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Luke Johnson wrote:Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman (R), who ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, had harsh words for his party in an interview published Sunday in Britain's Daily Telegraph.

"The party right now is a holding company that's devoid of a soul and it will be filled up with ideas over time and leaders will take their proper place," he said.

"We can't be known as a party that's fear-based and doesn't believe in math," he added. "In the end it will come down to a party that believes in opportunity for all our people, economic competitiveness and a strong dose of libertarianism."

Huntsman, who dropped out of the Republican race after coming in second in the New Hampshire primary, has criticized the rightward tilt of the party. In a recent interview with The Huffington Post, he took issue with the obstructionist policies of the GOP, describing them as "thwart the opposition, stymie the opposition, obfuscate, be a flamethrower, go out there and destroy the system, and here we are."

"In my party, compromise cannot be seen as analogous to treason, which it has been recently," he said.

The former Utah governor, who served as the U.S. Ambassador to China under President Barack Obama, has left open the possibility of a presidential run in 2016. "Life is full of serendipity. This is a total BS way of answering it, but I never would have guessed I'd be a governor. I never would have guessed I'd go to China as ambassador. I never would have guessed I'd run for president," he told HuffPost in November.

Article from Huffington Post

Audio for the interview can be found at the Daily Telegraph.

I just read that, too. It's a shame the primary process in America weeds out moderate candidates the way it does.

The other link in the article is interesting and I hadn't seen it when it originally came out: Huntsman Nov. 2012 Interview

There's more, "What we should be doing" which is nice to see. There's also plenty of criticism for what is and what was, too.

In an interview with The Huffington Post, Huntsman laid out his vision for the Republican Party going forward. He called for neo-conservatism to be sidelined, for states' rights on issues like gay marriage to be respected, for comprehensive immigration reform to be pursued. He also said the party had to be open to compromise, including on the idea of raising marginal tax rates (as a last resort).

His sharpest words were directed not to the future of the GOP but at the not-so-distant past. Huntsman described the Republican primary process as corrosive, producing pledge-signing, cookie-cutter candidates more interested in money and publicity than policy. Recalling one particular debate, Huntsman described the sensation he felt observing his fellow White House aspirants.

"Some do it professionally. Some were entertainers," he said of the Republican presidential field. "I looked down the debate stage, and half of them were probably on Fox contracts at one point in their career. You do that. You write some books. You go out and you sell some more. You get a radio gig or a TV gig out of it or something. And it's like, you say to yourself, the barriers of entry to this game are pretty damn low."

He chuckled a bit when reminded that a pizza conglomerate, in the person of Herman Cain, had led the Iowa caucus polls at one point. "It wasn't a period where rational thinking or any kind of commitment to reality or truth or optimism necessarily prevailed," Huntsman said. "It was how can you eviscerate the opposition."

Hunstman is a RINO which puts him far closer to the actual soulless, the Left, than the average GOPer.

MeDotOrg wrote:

Luke Johnson wrote:Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman (R), who ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, had harsh words for his party in an interview published Sunday in Britain's Daily Telegraph.

"The party right now is a holding company that's devoid of a soul and it will be filled up with ideas over time and leaders will take their proper place," he said.

"We can't be known as a party that's fear-based and doesn't believe in math," he added. "In the end it will come down to a party that believes in opportunity for all our people, economic competitiveness and a strong dose of libertarianism."

Huntsman, who dropped out of the Republican race after coming in second in the New Hampshire primary, has criticized the rightward tilt of the party. In a recent interview with The Huffington Post, he took issue with the obstructionist policies of the GOP, describing them as "thwart the opposition, stymie the opposition, obfuscate, be a flamethrower, go out there and destroy the system, and here we are."

"In my party, compromise cannot be seen as analogous to treason, which it has been recently," he said.

The former Utah governor, who served as the U.S. Ambassador to China under President Barack Obama, has left open the possibility of a presidential run in 2016. "Life is full of serendipity. This is a total BS way of answering it, but I never would have guessed I'd be a governor. I never would have guessed I'd go to China as ambassador. I never would have guessed I'd run for president," he told HuffPost in November.

Article from Huffington Post

Audio for the interview can be found at the Daily Telegraph.

Did Huntsman only now discover that the Republican party is conservative? Why did he run to become the nominee of this awful party?

It appears to me that the Democrats don't believe in math. Spending at 24% of GNP when taxes generally only raise 19% of GNP creates a problem. Only Republicans are willing to face this fact and try to cut the reckless spending.

bcspace wrote:Hunstman is a RINO which puts him far closer to the actual soulless, the Left, than the average GOPer.

I started thinking about the expression RINO: Republican in name only. Remember Lee Atwater? He was the Karl Rove of his day, the GOP's golden boy political operative, who helped orchestrate the Reagan and Bush victories of the 1980's. Atwater said “Our party is a big tent. We can house many views on many issues. Abortion is no exception.”

Today, Atwater would be considered by many a RINO.

Thinking about Atwater made me think about George H.W. Bush. If you want to trace the arc of the Republican Party's rightward march, look at three generations of Bush men: Prescott, George H.W. and Dubya.

Prescott Bush was active in the American Birth Control League, was a treasurer for Planned Parenthood, and served as Chairman of the Connecticut branch of the United Negro College Fund. As Senator he voted for the censure of Senator Joe McCarthy and the establishment of the Peace Corps.

What chance would he have of surviving the GOP primary process today?

After graduating from Yale, George H.W. Bush moved to West Texas, His political career was caught between Eastern establishment and the more Conservative movement to the south and west of the Post civil rights movement GOP. He was still an internationalist who believed in building consensus, He had the cajones to quit the NRA after they called ATF agents 'jack-booted thugs'.

Although more conservative than his father, H.W. could not escape a challenge from the rising right, led by Pat Buchanan and a proto-Tea Party movement in 1992. His campaign was fueled by Bush's famous 'read my lips' promise of no new taxes. (By the way, the last Republican Senator to vote for a tax hike was Pete Domenici in 1994).

His son was in charge of the '92 GOP outreach to faith (read primarily Christian) groups. Dubya was convinced that the lack of enthusiasm of the Christian Right was a significant factor in his father's defeat. He adjusted his political compass accordingly.

But not all of Dubya's policies would find favor in today's GOP. Although his foreign policy was by the most part captured by the Neocons, George the Younger made a conscientious effort to reach out to Hispanic voters.

Lee Atwater's Big Tent has become a revival tent. It is become smaller, shriller and whiter, a place where only true believers are saved. Moderates are accused of being Jack Mormons, blasphemers and RINOS. They are purged and kicked to the curb.

MeDotOrg wrote:

bcspace wrote:Hunstman is a RINO which puts him far closer to the actual soulless, the Left, than the average GOPer.

I started thinking about the expression RINO: Republican in name only. Remember Lee Atwater? He was the Karl Rove of his day, the GOP's golden boy political operative, who helped orchestrate the Reagan and Bush victories of the 1980's. Atwater said “Our party is a big tent. We can house many views on many issues. Abortion is no exception.”

Today, Atwater would be considered by many a RINO.

Thinking about Atwater made me think about George H.W. Bush. If you want to trace the arc of the Republican Party's rightward march, look at three generations of Bush men: Prescott, George H.W. and Dubya.

Prescott Bush was active in the American Birth Control League, was a treasurer for Planned Parenthood, and served as Chairman of the Connecticut branch of the United Negro College Fund. As Senator he voted for the censure of Senator Joe McCarthy and the establishment of the Peace Corps.

What chance would he have of surviving the GOP primary process today?

After graduating from Yale, George H.W. Bush moved to West Texas, His political career was caught between Eastern establishment and the more Conservative movement to the south and west of the Post civil rights movement GOP. He was still an internationalist who believed in building consensus, He had the cajones to quit the NRA after they called ATF agents 'jack-booted thugs'.

Although more conservative than his father, H.W. could not escape a challenge from the rising right, led by Pat Buchanan and a proto-Tea Party movement in 1992. His campaign was fueled by Bush's famous 'read my lips' promise of no new taxes. (By the way, the last Republican Senator to vote for a tax hike was Pete Domenici in 1994).

His son was in charge of the '92 GOP outreach to faith (read primarily Christian) groups. Dubya was convinced that the lack of enthusiasm of the Christian Right was a significant factor in his father's defeat. He adjusted his political compass accordingly.

But not all of Dubya's policies would find favor in today's GOP. Although his foreign policy was by the most part captured by the Neocons, George the Younger made a conscientious effort to reach out to Hispanic voters.

Lee Atwater's Big Tent has become a revival tent. It is become smaller, shriller and whiter, a place where only true believers are saved. Moderates are accused of being Jack Mormons, blasphemers and RINOS. They are purged and kicked to the curb.

What pro-life Democrat would be allowed to speak at the Democratic Convention today much less have a legitimate chance of winning the Democratic nomination for president.

"Moderate" Republicans also have a bad habit of selling out their supporters. In 2004, Arlen Specter had a difficult primary race against Pat Toomey. The Republican establishment including President Bush saved him. He rewarded them by jumping to the Democrats in 2009.

richardMdBorn wrote:What pro-life Democrat would be allowed to speak at the Democratic Convention today much less have a legitimate chance of winning the Democratic nomination for president.

You can be pro-life personally and not be pro-life politically, and I do believe that one of the 'nuns on the bus' spoke at the DNC. I believe she was pro-life.

But you make a valid point. The Democratic Party has also become less diversified in its political spectrum. But even so, I don't think there is a Democratic corollary to the Tea Party that would fight the nomination of Blue Dog Democrats.

Since the 1960's, Democrats have lost the leavening influence of Southern Democrats, and Republicans have lost the leavening influence of moderate and (gasp!) liberal Northeastern Republicans. Because there is less necessity to compromise within their own party, both sides are forgetting how its done with the opposition.

But I think there was a lot more compromising under Tip O'Neill with Ronald Reagan than there has been with Gingrich under Clinton or John Boehner under Obama . Government shutdowns and refusing to raise the deficit ceiling for money that has already been allocated seems to be the purvue of the Republican party.

bcspace wrote:Hunstman is a RINO which puts him far closer to the actual soulless, the Left, than the average GOPer.

Bc, would you say that the average GOPer has the best soul money can buy?

I love Governor Jon Huntsman!! I hope that he runs for President in 2016. If he does, I will vote for him if I am still alive then.

MeDotOrg wrote:

richardMdBorn wrote:What pro-life Democrat would be allowed to speak at the Democratic Convention today much less have a legitimate chance of winning the Democratic nomination for president.

You can be pro-life personally and not be pro-life politically, and I do believe that one of the 'nuns on the bus' spoke at the DNC. I believe she was pro-life.

Yes, you can pro-life and be a Democratic politician as long as you don't mean it. The #2 Democratic senator Dick Durbin is an example of a formerly pro-life Democrat who gave it up when he got ambitious for higher office.

But you make a valid point. The Democratic Party has also become less diversified in its political spectrum. But even so, I don't think there is a Democratic corollary to the Tea Party that would fight the nomination of Blue Dog Democrats.

Since the 1960's, Democrats have lost the leavening influence of Southern Democrats, and Republicans have lost the leavening influence of moderate and (gasp!) liberal Northeastern Republicans. Because there is less necessity to compromise within their own party, both sides are forgetting how its done with the opposition.

But I think there was a lot more compromising under Tip O'Neill with Ronald Reagan than there has been with Gingrich under Clinton or John Boehner under Obama . Government shutdowns and refusing to raise the deficit ceiling for money that has already been allocated seems to be the purvue of the Republican party.

Perhaps if some Democrats got interested in cutting the budget there would be a risk of their shutting down the government. Obama stated in 2008, "I want to go through the budget line by line, eliminate programs that don't work, and make programs that do work cost less." We're still waiting for that promise to be fulfilled.