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15 Jan 2012 23:26

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Politics: Peace out, Jon: Three reasons Huntsman’s quitting the race

  • Great for the general election. Not so great for the primaries. Jon Huntsman was long the odd man out in the 2012 election, the guy with just enough support in most polls to show up at most of the debates, but never enough to be the focus of them. While his politics found fans (particularly his early pro-science stance, which stood out from the rest of the GOP and he later flip-flopped on), he was attempting to be the un-cola in a year when every other candidate in the race was trying to prove exactly how conservative they were. Huntsman will end his campaign Monday (a day after winning an endorsement from The State, South Carolina’s largest newspaper) and will offer his support to Mitt Romney, a guy he didn’t hide his animosity towards. Here’s why:
  • one Huntsman never faced the kinds of controversy that faced Mitt Romney or Ron Paul did, he did face skepticism from the conservatives that he needed to impress during the season’s primaries. They skewed right; he skewed moderate.
  • two His most recent job was the U.S. ambassador to China, giving him three negative marks: One, he was a foreign affairs candidate in a campaign focused on the economy, he worked under Obama, and it gave some on the right xenophobic fodder.
  • three Perhaps the most damaging? He put all of his eggs in one basket — New Hampshire — in hopes he’d pull out a squeaker which he could build on. And his third-place showing was not enough to set that long-term momentum. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Jan 2012 20:13

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Politics: Ron Paul disavows offensive Jon Huntsman-bashing ad

  • “China Jon.” Need we say more? A warning to all that the message in this video is fairly offensive towards Asians, but it’s worth noting that, though the person who released it goes by the YouTube handle “NHLiberty4Paul,” Paul himself is against the ad. For those not watching, the ad makes reference to Huntsman’s adoptive daughters (from China) and shows the presidential candidate speaking in Mandarin Chinese. “I haven’t look at it, but I understand it’s an ugly ad, and I’ve disavowed it,” Paul said. “Obviously, it was way, way out order.” (EDIT: Apologies for the incorrect video at first — our wi-fi crapped out at the exact wrong time.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Dec 2011 21:25

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Politics: Jon Huntsman turns tail on climate change rhetoric

  • There 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.
  • Jon Huntsman • Betraying his earlier stance on climate change, which had won him some respect in environmentally-minded quarters. To be clear, this is in stark contradiction to the Jon Huntsman of months past. For instance, in August: “To be clear, I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy.” Honestly, we’re surprised by this. Huntsman’s prior stance impressed us, despite a very skeptical GOP base. We thought his conviction on this issue was pretty strong, especially as he voiced it during a televised debate, but now it seems he’s flip-flopped to add juice to a recent polling uptick. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Nov 2011 23:04

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Politics: BREAKING NEWS: Utah politician purchases residence in Utah

  • Stories like this are an indicator that it’s a slow news day. Our favorite part is the bombshell Huntsman quote after the fold, “It’s my residence.” source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Oct 2011 15:36

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Politics: Nevada backs down on primary, gets better hotel rooms in exchange

  • We just basically want to be the adults in the room here. This is not a matter of New Hampshire being a bully or telling us what to do. It’s a matter of Nevada doing what needs to be done for Nevada.
  • Nevada GOP chairwoman Amy Tarkanian • Discussing why the state decided to move its primary date back to February 4, after facing massive criticism, boycotts and a Jon Huntsman no-show at a recent debate, for setting their primary on January 14. Probably a good idea, Nevada, but one they came to with some perks to sweeten the deal — including prime hotel space at the Republican National Convention next year. Enjoy the minibar, guys! That’s what you get for taking the high road. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Aug 2011 12:49

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Politics: 2012 candidates’ takes on the S&P credit rating downgrade

  • Mitt romney “Standard & Poor’s rating downgrade is a deeply troubling indicator of our country’s decline under President Obama. His failed policies have led to high unemployment, skyrocketing deficits, and now, the unprece­dented loss of our nation’s prized AAA credit rating. Today, President Obama promised that ‘things will get better.’ But it has become increasingly clear that the only way things will get better is with new leadership in the White House.”
  • Jon Huntsman “Out-of-control spending and a lack of leadership in Washington have resulted in President Obama presiding over the first downgrade of the United States credit rating in our history. For far too long we have let reckless government spending go unchecked and the cancerous debt afflicting our nation has spread. We need new leadership in Washington committed to fiscal responsibility, a balanced budget, and job-friendly policies to get America working again.”
  • Michele Bachmann “This President has destroyed the credit rating of the United States through his failed economic policies and his inability to control government spending by raising the debt ceiling. … President Obama is destroying the foundations of the U.S. economy one beam at a time. I call on the President to seek the immediate resignation of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and to submit a plan with a list of cuts to balance the budget this year, turn our economy around and put Americans back to work.” source
  • » One note on the Bachmann one: You’ll note that if you read the full document, it specifically blames Republican policies — largely their unwillingness to raise revenue by raising taxes — for the downgrade. Yes, there is too much debt. Yes, it needs to be dealt with. But if the GOP can’t give an inch on taxes, then these words don’t hold water.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Aug 2011 21:07

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Politics: Lone wolf amongst GOP 2012 crowd praises debt ceiling deal

Most of the 2012 candidates have come out against the debt ceiling deals, except for one guy, who called it “a positive step toward cutting our nation’s crippling debt.” We can’t figure out whom. Can you guys? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

06 Jul 2011 09:43

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Politics: Mitt Romney, fundraising machine; Newt Gingrich debt-saddled

  • $18.25 million the amount in donations that Mitt Romney received in the second quarter; the leading GOP candidate is pretty far ahead of the other guys
  • $1.2 million the amount in invoices that Newt Gingrich has; he’s paid them down by ten percent, but still has significant debt issues source
  • » Everyone else is kind of in the middle: With Tim Pawlenty, Jon Huntsman and Ron Paul hovering around the $4 million mark, and Herman Cain around $2.5 million, all pale in comparison to the Mittster, who is unemployed. Newt, who raised $2 million, was saddled with massive debt as a result of much of his senior campaign staff leaving; he has just $225,000 in the bank, which is extremely low. Newt, this presidential thing isn’t gonna work out.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Jun 2011 10:29

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Politics: Jon Huntsman enters the ring with a refreshing level of respect

  • I respect the President. He and I have a difference of opinion on how to help the country we both love. But the question each of us wants the voters to answer is who will be the better President; not who’s the better American.
  • 2012 presidential candidate Jon Huntsman • During his announcement this morning. Huntsman represents a bit of a breath of fresh air in this campaign — one obvious from this speech. He disagrees with the president ideologically, but won’t stoop to the level of some of his GOP opponents and call him a jerk. And you know what? In this era of 24-hour news turning every piece of a debate into its own little mini-spat, that’s refreshing. While Huntsman’s name recognition is currently low, we expect it to go up. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Jun 2011 11:51

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Politics: David Axelrod: None of these GOP candidates really scare us

  • I didn’t hear a lot of ideas. I heard a lot of … pat partisan platitudes. Ultimately, people are going to ask for answers.
  • Obama adviser David Axelrod • Offering his take on the Republican candidates out there at the moment. Pretty much the only one he really had anything nice to say about was Jon Huntsman, a former Obama staffer and current subject of blogosphere love. (Huntsman was an Obama appointee.) But even considering all this, Axelrod openly admits that the economy — particularly the progress made with the economy — remains the key issue. “You get tested in this process,” he says. “Ultimately, I’m very confident about the outcome.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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