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August 22, 2011 05:05 AM UTC

Jon Huntsman's Appeal to Reason

  • 38 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

ABC News reports:

In an exclusive interview on “This Week,” Huntsman said “there’s a serious problem” with comments made by Perry in New Hampshire last week calling man-made global warming “a scientific theory that has not been proven and from my perspective is more and more being put into question” while claiming scientists have “manipulated data” on the issue.

“The minute that the Republican Party becomes the party — the anti-science party, we have a huge problem,” Huntsman told ABC News Senior White House correspondent Jake Tapper. “We lose a whole lot of people who would otherwise allow us to win the election in 2012.”

“When we take a position that isn’t willing to embrace evolution, when we take a position that basically runs counter to what 98 of 100 climate scientists have said … about what is causing climate change and man’s contribution to it, I think we find ourselves on the wrong side of science, and, therefore, in a losing position,” Huntsman added.

We know how most of you feel about this. But we also know how the average GOP primary voter will feel. And that sums up pretty well the gulf between the formidable presidential candidate former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman could be…and the also-ran GOP primary candidate he is.

Comments

38 thoughts on “Jon Huntsman’s Appeal to Reason

  1. That’s it- evolution and AGW?

    Next he’ll be telling us that the US Constitution doesn’t allow a religious test to hold office, does allow for direct election of US senators and tax revenue at 15% of GDP is unsustainable.

    He’s done.

  2. Everyone else is pandering to the nut cases (even Romney to an extent). And they have gotten so extreme, it is about time for the sane majority in the Republican party to take their party back.

    It’s a logical move for Huntsman. It’s his only path to a win (low odds beat zero odds). And the party will flip back to sanity sometime in the near future.

    If he does get it, he then becomes a very strong opponent to Obama as Obama will be trying to explain why he didn’t focus on job growth as we’re in the second dip of the recession.

    1. Huntsman path to victory:

      1) Neither Perry nor Bachmann flames out pre-Iowa, so the phenomenon of “three frontrunners” (w/ Romney) means the vote is badly split — 25-28% wins early primaries.

      2) Bachmann wins Iowa but Perry is a solid second, so both are viable as NH approaches.

      3) In NH’s TV/mail ads, Bachmann and Perry beat the living shit out of Romney, hoping that by making Romney lose NH, they kill his candidacy.

      4) Huntsman then wins NH with 25-28%.

      5) Perry wins SC, so he and Bachmann are both viable, but neither a runaway favorite by the time IA/NH/SC are done.

      6) With Perry and Bachmann each viable and competing for the same far right voters, they run far far to the right, mentioning creationism and school prayer and homosexuality a lot — killing their hopes in northern/moderate states.

      7) Huntsman runs the table in the northeast, some of the rust belt (MI, PA, etc.), west coast, etc.

      This is, of course, like drawing an inside straight at best. But Huntsman is a smart guy, so I’m sure he’s constructed this sort of scenario in his head.

    2. of the GOP is a nostalgic pipe dream. Just ask Boehner. Appealing to reason is absolutely the worst thing any aspiring GO(T)P presidential candidate can do.

      Dave, sometimes I picture you actually expecting to find a unicorn under your Christmas tree.  

            1. He’s well pre-tea and the landscape has completely changed. He wouldn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning a GOP primary today, even absent the love child thing.  With Lingle, you’re back to Hawaii.

              Right now,in the present climate, no moderate R will win the GO(T)P presidential primary and very few will win primaries anywhere outside a handful of blue leaning states.

              But your longing to believe in viable  moderate Rs is both touching and instructive.  Do you dream of rejoining your natural party if it would just stop being so crazy?

                1. as long as you like, Dave. Votes are votes and as long as yours help defeat today’s crazy Rs, that’s good enough for me.

                  Still, most of the views you express are pretty pure old fashioned, Main St. Republican, pre take over by hard religious right/Tea types, with your worship of the business model as the answer to pretty much everything expressed in the Ministry of Corporate Speak approved language you so favor. Excuse me for noticing.

                  1. Like my support for single payer?

                    Like my support for public school, not vouchers?

                    Like my support for real regulation of Wall St?

                    Where we do differ is I think there are a lot of places in the public sphere where it could be improved by borrowing practices from the private sector.

                    But that stems from a desire to make government more effective & efficient. I’d hate to think you view that desire as Republicanism.

  3. that is, the hell that is the Repub Party today.

    But 2016? After a good thrashing in ’12, they might look at him in a different light. So for good ol’ Jon’s sake, let’s give them a good thrashing.

  4. All the inside baseball. All the questions of whether it’ll help him or hurt him.

    Clearly Huntsman is driven to do what he feels is right and honorable – whether it’s serving as Ambassador to China under Obama or acknowledging the obvious: that evolution and global warming exist.

    I find that incredibly refreshing and wish him well. I can see why Obama was more worried about him than almost all the other Republican candidates. All the others are Tom Tancredo-type bozos.

    1. the day when the sane Republicans eventually get fed up and pissed off enough at what has happened that they begin to “take back” their party.

      I, for one, wish Huntsman all the best.  I am not optimistic, however, that history will judge him as being a man of his time (I’m afraid he may be early by at least four years).

      The obvious damage of the teabags is getting awfully hard to cover over with any of the cosmetics currently on the market.

  5. perhaps while he was busy serving as Ambassador to China in the Obama administration, that the Republican party already is the anti-science party. So he accepts the science of evolution and the science of climate change and he was willing to  work for Obama. He might not even be willing to lay down his life for the light bulb freedom of choice act, or whatever it’s called. Chances of getting anywhere near the GO(T)P presidential nomination?  Is that a serious question?  Really?

  6. Well sure he is compared to the rest of the bunch. Even if he did raise his had against ANY deal allowing $10-1 spending cuts. Really? This is reason?

    Honestly, I question Huntman’s intelligence. He could have broken out of the pack and made a name for himself. Imagine the earned media coverage, “Tonight, every Republican candidate other than Jon Huntsman stated they were against 10-1 spending cuts.”

    He missed his chance to be the Romney alternative. That won’t come again.  

    1. R primary voters are interested in somebody who would support 10-1  spending cuts to revenue raising instead of just saying no, signing no tax pledges in blood etc.  

      Wait , there is one raise Rs are for; allowing the social security tax cut that benefits middle and lower income workers to expire. That’s one sunset that’s really a tax raise the Rs are all for.

      R Rep. Hensarling of Texas ( what a surprise) says not all tax relief is created equal for getting the economy moving.  Apparently cuts for rich folks who aren’t creating any jobs is good for the economy.  More money in the hands of people who would probably spend it immediately is just a waste.

      You’d think a Rep from the state with the highest percentage of minimum wage jobs would see the advantage to more spending money in the pockets of the less affluent. They have so many of them.  

  7. http://www.rootforamerica.com/

    For real reason, read Roots rant.

    America is in shambles from sea to shining sea. Unemployment is at Great Depression levels. Real Estate is collapsing. The stock market is crumbling. Retail sales are vanishing. Consumer confidence is plummeting. Inflation is skyrocketing (on the products that matter- energy and food prices). And of course, our U.S. Triple A credit rating is gone for the first time in history.http://www.rootforamerica.com/webroot/blog/2011/08/13/obamageddon-why-the-u-s-economy-is-the-titanic-headed-for-the-iceberg/

  8. and whenever he bows out at least his candidacy meant something because he refused to sacrifice sanity at the GOP altar.  That is pretty dignified.

    As for the rest of the crew, who needs science, rational thought or even information if you have a gadsden flag.  Its like the calling card of illogical retards everywhere.

  9. He raised his hand with the other debate Bozo’s when asked if he’d reject an offer to balance the budget with 10 to 1 spending cuts versus revenue increases.  

    He seems to be a very confused and conflicted individual.

  10. Say a couple of reasonable-sounding things like “Yes, I believe the sky is mostly blue during the day” and “The scientific consensus seems to be that water is wet” in order to get the media to fawn over you as an independent, but whenever right-wing primary voters are actually watching, get right on board with the craziest of the crazy (as carmoan and baraamwe mentioned, on taxes he is far to the right of any possible compromise position with even the most conservative Democrats).

    1. Or I’d put it like this: be sane on half the issues but tow the crazy party line on the other half (the 10:1 spending/tax proposal).

      So I agree he’d say (as SXP suggests) “Yes, I believe the sky is mostly blue during the day” but on another issue he’d say “I know many scientists say water is wet but I think we should ‘teach the controversy’.”

      1. of teaching the controversy. If we can find just one scientist to cast doubt on this whole “water is wet” nonsense (and an email admitting to forged data, the mother lode!), then the desiccant industry will have a place at the table, as is their right as corporate persons with short-term revenue horizons. Throw in a reference to teleprompters and marvel yet again at the “We won, get over it” quote, and soon you’ll have people splashing sand on their faces.

  11. Did Huntsman really indicate that he would run for VP on a Bachmann ticket?

    From HuffPo

    WASHINGTON — Republican presidential hopeful Jon Huntsman says he’d be open to running as vice president if rival and tea party favorite Michele Bachmann wins the nomination.

    The former ambassador to China and ex-Utah governor says that every time he’s been asked to serve his country he’s answered “yes.” Huntsman tells CNN interviewer Piers Morgan that if asked by the Minnesota congresswoman to run as her vice president he’d “be the first person to sign up, absolutely.”

    I am not a big fan, but this indicates something other than real clear thinking.

    1. For whatever reasons, the guy just can’t get any traction with Republican voters. I think it is because every time he opens his mouth, the right-wingnuts hear a Democrat talking.

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