Huntsman – new name, same old GOP game

We’ve already seen this movie….

Stop me if you’ve heard this one already:

• He has a long history of working well with Democrats, meaning that he would be a great example of being a president of the people, not just conservatives. He would also be able to count on Democrat and media cooperation when it comes to getting nominations confirmed, budgets passed, and progress made.
• By choosing not to publicly preach controversial conservative values, he will present a GOP that belies their public reputation of bigotry, racism, and strident, extreme views.
• His temperate, non-combative persona will appeal to moderates, thus giving Republicans the best chance to win.
• By showing respect for the Democrats, the media will be thrown off their normal attack mode and will give him love, respect, and perhaps children.
• Instead of attacking Democrats personally, blatantly criticizing them for driving the economy over the cliff, sparking racial tensions, and showing a weak face to the world that has only emboldened dictators and jihadists, he only frames things as “policy differences”.
• He will insist that not just he, but all Republicans refrain from harsh criticism of Democrats. After all, they love America just as much as Republicans do.

If you dialed your way-back machine to 2007 and 2008, you see an astoundingly simple mathematical equation.

John Huntsman = John McCain.

Huntsman, for the GOP Establishment and the hostile leftist media, is just the 2012 incarnation of John McCain. He has arrived to save the party from the Tea Party. I feel all tingly. Don’t you?

….and it ain’t gonna end well for the GOP Establishment

This 2012 presidential campaign has not been going well for the GOP Establishment. They positively LOATHE genuine conservatives and their quaint, myopic, unbending values. But sadly, most of their favorite squishy, media-approved candidates either got shot down before the action even started (Charlie Crist), stuck their toe in the water and decided to pass (Huckabee, Daniels), or turned out to not be as squishy as advertised (Pawlenty).

The default front runner (Romney) is squishy enough, but he’s got that very pesky issue in that he genuinely and proudly embraces social conservatism. That’s a deal-breaker. He has an awesome organization and fund-raising machine, and he’s got that presidential look. Worse, he’s about to get surpassed by the rising tide that first appeared in the summer of 2009 and obliterated the Obamanistas in 2010. It is back.

Candidates closely aligned with grass roots and/or the tea party movement are grave threats to run away with the nomination (Palin, Perry). Others are compelling and with a break or two could catch a spark and turn into an inferno (Cain, Bachmann).

The GOP Establishment, out of bullets, out of money, out of a vision, are also out of candidates. This name, along with a handful of others, has actually been floating around for months. They’ve tried clowns, magic acts, jugglers, knife throwers, spelling bee champions, and wrestling midgets. Huntsman is what remains. He is their only hope.

Only he’s not Obi-Wan.

Summary justice

Huntsman is just a worthless squish. However, he does serve a purpose; a quite useful purpose, in an illustrative sort of way.

Back when executions were held in public, and justice was relatively swift, a very definite message was sent to the bad actors in society.

Do what this guy did, and you will be next.

Now the application. The GOP Establishment did not get the message, yet again. The grass roots in 2010 did not choose more squishiness. Crist, Castle, Bennett, Specter, Grayson, Lowden — and that is just in the Senate — were unceremoniously executed in public. The GOP Establishment’s response? They took credit for the +7, and blamed the tea parties and their radical ways for costing us the other 3 that were in reach. Then, for good measure, they stuck their thumb in our eye by anointing Reince Priebus as GOP Chairman.

Not listening. And shockingly, the Republican primary race is going very, very bad for the GOP Establishment. Huntsman will have the full force of the GOP machine behind him. But he will get no traction, none whatsoever. Americans who desperately fear for the loss of our Republic do not want to hear from the opposition candidate how much obama loves America, and how its all about “policy differences”.

Huntsman does serve a purpose. When he is trounced into the ground in public, and his political corpse thrown over the fence to the GOP compound, the message will be sent, and it really won’t matter whether they hear it or not.

“Thanks for playing. We run this party now.”