Political Ruminations

There's a Rumor Going Round.....

A reader emailed me a little while ago, asking me if I’d heard the rumor that Harry Reid’s source for his statement that Mitt Romney paid no taxes for ten years is none other than Jon Huntsman. Yeah, that Huntsman. The same Jon Huntsman who called Romney “dishonest” during the Republican primary campaign,  and whose endorsement of Mitt Romney, fellow Republican and fellow Mormon, was less than enthusiastic. It makes you wonder….

Well, in any case, I had not heard it, but it makes sense.  And here’s a little tidbit that could give one even more pause.

Romney really needs to cough up those tax returns, and may the Sky Fairy rain blessings on Harry Reid for taking pointe on this issue, and keeping on it even as Republicans & a few misguided Democrats rain hellfire on him.

UPDATE: On Twitter, @Fried_Kimchi pointed out that neither John McCain (who has seen Romney's past tax returns), nor Jon Huntsman, is calling Harry Reid a 'liar', nor telling him to stop making the claim that Romney paid zero taxes for 10 years.

Morning Quote: Jon Huntsman Flip Flops on the Science Behind Climate Change

Jon Huntsman in May 2011, tells TIME magazine that he believes in the science of climate change.

“If 90 percent of the oncological community said something was causing cancer we’d listen to them. I respect science and the professionals behind the science so I tend to think it’s better left to the science community - though we can debate what that means for the energy and transportation sectors.”

Jon Huntsman in August 2011, with a tweet that became an internet sensation when he stepped up as the seemingly “reasonable” version of a Republican presidential candidate.

“To be clear. I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy. ”

Jon Huntsman in December 2011 (yesterday), claiming to question the validity of the science, citing a many times debunked conspiracy theory favored by climate change deniers. And by the way, the university was not in Scotland.

“The scientific community owes us more about… what might lie beneath all of this. [T]here is — there are questions about the validity of the science, evidenced by one university over in Scotland recently. I think the onus is on the scientific community to provide more in the way of information, to help clarify the situation.”

Finally, Huntsman was  never really the “reasonable Republican” re climate change despite Liberal wishful thinking:

Huntsman has said from the very beginning of his campaign that he doesn’t think the government should do anything about climate change and would not support spending taxpayer dollars on mitigating the effects of climate shift.

Morning Quote: Jon Huntsman

“You can’t be a perfectly lubricated weather vane on the important issues of the day.”

- Jon Huntsman on Mitt Romney

“Oftentimes you can spike for the moment, you're the flavor of the week or the flavor of the month.”

- Jon Huntsman on Herman Cain

Source

Morning Quote: Jon Huntsman

During an appearance on The View, presidential candidate, Jon Huntsman (R), voiced some criticism of Sarah Palin for dragging out the announcement of her decision not run for the presidency:

“There's too much drama and theater in politics. I mean come on. You string people along. Everybody who has anything to do with politics knew she wasn't going to get in the race. She has a profit proposition, she's got a business. She makes money doing what she's doing.”

Quote of the Day

The very conservative Washington Post columnist, Charles Krauthammer, on Jon Huntsman:

“Huntsman is a liberal's idea of what a Republican ought to be.”

Well, okay. Is there something “liberal” about wanting any candidate for high office to have some common sense and a belief in science?

Quote of the Day

Republican presidential hopeful, Jon Huntsman, riffing on his GOP rivals (Gov. Rick Perry in particular) on global warming and evolution:

“The minute that the Republican Party becomes the party -- the anti-science party, we have a huge problem.  We lose a whole lot of people who would otherwise allow us to win the election in 2012.”

Right.

The Republican Party crossed that line, and is the anti-science party. That fact has already become universally known.

Morning Quote: Jon Huntsman

Republican presidential hopeful, Jon Huntsman, caused an internet sensation on Friday with this tweet:

“To be clear. I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy.”

How far out of line are most of the Republican candidates when simply speaking common sense on matters of science can cause a massive explosion on a social network? Something to think about. 

Morning Quote: Huntsman Campaign Aide John Weaver

Republican Presidential Hopeful Jon Huntsman's campaign aide, John Weaver:

“The American people are looking for someone who lives in reality and is a truth teller because that’s the only way that the significant problems this country faces can be solved. It appears that the only science that Mitt Romney believes in is the science of polling, and that science clearly was not a mandatory course for Governor Perry.”

Morning Quote: Jon Huntsman

I used to have some respect for Jon Huntsman (R-UT), seeing as how he seemed to be the least stupid of the current crop of Republican morons, but once he announced his campaign, and began promoting the lies so typical of modern Republicans, that respect quickly vanished.

I was therefore surprised to read that Huntsman had made negative comments about corporations that don’t pay their taxes. In Miami today, Huntsman called those corporations out:

“It's criminal that you've got some corporations not paying taxes. Like GE, for instance. That's got to come to an end.”

It’s truly pathetic that one little bit of sanity from a Republican is so unusual that it grabs headlines, but there it is.

Morning Quote: Jon Huntsman

Republican presidential hopeful, Jon Huntsman, when asked about Romney’s latest flip flop:

“I try to distance myself from the unfurling drama of different campaigns.”

Rick Perry to Run for GOP Presidential Nomination

Currently unofficial, the word is that Perry will announce in August.

Republican campaign veteran tells us that Texas Governor Rick Perry has decided to run for President, though the official word from Team Perry is still a definite maybe.

Our normally reliable Republican source reports that Mr. Perry has surveyed the field and decided to get in the race later this summer, perhaps around the time of the national prayer meeting that Mr. Perry is hosting on August 6 at a Houston football stadium. Our source also reports that Mr. Perry is aiming to compete in the Iowa Straw Poll, even though it occurs just a week later, on August 13. The thinking is that apparent front-runner Mitt Romney "does not reflect the Republican Party" and is therefore vulnerable to a credible challenge from the right, especially after Mr. Romney's recent squishy remarks on global warming.

Very predictable. We knew that Romney nor Huntsman would go over well with the far right loons.

Image of Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) via The Wall Street Journal.

VIDEO: Jon Huntsman Announces Candidacy for GOP Presidential Nomination

Jon Huntsman Announces Candidacy for GOP Presidential Nomination

UPDATE: Video posted here.

Please note: live blogging the announcement, so first impressions are a little disjointed.\

Jon Huntsman's announcement of his candidacy seemed very formal, made at Liberty State Park in New Jersey, with the Statue of Liberty looming in the background. This was Huntsman seeking to align himself with Reagan who announced his candidacy in the exact same spot.

Huntsman did a lot of fearmongering in his announcement, saying that if we don’t change our ways, the 21st century will become known as the time when American influence ended. He bemoaned the state of our country, saying "For the first time in our history, we are passing down to the next generation a country that is less powerful, less compassionate, less competitive and less confident than the one we got," Huntsman said. "This, ladies and gentlemen, is totally unacceptable and totally un-American."

At times, Huntsman was very flowery, and seemed as though he was reading words he had not written. Whoever wrote his speech needs to rethink future speeches to seem a little less formal stilted.

Civility was among the last items he touched on. He promised to conduct his campaign on “the high road”. Huntsman said that he respects the president, and he respects the other Republican candidates. He said that this campaign was not about determining who was a better American, but about who had the better ideas to help the country.

He blew it all (in the eyes of this Liberal Democrat) when he referred to Reagan as a great man who brought America back in to prominence. Or something like that.

Will post the video as soon as it’s available.  Video here.

Jon Huntsman Profile in NY Magazine

Jon Huntsman (R-UT) will formally announce his candidacy for the GOP presidential nomination tomorrow, and a must read is the New York Magazine profile on Huntsman:

[….]If you’re of a certain age, you may remember the “Saturday Night Live” routine in which Phil Hartman played the “Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer” — a Neanderthal who thawed out after 100,000 years, went to law school and became a grandstanding advocate and even ran for political office. (“I don’t really understand your Congress or your system of checks and balances, because as I said during the campaign, I’m just a caveman,” went a typical oration. “I fell on some ice and later got thawed out by scientists. But there is one thing I do know: We must do everything in our power to lower the capital gains tax!”) As I watched Huntsman tour New Hampshire, I began to think of him, in a kind way, as being the unfrozen caveman candidate. […]

2012 Campaign Updates in Brief

What you may have missed over the weekend ---

Jon Huntsman (R-UT) flip-flopped, and then lied regarding his stance on universal health care.

 Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) announced his candidacy for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination in a web video on Sunday.

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), who was set to officially announce his presidential campaign Monday in Iowa after a two-month exploratory committee phase, has now made it official one day early -- in another dramatic YouTube video.

Well, not so dramatic......I'm still yawning.

 Pizza guy, Herman Cain, (R-GA) announced his bid for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination at a rally in Atlanta on Sunday.

By some estimates, as many 10,000 people showed up for his announcement speech, which is pretty good for a strange right-wing activist with practically no support in national polls.

As implausible as his campaign appears to be, it’s probably a mistake to completely dismiss Cain as a joke. He’s a favorite of the Tea Party crowd, and apparently has the ability to impress Republican voters in debates. National Journal ran a piece recently highlighting five reasons folks shouldn’t underestimate Cain’s chances, and while he’s obviously still the longest of long-shots, the argument wasn’t absurd on its face.

Adding.....During his rally in Atlanta, Cain confused the Constitution with the Declaration of Independence. guffaws…….

Wrapped Up

~ Employment report spurs battle over private versus public jobs

~ If you’re interested in the 2012 GOP primary race, Peter Hamby on Jon Huntsman:

Former Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman told a room of South Carolina Republicans on Saturday that he could finalize his thinking about the GOP presidential race before the month is out, multiple sources present for the closed-door meeting told CNN.

~ Also. Huntsman wooing GOP governors?

~ Newt Gingrich, the proverbial sidekick to P.T. Barnum aka Donald Trump, will announce his run for the GOP presidential nomination on Wednesday via Facebook and Twitter. Classy guy. This should be fun.

~ Adam Serwer takes on Ross Douhat “No, killing of Bin Laden does not represent `continuity’ with Bush”

Can Jon Huntsman Win the Presidency?

According to Howard Fineman in his article on HuffPost, Huntsman could be the man for the GOP should he decide to run.

Like John Cole, Fineman also sees him as a winner, although Fineman wasn’t quite so up front about it, saying only that if Huntsman should become the GOP nominee, President “Obama should look out”.

Fineman paints Huntsman in more or less glowing terms, describing him as a formidable political and personal talent, affable, culturally sophisticated, well educated, fluent in Mandarin Chinese, a social conservative, and a “free market loving businessman” capable of self-financing a campaign. In short, a nearly ideal candidate for the GOP.

But, while Fineman only gives the fact of Huntsman’s religion (Huntsman is a Mormon) a passing glance, you have to wonder if a Mormon could win the GOP nomination, much less the presidency.

According to The Washington Post, we just don’t seem to know at this point, with polling results in Iowa and New Hamshire a mixed bag.

Iowa: a Dec. 2007 Post-ABC poll of likely GOP caucusgoers  [sic] found 20 percent saying they would be less likely to support Romney because of his religion. According to the Iowa exit poll (really an "entrance poll"), more than a third of GOP caucusgoers [sic]said that it was very important to them to be in sync with a candidate's religious beliefs, and these voters went overwhelming for Mike Huckabee (56 percent for the former Arkansas governor, while Romney scored just 11 percent).

New Hampshire: fully 88 percent of Republicans in a Dec. 2007 Post-ABC poll said Romney's Mormonism would not matter in their vote. Unlike in Iowa, in the New Hampshire exit poll, a slender 14 percent of GOP voters said it was very important to line up with a candidate's religious views, and Romney was competitive among these voters.

It will be very interesting to see what happens in the run up to 2012, but right now, my feeling is that it will be difficult for any Republican to beat Obama.

Adding..... according to Politico, Huntsman allies "have begun building the nucleus of a potential campaign".

John Cole on Huntsman's Presidential Chances

John Cole thinks that former Utah governor, Republican Jon Huntsman, who is currently serving as Obama’s ambassador to China, could win the presidency in 2012 or 2016.

Huntsman is pretty much the last man standing in the non-crazy wing of the GOP, and assuming the teahadist wing of the GOP (the majority) comes to their senses and realizes that the entire country gets to vote for President, not just Republicans, so nominating batshit insane people might be a bad idea, I think he could win. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him as the next President, whether it be 2012 or 2016.

Huntsman has not thus far announced a primary run, but he hasn’t shot down the rumors either.

Adding......Huntsman submitted his letter of resignation to the White House today:

WASHINGTON — U.S. ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, a Republican with potential presidential ambitions, submitted a letter of resignation to the White House on Monday announcing he intends to leave the post April 30, a senior administration official said.

Huntsman, a former governor of Utah, was appointed ambassador by President Barack Obama in 2009. Huntsman's plans have generated considerable attention in political circles because his foreign policy experience could stand out in a crowded GOP field.