Despite what you may have heard, Jon Huntsman is not a moderate.
That's what the former Utah Governor and now GOP Presidential contender told CL as he made his first initial stop to Hillsborough County, one of four different appearances he made in the Tampa Bay area Saturday afternoon.
"I think the Wall Street Journal got it right when they called us a conservative problem solver," Huntsman said when asked about the "M" word. "They looked at the largest tax cut in (Utah) history, pro life, pro second amendment, our economic track record," he recited, listing his conservative bona fides. "Tags are always thrown around, and they can be deceiving at times."
On a number of others issues (such as his support for gay civil unions, belief in climate change, previous support for cap-and-trade legislation), Huntsman has the type of record that could make him formidable in a general election contest against Barack Obama. But having actually worked for the President (as Ambassador to China from 2009 until earlier this year), it's not a surprise that in a Tea Party led Republican party, he's not emphasizing those other positions.
Speaking in Brandon at the Hillsborough County Republican party headquarters, Huntsman mixed and mingled with the dozens in attendance before delivering a 15 minute speech heavy on American exceptionalism, but also laid the predicate that America is "in a funk," a funk he said, that could be cured by a plan and leadership – and he reminded those in attendance that they needed to nominate candidate who is electable – presumably himself.
This article appears in Jul 7-13, 2011.