“Jon Huntsman Can’t Stop Talking About The Republican Party,” proclaims a Buzzfeed headline teasing an interview with the former GOP presidential candidate. And they weren’t kidding: the story was posted first thing in the morning yesterday, and by the end of lunch time they posted a second story on Huntsman’s interview. The glaring question–Does Jon Huntsman really have that much of interest to say?–has an unsurprising answer: Nope. But he assured the Buzzfeed editors that he had bestowed upon them a truly generous gift:
“I haven’t asked anyone for a single interview. I don’t do that,” he said, adding, “I’d say we take about 2 percent of the media requests that come in. Really.”
Having thus flattered his audience that they are more important to a former governor of Utah than 98 percent of the media out there, Huntsman proceeded to do what Huntsman does: speak for long periods of time without saying anything. Indeed, what’s striking about the two stories worth of interviews he did with Buzzfeed is the complete lack of policy ideas. He spent most of the time talking about how Republicans don’t like him, how much he enjoyed the movie Lincoln, and that he still believes in climate change.
He didn’t seem to put much effort into making excuses for his poor showing in the GOP primaries. But that doesn’t mean he’s stopped blaming his election woes on being too awesome for his own good. He recently spoke with the New York Times Magazine (which apparently made it into the elite 2 percent) as well. He’s had time to reflect upon his election losses, and here is the conclusion he’s drawn:
Honesty? You’re in the wrong business.
It’s terrible. You saw where honesty got me in the primary.Obviously you’ve thought a lot about it. What went wrong?
When the decision was made to refuse any pandering — because my wife would have left me if I had done any of that — you pretty much disarm yourself. On top of that you have people like Michael Moore, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter coming out and giving you kudos as a sane Republican. That doesn’t play so well in the primary phase of Iowa or South Carolina.The New York Times referred to you during the campaign as “an early favorite of the pundit classes.” Did you read that and think, I’m toast?
That’s the first dagger to the heart.
This is nonsense, because Mitch Daniels was also an early favorite of the pundit classes, and Daniels also received plaudits from liberal journalists and opinion writers. And yet, whereas Republicans begged Huntsman to leave, they pleaded with Daniels not to go. It isn’t honesty that got Huntsman in trouble, but how he expressed that honesty. The second Buzzfeed article recalls Huntsman’s tweet about global warming: “I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy.” What got Huntsman in trouble was his palpable, oozing disdain for Republican voters. He doesn’t like them or their party, and it shows. In the Times Magazine interview, here is how he describes primary voters: “People aren’t turning out for primaries because they work for a living, and those who do turn out are professional activists.”
Surely Huntsman must understand that calling people bums or telling them they only have opinions because they’re paid to have those opinions isn’t the best prelude to asking them for their vote. And why would Huntsman want their vote anyway? Following Huntsman’s logic, it’s degrading to even ask a voter who cares enough about his party to vote in primaries for his support. And maybe that’s how Huntsman feels. But here’s a thought: if Huntsman doesn’t have any respect for the process, then maybe he shouldn’t take part in that process. Call me crazy.
Oh Huntsman. n nThis is how I rate Republicans: The more Mika Brzezinski likes a 'republican' e.g. Hunstman, Scarborough or Powell, the more likely they aren't real republicans and are just RINOs who use the 'R' to get on TV and to state how awesome they are if only fly-over country listen to him. n nBleh.
you know, as bad as a second-term Obama is, and is likely to continue to be, it is lucky that we'll never have a President Huntsman. your article title says it all.
I think Huntsman is a horrible failure and could care less what that RINO has to say.
Keep thinking that way folks and the GOP will never win another election. Huntsman is one of the few in the GOP with a brain that actually functions.
John Huntsman is a disaster and will not win another election. With great GOPers like Paul Ryan, Marco Rubio, Mike Lee we don’t need the Scott Browns, John Huntsman’s or the Mitt Romney’s…
Neither Rubio nor Ryan have any foreign diplomacy experience and they represent the far wing of the party that will do fine in the primaries but lose the general.
Wrong again. I think it's funny that some seem to think that we need to run RINO's for Republicans to get elected. Look at the GOPers that were defeated in the last election, most of them were Squishy republicans like Huntsman. McMahon CT, Scott Brown, MASS just to name a few.
if I'm wrong, so was Obama's campaign manager when he said Huntsman was the one Obama wanted to face least in the general. Maybe it's because he had a better shot at the independent vote in battleground states or maybe the rest of the field was just pretty pathetic. Fact is, Huntsman had the most conservative fiscal platform of them all. Was it his global warming comment that you couldn't handle? Sorry to break the news, but half of Greenland is melting in the next 20 years and ocean levels are rising whether you think it is happening or not.
I don't believe it one bit.
I just loooove to see how GOPers bash each other when they deviate from the party line.
Huntsman's isn't a true "GOPer" he's a RINO…
Is a RINO someone who doesn't hate gays? Because I think that is indeed the issue that separates the "RINOs" from Dixiecrats who turned to the Republican party in need of a platform to vent their anger. n nHere is a real Barry Goldwater western Republican who isn't afraid to speak his mind. The GOP is out of step with the times and has no ideas how to govern. It's a party that thinks being fiscally responsible is cutting every program (except defense) at the expense of cutting taxes. It is no longer the party of Robert Taft and has instead embraced jingoism and nation-building. n nWell this Barry Goldwater Republican believes in fiscal surety and Governor Huntsman gets it. The fact the man is articulate, sympathetic and knowledgeable about a whole range of issues should scare the ultra-right Dixiecrats back into their caves. n nHuntsman is on record of cutting taxes, reducing regulation, infusing market-based solutions in health care, along with exemplary service as an foreign ambassador.