The Republican Presidential race has become a caricature of itself and at the end of the day, it is the nation as a whole who stands to lose, not just one political party. We have seen the ebb and flow of public opinion rising and falling with reports of scandal and intrigue, yet we see little in terms of wholesale solutions from front-runner candidates. And the truly sad thing is that the most qualified candidate for President is at the bottom of the polls.
Huntsman has been consistent, offering up solutions that make sense and aren't simply Tea Party talking points. His position on immigration is realistic, taking into account logistics and the cost of simply "shipping immigrants back to Mexico." He has an understanding of foreign policy that is heretofore unsurpassed - being an ambassador to China isn't a bad thing at all. On national security, he has a sensible approach and is saying out loud what most of us are thinking - that our men and women of the Armed Forces should be proud of their accomplishments thus far, yet we need to rethink our global commitments.
But he isn't foaming at the mouth during speeches, nor is he claiming that he was virtually alone in winning the cold war - and that doesn't help his polling numbers.
Some ask whether Huntsman is "conservative enough." Well, being the governor of Utah alone should stand in stark contrast to someone who has occupied K Street for decades and made millions of dollars as a result of influence-peddling. RedState published this statement about Huntsman:
“His record as a Governor is more conservative than Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney combined. He is more pro-life than either of them. He is more economically wedded to the free market than either of them. He has better foreign policy experience than either of them. Huntsman should be a conservative hero in this race.”
If that doesn't say it all, I don't know what will convince the Republican Party.
The rhetoric has reached epic proportions in this election cycle and it began back when the Republicans took contol of the House of Representatives - that the goal was to defeat Obama at any cost and unfortunately, my Republican Party is laser-focused on that issue and somehow, it translates to support for the loudest, bombastic candidates available, rather than getting behind a candidate who can defeat Obama, but do so in a manner that provides solutions to our problems as a nation.
National politics, in many ways, is no different from local politics wherein we often elect individuals who are morbidly under-qualified but look pretty at press conferences or ribbon-cuttings. We can do better, we deserve better and the GOP needs to take another look at Jon Huntsman.
David
