Jon Huntsman blasts Republican field as "fringe"

In one giant swoop the Republican Presidential candidate Jon Huntsman, Jr., the moderate Republican in this 2012 field, has attacked the other Republicans running for President as “fringe” with “zero substance”. The main targets in his crosshairs were Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, and Mitt Romney.

On ABC news Huntsman declared that the United States is a center-right nation crying out for a sensible middle ground, one which he believes no one in this current GOP field besides himself can fulfill. Not only did he decry the fringe politics of his fellow Republicans but attacked Barack Obama as well for being “too liberal”. His attack Bachmann was for her statement that she would bring gas below $2 a gallon, which is completely unrealistic for anyone to say, and his attack on Rick Perry was over the issue of global warming and rejection of evolution, tweeting: "To be clear, I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy."

Also during the ABC interview Huntsman talked about the GOP becoming the “anti-science party”:

"The minute that the Republican Party becomes the party -- the anti-science party, we have a huge problem," Huntsman told ABC News Senior White House correspondent Jake Tapper. "We lose a whole lot of people who would otherwise allow us to win the election in 2012."

"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 … 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," Huntsman added.

Expanding upon his attacks against Perry he talked about the “treason” talk, when Rick Perry said Ben Bernanke is in effect committing treason:

"I don't know if that's pre-secession Texas or post-secession Texas," Huntsman quipped, referring to past comments by Perry saying Texas may secede from the U.S. "But in any event, I'm not sure that the average voter out there is going to hear that treasonous remark and say that sounds like a presidential candidate, that sounds like someone who is serious on the issues."

I think Jon Huntsman is right, by rejecting science the Republican Party is isolating itself to the fringes backed only by fundamentalist Christians across the South and parts of the rural Midwest. It is no winning strategy on a national level but trying to find a reasonable center-right position which frames your ideas in opposition to the Liberalism of President Obama is the correct course to victory. If Americans want change they will not want to swing from fringe Liberalism to fringe Conservatism, they would prefer the devil they know, and instead of running a candidate which is reasonable and guaranteed to win the Republicans are setting their sights on unreasonable candidates which could only win if Obama faces a Jimmy Carter style re-election.

"Right now, we've got people on the fringes," Huntsman added. "President Obama is too far to the left. We've got people on the Republican side who are too far to the right and we have zero substance. We have no good ideas that are being circulated or talked about that will allow this country to get back on its feet economically so that we can begin creating jobs."

Huntsman then turned his sights against Mitt Romney who in New Hampshire came out in favor of a flatter tax, coincidentally, after Huntsman had already declared his intention of implementing a flatter tax rate.

"Well, I know in 1996, he was against a flat tax… If we were to talk about his inconsistencies and his -- the changes on various issues, we'd be here all afternoon," Huntsman said. "But if he's in favor of a flat tax now where he wasn't before, at least he's moving in the right direction."

The GOP would only prove itself as a pathetic washed up Christian fundamentalist pro-war party if they failed to nominate a sensible candidate in 2012. There are two sure center-right winners (Jon Huntsman and potential GOP candidate Rudy Giuliani) and a true limited government anti-war competitor (Ron Paul). Pass any of those 3 up for the likes of Bachmann, Perry or Romney (to a lesser degree) and there is just nothing left to say.

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