Former Republican candidate Jon Huntsman took a battle axe to his own party, comparing it to China's Communist Party and criticizing its standard bearer in a wide-ranging interview at the 92nd Street Y Sunday night...
Huntsman, the former Utah governor and once President Barack Obama's Ambassador to China, expressed disappointment that the Republican Party disinvited him from a Florida fundraiser in March after he publicly called for a third party. "This is what they do in China on party matters, they punish you, if you talk off script," he said.
Huntsman jokingly blamed his failed candidacy in part on his wife, Mary Kaye, who told him she'd leave him if he abandoned his principles. “She said if you pandered, if you sign any of those damn pledges, I’ll leave you,” Huntsman recounted. "So I had to say I believe in science — and people on stage look at you quizzically as though you're an oddball," Huntsman said, explaining why he was "toast" in Iowa...
26 April 2012
"Jon Huntsman trashes the GOP"
As described at Buzzfeed:
I'm sorry, but this made me laugh. So, Huntsman lost because he said he believes in science, and his not getting invited to the Republican Party bash is because that party is like a bunch of Communists, never mind that he said we ought to form a third party. I think that people can detect when you aren't really on board, why should they invite you then?
ReplyDeleteSounds like sour grapes to me.
Huntsman was a good Governor here in Utah, and I came to like and respect him. He's a reasonable conservative in the best sense.
ReplyDeleteI'd say he didn't win in Iowa because his antics are less amusing than the more extreme GOP candidates and because his campaign was running on less money. That, and he spent all his time in New Hampshire.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame, though. I really do like him.
Well, I'm not a conservative, and NOT a Republican, but Huntsman was the one GOP candidate that I had any respect for. He stood his ground, he was principled and knew that politics is a game of negotiation and compromise, not crying like a little baby if you don't get your exact way (gingritch/santorum/etc).
ReplyDeleteI agree, Dutch. I used to be a Republican before the party went crazy in the 80's. Seems to me that Huntsman represents what was best about the old Republican Party. Too bad none of the rest has the courage to say what he/she really believes. Or if they do believe all the stuff they say, why are they allowed out without a keeper?
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