t the issue, the issue is American treats its workers better then ‘emerging’ countries- were a willingness to work for next-to-nothing, plus non-existent health and safety laws , plus non-existent human rights laws means American companies can make things cheaper and quicker. But has these ’emerging’ countries develop themselves- with rapidly growing middle-classes- so too will their workers expectations/demands.
See, obviously I think the President will sincerely pursue a pro-jobs, pro-America agenda, but the impact of this will be limited because of opposition from the other side (come on, when McConnell can get away with saying that his only political priority is basically ensuring Obama fails, then things are seriously messed up), but also because the economic hole we found ourselves in 3 years ago will take many more years to come out of it, no matter who’s President.

I don’t think so. It seems the crazies are leaving Bachmann and flocking to Perry. Voters prefer Governors over Legislators.

Ironically, Pawlenty may have made the case for Perry over Bachmann as he said during the debate that she had no real record of accomplishment in the House of Representatives.

And some analysts say Perry might cut into Romney’s support.

Why does Huntsman sound more like a progressive than the man sitting in the oval office?  I believe he’s the only one who has a real shot against Obama.

I applaud your philosophy that requires no thought nor political understanding whatsoever.  

Conservatives bash Huntsman because he doesn’t talk like them. He doesn’t attack the President’s character. Instead he says that the President is a good man but he has failed. That seems Reasonable. Even the popular former governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, said the President should not be attacked like this. As the brother of W. he should know.

Huntsman has a way conservative record in Utah, but he has the temperament of a moderate. He sounds like Reagan. But Conservatives today wouldn’t recognize Reagan if they say him today. As if he was Odysseus arriving in Ithaca dressed as a beggar.

Why do moderates and liberals like Huntsman? Because he talks like a diplomat…because he is one. You think you’re going to win over people to your side if you tell them that that they’re wrong and he’s right? No. He builds consensus and then you get them do what you want them to do. That’s a leader.

Utah has pretty good finances and it’s all thanks to Huntsman’s cutting 400 million dollars in taxes. Revenues actually increased in 2009 because it created business. Texas is one of the worst states when it comes to budget shortfalls and deficits. Why is that? Why is one-third of Texas’s budget coming from Federal Tax Dollars? Ask yourself that.

Huntsman’s record in Utah is really much more conservative than people give him credit for. But he’s a RINO to the Tea Party because he doesn’t bash Obama unfairly (most of the time) He’s not angry. He doesn’t call President Obama a socialist.

Huntsman says that Obama is a good man but he has failed. That’s not good enough for the Ann Coulters of the Republican Party.

I have tried in vain several times to convince people on the Right that Huntsman is a Republican, but people hate him because he dared to serve President Obama and believes in Science and Climate Change. That’s what kills me.

Amen, bro, Amen!

I’m sick of these Republican morons who don’t think at all. All they do is shout stupid platitudes. Did Huntsman say he supports tax hikes? NO! All he said was it’s time to end corporate welfare, which includes tax breaks to corporations that contribute to an unfair playing field. Huntsman supports a Flat Tax and even implemented something like it in Utah! But, no, he doesn’t shout “Muslim!” and “Socialist!” so he’s not a “viable” candidate.

Listen, morons, I won’t let you smear this man and lie about him. If Huntsman’s support for same-sex civil unions makes him Liberal, then Rush Hudson Limbaugh is also a Liberal!

Huntsman is the most pro-life, pro-tax cut candidate in the race, you dumb fools! He’s not a Liberal or a RINO, he is a true Conservative who doesn’t deny something so blatantly obvious as evolution.

AHHHHH!!!!

No, he’s campaigning for what used to be the Republican vote, people who say they’re opposed to all welfare, then go and support the Federal Government unfairly levelling the playing-field with subsidies. 

HUNTSMAN 2012

And people flock to Perry, whose state will see about 27 billion dollars in a budget shortfall, because while like Huntsman he cut taxes, he didn’t do it wisely.

Utah’s economy is doing pretty well and it’s thanks to Huntsman. Perry’s been governor of Texas for 11 years since George W. Bush became President and his state’s suffering, even with an oil boom.

Why are people like you so immune to facts? Huntsman’s record is the most Conservative of any candidate not named “Ron Paul”. Okay? I’m not making it up. Go research it, yourself. There’s a reason Utah was named the best state for job creation, the best managed state, and the most business-friendly state: Jon Huntsman.

Well Huntsman didn’t simply suggest we tax the rich. Neither did Obama in the debt negotiations for that matter. Tax reform, closing some loopholes, was proposed and rejected.
Of course it must be comprehensive. The first step is to agree to consider it as part of a real world solution. Who’s denying that except for those who advocate “spending cuts only”
to be brief, I wouldn’t expect any candidate to have detailed plans on energy or anything else at this point. We’ve bairly begun. I would expect Huntsman to be the most capable to come up with one , with the possible exception of Paul.  I don’t see his comments as aimed at liberals but merely aimed at reason and reality, more like republicans of the past.

Are you a Conservative, Josh? ‘Cause I’m a Conservative, but you’re one of the few people on this site to get it. Sarah Palin is taken more seriously without accomplishing much of anything, all because she throws bombs at the Democrats and Liberals. Huntsman has an incredibly strong and diverse record of diplomacy, executive experience, business experience, and he’s an intellectual. Love him or hate him, Jack Cafferty was right: Too many people (especially on our side) prefer stupid bomb-throwers, over smart, intellectual candidates like Ron Paul and Huntsman.

Yes, he would. Just because the Democrats opposed the Iraq War, that doesn’t mean people on our side have to blindly support it. Sheer stupidity and childishness on the Republican is going to give Obama four more years. And I won’t stay a Republican if they screw this up. 

But isn’t that how Obama got elected – because he wasn’t Bush? 

He’s trying to galvanize Americans as a whole, not just the hardcore Republican party voters!!! And he’s appealing to them with a broad range of policies, not stupid talking points and predictable labels like Bachmann, Perry and the others keep using. Just admit it, Jon Huntsman has depth!

What is wrong with you people?

After the election, conservative radio talk show hosts said McCain lost essentially because they didn’t attack Obama’s character. 

When you attack someone’s character you’ve already lost the argument.

To the Far Right, a diplomatic guy is not a real man. They respect power over persuasion. Brawn over brains.

Anyways, Huntsman is only considered a RINO because his diplomatic instincts show, which is why there’s really nothing negative to say about him from wherever he’s worked. The people of China love him, the Chinese like him because he gets their culture…which is really complex btw. It’s not easy. 

I’m a moderate to conservative. I think we do need shared sacrifice and you can’t say that the bottom 50% of Americans who control only 2% of our wealth need to sacrifice more than that top 2% of our nation which controls half of the wealth. It’s not feasible. Huntsman is right about asking the wealthy to sacrifice more and to do more.

Huntsman cut 400 million dollars in taxes.

Huntsman is staunchly pro-life and pro-2nd Amendment

But yeah he’s a RINO.

And you’re one of the pissiest people I’ve ever encountered on Mediaite, and that my friend is saying something.

you’re writing in vain, B W. People don’t like new information once they’ve made up their minds. It makes them feel indecisive.

so you’re saying two negatives equal a positive in politics? 

I’m wondering why Huntsman isn’t running as a Democrat. He has no business running as a Republican.

Conservatives bash Huntsman because he’s a liberal – no more, no less.

Watch this (Marco Rubio) and you’ll see why Huntsman is a liberal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BypW8Ev3lM

http://www.amconmag.com/blog/jon-huntsman-the-no-drama-conservative/
An article by a conservative about a conservative.

Yes, I’ve read about Huntsman…this doesn’t change my opinion.

What’s funny is how the liberals like him so much. That tells me that he is closer to them than people think – which means the liberals think he can be beat. The liberals hate the deeper conservatives and, therefore, that’s the direction we should take.

Remember, Modern Liberals don’t compromise so Huntsman’s compromises mean he is losing. 

How do you compromise between right and wrong?  (For you lefty’s out there, the “wrong” ones are liberals.)

BTW, we don’t want “moderates” to lead.  By definition, they do not lead, but follow.

Much of the revenue increased when the flat income tax was approved at 5% for every tax payer. Unlike California where the sliding scale starts at 1% and tops out at 11% and the jump from 10% starts at 47,000 a year to 1 million. The middle class gets slammed with that huge stretch in percentage. I would be interested to hear if Huntsman would support a universal flat tax not based on income/wealth. 

BW if he does not make it through the primary he does not make it..  The country is so polarized right now and the deficits of the last 10 years have been so dramatic, that we have seen the republican party take a far right move…  that is just how it is, the first thing that is going to be demanded of our canidates is to be to reverse the spending cycle in DC…  many people do not realize just how large of a task that is as our social programs are in much worse shape than they were just a few years ago, and with the depressed economy people are looking for the government to do more than normally expected, ie unemployment..  Couple that with the social secutiry system already being subsidized from the general fund some 15 years ahead of schedule, medicare costs rising through the roof, and the baby boomers retiring we are in deep caca.  But guess what, people like you are probably better informed on the issues than is the average voter..  They do not understand the complexity of the issues and their lives are too busy for them to learn the things that you know.  All the conservative voter is hearing is that our deficits are now 1.5 trillion where under Bush they were 0.5 and even back then they were much too large.  If nothing else the last 4 years have shown people the waste and corruption of DC.  They don’t trust Washington to be responsible with additional taxes as our political system has not produced responsible governance in many years if indeed it every did.  They are not looking for a reasonable canidate, they are looking for someone who will reverse the trends of the last three years period.  They do not want to hear about taxes until progress is made on spending.

This is the reality that Huntsman faces…  a pissed off electoriate that is not going to learn the facts, during the primaries he needs to move a little to the right, I think that many voters such as yourself, are looking for someone other than Romney, Bachmann, or Perry, just the fact that campaign donations have not really been rolling in would suggest that the voters are not thrilled. You have studied the issues and see a need for a balanced approach, but you are not going to be the republican voter that gets the next republican nominee elected.  IIf Huntsman keeps appealing to MSNBC and that cast of characters he will get no where in the primaries.  He does not have to be dishonest, he needs to be more careful in the manner he presents his argument, and he must make a stronger appeal to the right, he can’t be thinking about moderates at this time as they will not beable to help him in the primary, there are just not enough moderates out there right now in the republican party to push him through.

Absolutely not – just making a point that Obama’s record was not what he campaigned on, but rather he ran as the opposite of all things Bush. No one should rely just on media coverage, opinion pundits (yikes!) and happy skippy slogans or even at times party-line politics when it comes to voting for our President.

I saw Huntsman in an interview this morning and, line for line, everything he said about taxes was exactly what I wanted to hear. I’m still studying his record to make sure he has always been that person.
I’m still a bit concerned about him being too much of a globalist and leaning toward their notions of governance. However, today he made mention of regaining our strength as the world leader, which eased some of those concerns. Like I said, I’m still studying.

Don’t forget the Mormon church- seriously – they help pick up the tab for welfare care and low income by taking care of those in need in their church and community. At around 75% of the population, the Mormon religion plays a huge factor in the quality of life the citizens of Utah have. 
If nothing else, it is interesting to contemplate the influence and impact on the local economy.

Republicans are not as opposed to closing loopholes as you might think, there has been more talk about that on the right than there has been on the left…  the only noise on that issue that the left has been making is about corporate jets and the oil companies.  While the Republicans in the House were calling for a much flatter tax code that would allow for lower rates while addressing revenue issues. Republicans are dying for specifics or at least specific principles that will be used in addressing the issues.. 

Of course any plan will be met with opposition, as any plan that will pass muster with the republican base with be met with stiff opposition from the Democrats as their base is diametrically opposed to conservative goals, their base is looking to the Federal government to do more, while conservatives are looking for governmental contraction.  But campaign slogans are not going to get it this year, Perry’s popularity in the party is not necessarily because of what he says as much as it might be that voters see him as having a pair and he will go to Washington and fight for less spending and government contraction. 

Huntsman needs to recognize that he is in a primary and he must move to the right if he wants to have a chance in this race..  Republican voters are pissed off at the debt, pissed off at the failings of our social programs that should have been addressed years ago, pissed off at leaving our own energy in the ground while sending over $500 billion abroad much of what could stay in this economy, and pissed off that our government is seemly making the business environment worse in the country rather than improving it…

I saw your post about Change Congress, the key is that both parties have to organize much as has the Tea Party element and send their canidates to DC with a clear expectation and those canidates have to know that those who sent them there will not send them back if change does not occur.  The establishment politicans in DC will not make any of the changes that Trippy is asking for, as good as those changes may be, they directly challange the power of the Washington establishment.  You will see more Tea Party canidates willing to make such changes as they know what happenes if they let their voters down. 

Dan,

This is to your post below.

Without getting into a debate about healthcare as you and I probably disagree I will say only two things, the first being that polling suggested that America did not want the healthcare bill passed, and secondly it is very likely unconstitutional as it has failed on appeal to the Florida ruling already. 

As far as regulations go it is very hard to get into as neither you are I have the knowledge to discuss them in depth.  I address a few of your comments, the president is allowing both the interior department and the EPA to regulate what he could not pass legislatively.  The Healthcare law also is bringing added regulation not only in the healthcare industry, but also added regulation to businesses across our country.  I have seen estimates that regulations cost American business as much as $1.75 trillion with a T. The oil spill goes it was not necessarily the regulations so much as it was the lax environment around the regulatory enforcement that allowed the oil spill to occur.  BP had for the most part purchased a free pass to do whatever it pleased.  Even though they have the worst safety and performance record with spills etc. they were given all kinds of awards by environmental groups such as the sierra club and others as a responsible citizen, in their dealings with the government they were treated little differently.  If our government had been doing its job maybe there never would have been a spill. 

Corporations not paying taxes, this is a bipartisan thing, but parties have written a corrupted tax code that is outdated, and completely paid for by special interests, it is time to get rid of it and come up with something new that fits the 21st century, that is fair, creates a more competitive business environment so that we can keep jobs here, while at the same time addresses the needs of revenue enhancement.  Screw Grover Norquist…  he only gets one vote.

You mention energy not being an Obama thing, Bush tried very hard to develop energy in the US but was met with stiff opposition, Democrats are opposed to energy development if it is not green and have been for quite sometime, yet they send billions to Brazil and Mexico for exploration and extraction in the same Gulf of Mexico that they try and inhibit American companies from exploiting.  Obama himself had a great dream for his green economy he has spoken much about it, the problem is is that the technology has not yet been developed to make it even close to being competitive with fossil fuels and we can not afford to make that move as the markets will not support it without large, and I mean very large subsidies from the government.

Unions are fine except in the public sector, and we don’t need the NLRB to lean the playing field to their favor.  You must realize that Unions are buying great influence in Washington.  I saw a union leader interviewed where it was stated that Unions will spend over $1 billion in the 2012 campaign and the leader agreed with that figure.  They are again buying politicians and then sit down to negotiate contracts..  sorry there is something less than honest about that arrangement. 

As far as labor markets in foreign countries, that is even more reason to straighten out our taxing policies and regulatory policies so that we can give business the best environment that we can to be competitive in the world markets..  Our government has to control what it can so that business will remain here.  We see this happening at the state levels, we need to see more of it at the national level in the same fashion, view it as if our country is a state competing with other states for businesses to locate.

The last thing you mentioned was McConnel.  I would not pay so much attention to political talk, and at any rate if the Tea Party has its way people like McConnel will not be around much longer as they will get rid of most of the established politicians in the party.

He’s no liberal.  He’s just sane.  If we did lose the next election we’d prefer to lose it to someone sane.

We used to call them “Rockefeller Republicans.” 

George H.W. Bush was one of them. He is, like Huntsman, a good man with an outstanding record of public service, a gentleman and a family man of integrity. He was probably the most qualified president we have had, Congressman, head of the CIA, ambassador to China, Vice-President, BUT he was a lousy President, which is why Clinton beat him handily. Though he served under Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush never understood conservatism, nor did he appreciate how Reagan’s values were honed. 

Huntsman and Romney are part of the Republican elite. Good men, both, in their personal lives. Sons of wealth and privilege. Willing to sacrifice principle. Full of “noblesse oblige” and not the men this country needs today to begin to reverse the damage that the Democrat “elite” have done to our country. 

Whether Democrat or Republican “elite,” they are somewhat interchangeable and will only continue on parallel paths to remaking the United States into an image of something they discuss over dinner at the country club in Rancho Santa Fe or at their camp at the Bohemia Grove. 

It’s nice to see that someone is a moderate within the GOP circus.    

This guy is the Democrats choice for Obama to run against. We all can see why. He is not fooling any of us. He is a Liberal and liar. Don’t trust him.

“Conservatives bash Huntsman because he doesn’t talk like them.”

No, I think it’s because conservatives bash Huntsman because he doesn’t lie to them.

Conservatives are so pig-headed that they refuse to see that a chance to win with a guy who only gives them 93% of what he wants is better than losing with someone who gives them 100% of what they want.

Four hundred Americans control more wealth than 160 million others. Something is very, very wrong with this. The fact that conservatives can’t see how unhealthy this is for society — or what the long term consequences of this inequality are — shows that they’re simply not qualified to govern.

That’s hilarious. Liberals want to win like everyoneelse, but don’t claim you care about your opponent.

You guys like Huntsman because he’s “liberal lite” and there is no way he can out liberal you guys. 

Huntsman is not going any where.

What’s worse is with the liberals in office, the middle class is being destryed – not by creating more wealth for people, but by pushing more of them into poverty.  So the wealth is even MORE concentrated.  Where do you think the money to banks goes? It ends up in Wall Street because there is not enough demand in the economy and the money therefore ends up being speculated – driving up prices.

We used to be in a nice virtuous cycle, but with the liberalism, we’re in a vicisous cycle.

Regardless, Huntsman ain’t gonna get us out of it. It will take a real conservative.

No, you are just a troll.

Jon, we hardly knew ya.

You make some good points. IMO, the voters who react without considering a little more details are in danger of voting in some figurehead who will get nothing done about the corruption in DC. I have conservative Christian family members who are likely Perry supporters, but they are also on SS and don’t see the need for slash and burn spending cuts. Somebody has to have the courage to stop the pandering long enough to repeat reality often enough that it begins to sink in. I worry for the GOP when I see people getting booed for suggesting people turn off Glenn Beck, and elected officials having to apologize to Limbaugh. It’s about time more reasonable thinking people from both parties encouraged their fellow party members to stop encouraging the loudest most extreme voices and those who make their fortune with divisive alarmist rhetoric.

I’ll have to check that out when I have 23 minutes to spare. Interesting that he is honoring Reagan who IMO, has a lot of policy ideas in common with Huntsman and a cowboy hat in common with Perry. Haven’t we been looking at looking at the reality of Reagan’s policies a lot more in the past year. Raised taxes and the debt ceiling several times.

Good article. Thanks for the link. I like him even more knowing he was in a rock band.

The liberals hate the deeper conservatives and, therefore, that’s the direction we should take.

  So you should take that direction not because it’s best for the nation but simply because it’s the one you think liberals hate?  That’s telling.

actually I think Huntsman is a deeper conservative, in the sense that he’s more intelligent than pandering talking points and more honest about his views. It’s the shallow conservatives liberals tend to dislike.

Actually there is nothing in the definition of moderate that indicates an inability to lead. Moderate describes the direction they lead in.
Sure liberals want to win, because we’re concerned about the direction the country is headed in. That’s why we’d rather have an intelligent thinking right of center like Huntsman than another GWB.  

Full of “noblesse oblige” and not the men this country needs today to
begin to reverse the damage that the Democrat “elite” have done to our
country.

Here’s where you lost me.   After 8 years of GWB, I have a hard time with anyone blaming our problems on the Dems only.

You’re right; I should have included ALL “elites,” Democrat AND Republican. 

A budget shortfall that will be paid with the ‘rainy day’ fund, which contains money given to the state by the 2009 stimulus package.

Perry did cut taxes idiotically.  He cut property taxes without increasing any other tax or implementing a state income tax.

And you’re right, the state is suffering.  It ranks near dead last in terms of percentage of population with health insurance and high school graduation, while also ranking near-highest in teenage pregnancies and percentage of jobs paying minimum wage.

I think the corporate jets and oil company talking points were for the GP and the actual plan was more complex. As I understand it, with an eye to not raising he tax rate, the compromise suggestion was to raise revenue by finding loopholes to close , and maybe not subsidize Oil companies that are making record profits.
I think the meme that Dems want the government to grow and do everything is a false one. Those who make that noise are a small minority at best. Any average working person can understand the need to handle finances responsibly and the basic principle of debt vs income. It’s a matter of where and when we cut costs and , can we consider raising revenue in order to not slash funding from the most vulnerable.
I’d have a lot more respect for the Tea Party if they were also insisting as loudly that we cut military spending and perhaps end our involvement in Afghanistan.
I strongly suspect that while there are many good sincere American’s attracted to the T Party , there are also big money influences using them as a front.
Suggesting we abolish the Dept of Ed and EPA, is extremism that most people don’t support. The issue with the economic crash wasn’t too many regulations , but the regulators not doing their job as corruption spreads. 

Good article.  Thanks for putting up the link.

Well okay then.

No wonder Republicans don’t like Huntsman!! He hasn’t gotten the memo that Republicans are suppose do the wealthy’s bidding!!

You’re right, Huntsman is too intelligent!!

No, I didn’t say that.  This is what I am saying:1) Huntsman is too liberal. We’ve had “liberal” for years now and it doesn’t work;
2) I want the country to prosper – which is the oppoiste of liberalism (which wants things to be “equal”)
3) Huntsman is not going to get us there and he’ll just be like McCain
4) No matter how much liberals say they like him or that he is better than the others, their reason is they want to win, not to do what is best for the country. In other words, they think they can easily beat Huntsman because he won’t bring up the results of all of this liberalism that we suffer from.If there was no election, you liberals wouldn’t give Huntsman a second look.

That’s hilarious. Liberals want to win like everyoneelse, but don’t claim you care about your opponent.

Not sure where you get that liberals claim they don’t care about their opponent.  Certainly not from what I said because it’s just not true.  And secondly, liberals do want to win but I would not say like everyone else.  Liberals just aren’t willing to win at all costs.  I’ve never seen anything like what the right will and does do simply because we don’t have it in us.  And I’m grateful for that.

Huntsman is now officially a tool of the left and he’s too stupid to realize the fact that if he had one iota of a chance to be the GOP nominee, all his new found friends in the leftist media would be ripping him, his family and his religion to shreds.

Posts that pretend to mind read other peoples motives don’t hold much weight for me. I’ve seen your take on liberalism and I think you’re way off. 

Posts that pretend to mind read other peoples motives don’t hold much weight for me. I’ve seen your take on liberalism and I think you’re way off. 

I knew you were going to say that and you’ll probably feel the need to respond.

LOL!! I get it.   Hey! maybe there something to that mind reading after all

I get a little nervous when a Conservative starts talking sensibly and logically. Because as we all know Conservatives are never sensible or logical. What is really going on here? Is he the true definition of the term “rino”? We know there is no way in heck that the GOP will nominate anyone who believes in science and advocates for the upper echelons of the economic spectrum to share in solving the current economic situation, in this country. So something fishy is going on here.  My worst nightmare is, what if he is a “wolf in sheep’s clothing”. Campaigns as a “caring Conservative”(oxymoron). One that many Independents and even Democrats would vote for. Then once he is in office he gets in touch with his feminine side and becomes Michele Bachmann. “Nightmare on Pennsylvania Avenue”.

Smart people do sometimes say stupid things.

Insulting a huge percentage, quite probably a majority, of the voters who will determine whether or not you will get the nomination in order to curry favor with the media can only be called one thing: stupid.

People are free to consider him.  So far, about 1% of those who have considered him have expressed their support.  That should tell you something.

That’s a valid point. I guess it depends on his overall strategy. Stating that he believes in the science of evolution and Global warming is likely just an honest statement and I don’t know if I’d call it smart to pretend to believe otherwise just to pander to one group, while alienating another. The manner on which that honesty is delivered could be judged stupid or not. Funny for a diplomat huh? Still, it depends on his strategy. He may have decided , partly on principle , partly on drawing clear lines, to separate himself from the more radical candidates in hopes of attracting republicans who want to reclaim the party.
Or it may be that the media is sensationalizing his comments just for a headline. Reading one of the links about him I noticed he made a innocent moderate comment which the media referred to as Huntsman Rips Perry. That’s what those jerks tend to do and it’s on the public learn to get past that junk.