Former Governor of Utah and United States Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, Jr., performed laughably in the Republican presidential primary race, dropping out in January after a lackluster showing in moderate New Hampshire, the state in which he had the best chance of coming away with a victory.
Huntsman’s abysmal showing in the primary race is indicative of the Republican Party’s shift to the right and further away from mainstream Americans – and common sense.
During his time as a presidential candidate, Huntsman served as a bastion of moderation among the extreme conservatism of Rick Santorum, fake extreme conservatism of Mitt Romney, libertarianism of Ron Paul and serial adultery of Newt Gingrich (that is what he stands for, right?). While the other candidates were pandering to the lowest common denominator of the party by lambasting science, Huntsman told ABC News, “When we take a position that isn’t willing to embrace evolution, when we take a position that basically runs counter to what 98 of 100 climate scientists have said, what the National Academy of Sciences has said about what is causing climate change and man’s contribution to it, I think we find ourselves on the wrong side of science, and, therefore, in a losing position.”
In a recent interview with BuzzFeed, Huntsman came out with sharp criticism of his party. For example, he discussed his choice to raise his hand, along with every other candidate, when asked if he would reject a deficit-reducing deal that included $1 of tax increases for every $10 of spending cuts. In retrospect, he told BuzzFeed that he regrets that decision. Further, Huntsman claimed that Ronald Reagan wouldn’t win the nomination from today’s Republican Party.
Huntsman’s departure from today’s Republican orthodoxy shows precisely what is wrong with today’s party. While Republicans want someone who will call Obama a Kenyan-born socialist who is destroying the country, Huntsman merely claims that Obama’s policies are misguided and not the best option for the country. While Republicans want someone who is extremely skeptical of evolution and climatology, Huntsman embraces it. While Republicans want harsh crackdowns on so-called “illegal aliens,” Huntsman has supported the DREAM Act, which provides a path for citizenship for undocumented immigrants who were brought, presumably without consent, to the country at a young age by their parents.
In other words, by being what the Republican Party is not, Huntsman is exactly what the Republican Party needs. He presents strong critiques against Obama the policymaker, rather than Obama the person. He holds beliefs grounded in facts and science rather than religion. And he supports common sense, like not vetoing a deficit deal with a 10:1 ratio of revenue increase to spending cuts, rather than hyper-partisanship.
Let’s take a moment and ponder a “what-if.” What if Huntsman won the nomination, defeated Obama and governed alongside a partly Democratic Legislature? What might happen if they were forced to compromise? Here are a few guesses: The deficit would steadily decline due to a combination of a simplified tax code that raises revenue, significant spending cuts and entitlement reform across the board. Education policy would be evidence- and fact-based. Immigration reform would be sensible and compassionate. America would remain a strong supporter of Israel. Energy policy would be driven by increasing domestic supplies of fossil fuels while also steadily reducing greenhouse gas emissions. As a liberal, this doesn’t sound perfect to me. But I could sure as hell live with it.
Joe Timmerman ([email protected]) is a freshman majoring in math and economics.
