A Huntsman surge? If that happens, I will finally have seen the impossible.

I'm not sure what to make of the republican contenders this time. It seems like it is some strange game of musical chairs.

He is not batsheet crazy enough to get anywhere in the GOP.

A Huntsman surge is about as likely as a tsunami in the Great Salt Lake. Possible, but extremely unlikely, given the geology of the GOP.
He just doesn't stir up the hate.

The problem for Huntsman is not that he's not a conservative. It's that he's not a reactionary.

Tick-tock, Republicans. You have a little more than a month to run him up the flagpole.

But he picked helping out the Country and Obama over the Republican party! That is sacrilege! You do what the other Republicans did and try to harm the country to make Obama look bad!

Jon Huntsman would have a better chance of being President of Mexico or Communist China. Even moderates think he is ultra-liberal

Yes he is a conservative. But how does he stack up with the GOP voting base?

Tea Party: Said nice things about Obama and worked for him in China
Evangelical Christians: Huntsman is a Mormon, aka Crazy Cultist.
S&M/War Hawks: Thinks torture is illegal, won't invade countries for no reason.
Ron Paulians: Not RON PAUL.
Moderates: Thoughtful, intelligent man who weighs options and looks dispassionately at situations. But since he can't win the GOP primary, they might as well vote for Romney since he's got money.

His economic plan amounts to "cut taxes on the rich". That's all Republicans need to know, they'll love him.

It's Republican Primary Whack-a-mole season. His unpopularity is the only reason Iowa and New Hampshire haven't been inundated with Obama-by-association and capitulated-with-China* ads.

*Want a citation? Too bad. He was our ambassador there, and that's all it would really take to run an ad like this and not get dinged for defamation.

My hope is Huntsman will split the vote with Romney and Newt will take the nomination.

Huntsman has stated he accepts basic, proven scientific principles.

So he has no chance with the GOP.

The only reason people don't think Huntsman is conservative is that, since the emergence of the Tea Party, "conservative" has become equivalent to "anti-science/super religious/borderline retarded".

So Huntsman has thrown everyone off the scent by being able to put together a coherent thought and acknowledging that science may have value. Therefore, he must not be "conservative", even though neither of those things have anything to do with being conservative or not.

FTFA Republican voters don't like to be told what to think

Is the author talking about some OTHER Republican party that we don't know about?

JAYoung: A Huntsman surge is about as likely as a tsunami in the Great Salt Lake. Possible, but extremely unlikely, given the geology of the GOP.
He just doesn't stir up the hate.

Well, they were surfing at Lake Tahoe yesterday, so it may be more possible than you think.

Seth'n'Spectrum: A Huntsman surge? If that happens, I will finally have seen the impossible.

Wait for the Santorum Surge...

UCFRoadWarrior: Jon Huntsman would have a better chance of being President of Mexico or Communist China. Even moderates think he is ultra-liberal

Then they are exceedingly ignorant. Jon Huntsman is very conservative. He just doesn't pander to you brain damaged types.

A Huntsman surge? Why not? They say 'every dog has his day' and he really is the least objectionable of a bad lot. May as well give all the GOP nom candidates a li'l turn at the top in the run up to 2012 and then when Obama wins they can all take home a nice participation ribbon and feel like they've earned it.

Huntsman is still Mormon and the bigots in the press will give him a hard time about it, just like they did Romney.

AntiNerd: He is not batsheet crazy enough to get anywhere in the GOP.


Bullshiat, the guy is as conservative as anyone else running except for one single issue.

You mean we might wind up getting a sane republican candidate? Nah, you're pulling my leg. Don't you go getting my hopes up.

I might be talked into voting for Huntsman. Yes, he's very conservative, but at least he'd not a fundie. I might even consider Johnson.

Otherwise, I'm gonna vote for Obama again. The other GOP hopefuls scare the shiat out of me.

/swing voter...Carter, Reagan, Bush41 x2, Clinton, Bush43, Kerry, Obama

Farxist: Huntsman is still Mormon and the bigots in the press will give him a hard time about it, just like they did Romney.

They will try. Jon is smart enough to answer without getting defensive or confrontational. He won't give them the reaction they're looking for.

Glicky: Seth'n'Spectrum: A Huntsman surge? If that happens, I will finally have seen the impossible.

Wait for the Santorum Surge...

Ewww

So the panic sets in: with Cain ducking out in a dramatic fashion, the rest of the attention whores running for the nomination start squawking. The loudest of which is the sensible candidates, who are reminding everybody that they're still around.

Notice, of course, how the last few days have centered on Gingrich, Romney, and now Huntsman. The GOP is starting to wonder if they could have their cake and eat it, too. Keep in mind, however, that if the Republicans were sensible that Romney would already have this cinched up and Gingrich would be drummed out as an convenient example of the excesses of the party that started this mess.

So enjoy the panic, I guess. The Republicans have farked themselves. Not just in general with their classic overreach, but with their inability to actually run a political party. 2012 is going to kill them, simply because they really don't get the pain of the economy. Then again, without them around, America will be a much better place.

Just based on this alone, I think it tells me a lot about the type of person each candidate is. You have the folks who appeal to the "everything's a conspiracy" and the "I'm the real victim" types. The amount of uneducated, ignorant statements when it comes to the GOP candidates and science is remarkable.

From In Their Own Words: GOP Candidates and Science (NPR)

John Hunstman: "I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy."
"The minute that the Republican Party becomes the ... anti-science party, we have a huge problem. We lose a whole lot of people that would otherwise allow us to win the election in 2012."

Michelle Bachmann: "I support intelligent design. What I support is putting all science on the table and then letting students decide. I don't think it's a good idea for government to come down on one side of scientific issue or another, when there is reasonable doubt on both sides."

Ron Paul: "I think there is a theory, a theory of evolution, and I don't accept it. ... The creator that I know created us, each and every one of us and created the universe, and the precise time and manner. ... I just don't think we're at the point where anybody has absolute proof on either side."

Rick Perry: "I hear your mom was asking about evolution. That's a theory that is out there, and it's got some gaps in it ... In Texas, we teach both creationism and evolution. I figure you're smart enough to figure out which one is right."

Rick Santorum: "I believe in Genesis 1:1 - God created the heavens and the earth. ... If Gov. Huntsman wants to believe that he is the descendant of a monkey, then he has the right to believe that - but I disagree with him on this and the many other liberal beliefs he shares with Democrats. For Jon Huntsman to categorize anyone as 'anti-science' or 'extreme' because they believe in God is ridiculous."

Newt Gingrich: "I believe that creation as an act of faith is true, and I believe that science as a mechanical process is true. Both can be true."

Herman Cain: "I don't believe ... global warming is real. Do we have climate change? Yes. Is it a crisis? No. ... Because the science, the real science, doesn't say that we have any major crisis or threat when it comes to climate change"

Mitt Romney: I don't speak for the scientific community, of course. But I believe the world's getting warmer. I can't prove that, but I believe based on what I read that the world is getting warmer. And No. 2, I believe that humans contribute to that ... so I think it's important for us to reduce our emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases that may well be significant contributors to the climate change and the global warming that you're seeing.
"I'm not exactly sure what is meant by intelligent design. But I believe God is intelligent, and I believe he designed the creation. And I believe he used the process of evolution to create the human body. ... True science and true religion are on exactly the same page. They may come from different angles, but they reach the same conclusion. I've never found a conflict between the science of evolution and the belief that God created the universe. He uses scientific tools to do his work."

Nooooo. Go back to worshipping the crazy ones, GOP!

Huntsman is wrong about nearly every important policy issue on the national agenda. He is not, however, truly evil - which makes him by far the most appealing of all the potential Republican candidates.

Stone Meadow: /swing voter...Carter, Reagan, Bush41 x2, Clinton, Bush43, Kerry, Obama

I assume you choose your candidate by pure random chance, because there is absolutely no intellectually consistent political philosophy that could possibly lead to that collection of votes.

BMulligan: Stone Meadow: /swing voter...Carter, Reagan, Bush41 x2, Clinton, Bush43, Kerry, Obama

I assume you choose your candidate by pure random chance, because there is absolutely no intellectually consistent political philosophy that could possibly lead to that collection of votes.

On the contrary. I voted for Carter because Ford pardoned Nixon. I liked him personally, but would not vote for him again.

I voted for Reagan because Carter turned out to be overwhelmed by the job and sucked as President.

I voted for Bush41 because the Democrats put idiots up against him.

After voting against Clinton in '92 I voted for him in '96 because the GOP put a tottering old idiot up against him.

I voted for Bush43 because I detested Gore, and Bush had been effective as Governor of Texas. I didn't realize he was a fundie and that I was voting for Darth Vader as VP.

I voted for Kerry because even though I thought he was an idiot, I thought Bush was evil incarnate.

I voted against McCain, whom I considered a tottering old fool.

At this point I'm leaning towards voting for Obama again as he is the least evil of the mainliners...though that could change with Huntsman. We'll see.

In other words, a typical swing voter.

Stone Meadow: BMulligan: Stone Meadow: /swing voter...Carter, Reagan, Bush41 x2, Clinton, Bush43, Kerry, Obama

I assume you choose your candidate by pure random chance, because there is absolutely no intellectually consistent political philosophy that could possibly lead to that collection of votes.

On the contrary. I voted for Carter because Ford pardoned Nixon. I liked him personally, but would not vote for him again.

I voted for Reagan because Carter turned out to be overwhelmed by the job and sucked as President.

I voted for Bush41 because the Democrats put idiots up against him.

After voting against Clinton in '92 I voted for him in '96 because the GOP put a tottering old idiot up against him.

I voted for Bush43 because I detested Gore, and Bush had been effective as Governor of Texas. I didn't realize he was a fundie and that I was voting for Darth Vader as VP.

I voted for Kerry because even though I thought he was an idiot, I thought Bush was evil incarnate.

I voted against McCain, whom I considered a tottering old fool.

At this point I'm leaning towards voting for Obama again as he is the least evil of the mainliners...though that could change with Huntsman. We'll see.

In other words, a typical swing voter.

I notice you made no mention of tax policy, budget priorities, foreign policy, approaches to infrastructure investment, or any other factor except for your emotional responses to the various candidates' perceived personality traits. A pattern of voting completely unaffected by policy analysis. As you say, a typical swing voter.

I'm not saying that's a invalid approach to voting, I'm just saying that I totally don't get it.