By Jennifer Stephens on March 6, 2011
Why I support Jon Huntsman Jr.
Huntsman is a moderate, which may lead some to call him a Republican in Name Only (RINO), but I think it would be much more accurate to call him a realist. By making compromises on the some issues, he gains goodwill (or debts, to look at it another way) that can be used to get votes he needs on other, more important, issues. Or accepting a compromise can keep things from going too far. For example, compromising domestic partnerships, to keep the issue from getting to actual same sex marriages. This is something he did while Governor of Utah.
Huntsman may not be the most popular with Republicans/Tea Party going into the Primaries. But we have to look beyond the Primaries to the General election, and who can beat Obama. It does no good to have someone win the Republican Nomination who can’t win the General election. That’s just handing the election to Obama, which none of us want.
Being a moderate, Huntsman has a better chance of appealing to Independents and Democrats than some other candidates, such as Palin. Utah is a very Red state, but Huntsman was popular with both Republicans and Democrats, proving he can win over Democrats. This will be a huge advantage in the General election.
Obama seemed to confirm he didn’t want Huntsman running against him by sending Huntsman off to China. Newsweek columnist Jonathan Alter’s proclaimed, “Whether Obama wants to admit it or not, when he surveyed the Republican party for who had talent in the other party and could potentially pose the most threat for him in 2012, believe me, Obama would prefer to run against Romney or Huckabee or Palin than against Jon Huntsman.”
There’s no doubt the economy is in trouble, and unemployment is way too high. Who better than a businessman to understand the economy, and how to help businesses recover, so they can hire more people and get the unemployment numbers down? The economy doesn’t need a community organizer like Obama, it needs a businessman like Huntsman. And Huntsman can call on other businessmen, such as Romney, and his family’s business extensive business contacts.
While the domestic issues must be dealt with, foreign issues cannot, must not, be ignored. Huntsman has been acting as Ambassador to China, and is well liked and respected there. Obama cannot say the same. Obama’s mangled foreign policy so badly, we need a diplomat who can fix it. And no other Republican/Tea Party candidate can claim anything close to Huntsman’s foreign policy credentials and experience. Years before China, he’d been the Ambassador to Taiwan – the youngest US Ambassador in a century.
To recap:
- Proven ability to win over Independents and Democrats.
- An accomplished and respected Ambassador.
- A popular Governor.
- A businessman.
- Someone Obama doesn’t want to face in the General Election.
