In this file photo from last summer, Henry McMaster points to the one GOP presidential candidate who might have impressed Jon Huntsman.
Just ran across this over at HuffPost:
Jon Huntsman leveled harsh criticism at his party on Sunday evening, BuzzFeed’s Zeke Miller reported, comparing the Republican Party to communist China and questioning the strength of this year’s presidential field.
During an event at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, Huntsman spoke candidly about his party’s flaws, lamenting the Republican National Committee’s decision to rescind an invitation to a major fundraising event after Huntsman called for a third-party candidate to enter the race.
“This is what they do in China on party matters if you talk off script,” Huntsman said.
Huntsman, a former Utah governor who dropped out of the GOP primary in January, served as U.S. ambassador to China under President Barack Obama.
He also criticized the Republican candidates’ foreign policy stances, particularly in regard to China.
“I don’t know what world these people are living in,” Huntsman said…
Huntsman also spoke on Sunday about his presidential candidacy, revealing that he was less than impressed by his fellow candidates when he attended his first debate in August.
“Is this the best we could do?” Huntsman said he asked himself.
Turns out that Huntsman, whose SC followers largely did not follow his lead in endorsing Mitt Romney when he dropped out, is also rather lukewarm on his fellow Mormon.
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I guess he’s not on the Veep shortlist…..
Mr. Huntsman tends to speak the truth as he sees it. This tendency is one exhibited by statesmen, not politicians. Wit traits like that he had no chance in this year’s Republican presidential race.
This all begs the question, why does Mr. Huntsman remain a Republican?
Did he make his comments in Chinese to show us how smart he is?
Sour grapes.
The all-LDS ticket wouldn’t have been a winning combo anyhow.
It doesn’t beg the question (that means a circular argument). I hope that people will stop misusing the phrase. 😉
He’s saying that ideological purity is demanded of Republicans. He’s not saying he thinks that’s a good thing–quite the contrary.
@Silence: but an all-LSD ticket, now that would be interesting to see.
Kathryn, not sure I follow. All I’m saying is Mr. Huntsman seems disgusted with the increasingly ideological purity aspect of the Republican Party yet remains a member of it. Not sure I understand why. Although he does have some conservative tendencies on many issues he seems like he would be a better fit as a Democrat. At the very least he could just become an independent.
Here are the GOP talking points for the 2012 election. These are borrowed from Bartcop.com:
Corporations are People
Women who use Birth Control are Sluts
College Students are Snobs
Gay Americans are an Abomination
Poor People Deserve to be Poor
Union Workers are Socialist Thugs
The Unemployed are Lazy Parasites
Latinos are Illegal until Proven Otherwise
The Bible Trumps the Constitution
Global Warming is a Hoax
The US Auto Industry should go Bankrupt
The US President is a Muslim Agent from Kenya
Given the extreme nature of the GOP I ask again, why does John Huntsman remain a member of this organization?
With comments like that, I’m SHOCKED that Huntsman didn’t win the GOP nomination.
@Bud: Lol.
I think Huntsman used to be considered conservative (heck, he’s a good Mormon) and he’s feeling like his party took several steps right (or into outer space, judging from some of the craziness, as you cite). Where do even fairly right-of-center folks go? I mean, the UnParty never caught on.
Lots of people prefer to try to change rather than leave a problematic group–e.g., many Catholics.
borrowed from bud, and then corrected:
Corporations are People in a legal sense of the word.
Women who don’t use Birth Control are Moms.
College Students aren’t snobs but they are better than you.
Gay Americans are Fabulous!
Poor People make bad decisions.
Union Workers are Socialist Thugs
The Unemployed are Lazy Parasites
Latinos who are here illegally aren’t just undocumented, they are illegals.
The Constitution is largely based on judeo-christian values.
Global Warming is a Hoax and an effort to tax developed nations
The US Auto Industry should have been allowed to go Bankrupt and standard bankruptcy laws procedures should have been followed.
The US President was raised Muslim and freely admits to having eaten dog meat.
Sometimes context really can flesh out a situation: The 92nd Street Y is a Jewish organization. While the same family values apply, the political party affiliation is probably wildly different than the Irmo or Lake Carolina Y’s would project. He was likely sharing his sour grapes with a liberal democratic audience – and that probably isn’t clear in the story; even when reported on by the HuffPost.