Posted on 09/17/2014 6:40:04 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
After trolling my own readers yesterday with rumors of Huckabee and Romney running again, Id be remiss if I didnt troll them with a rumor about a guy they dislike more than either of them.
No half-measures when trolling. Thats my motto.
Former presidential candidate Jon Huntsman has engaged in discussions with supporters in recent months about pursuing another White House bid this time as an independent, according to three sources close to Huntsman
Other friends and former aides, however, suggested that the 2016 conversations were primarily a function of Huntsmans willingness to hear out his supporters not his interest in the race. Fundraising would be a massive obstacle, one his campaign struggled with mightily in 2012. And securing a place on a nationwide ballot is difficult and expensive for any independent candidate
Before he quit the [2012] race, Huntsman considered going independent twice, once in the summer and again in the fall of 2011, according to a senior member of his campaign staff. Huntsman considered taking advantage of the infrastructure set up by Americans Elect, a nonprofit group that hoped to elect a third-party candidate, but his campaign ultimately dismissed the idea as unrealistic.
He told a newspaper earlier this month that he wouldnt run again in 2016. He told Larry King a few months before that that hes open to running again but that itd be pointless to do it as a Republican. Theres simply no path for him through the early primaries, unless you think hes going to shock Rand Paul, Chris Christie, Scott Walker, and Marco Rubio in New Hampshire. So yeah, an independent bid would be his best bet, at least for a shot at a role in the presidential debates in October. But theres a risk there: Orrin Hatch says this will be his last term in the Senate and Huntsman, as a former governor with a huge family fortune, is well positioned to replace him in 2018. If he breaks from the GOP in 2016 to run a quixotic, largely symbolic third-party campaign, hes kissing off lots of Utahs Republican voters in the Senate race two years later. What he ends up doing will probably depend on how optimistic he is about Republicans nationally trending more towards the center instead of the right over the next 10 years or so. If he thinks thats likely, then maybe hell pass on 2016, run for Senate, and take a shot at the nomination again in 2020 or 2024. If he thinks its unlikely, he might as well dive in next year and enjoy 12 months of silly yet flattering is this the year for independents? coverage.
But look. I think the odds are better for a semi-serious independent challenger in 2016 than theyve been in years. Im not saying Huntsmans the guy he probably isnt but itd be surprising if someone didnt roll the dice. 2008 was a bad year for that because contempt for Washington (specifically, contempt for Bush) was being channeled by Hopenchange. Obama was all things to all people (except committed Republicans), in which case what purpose would an indie candidate have served? 2012 was a better opportunity, but I think its hard to jump-start a third-party candidacy when an incumbent president is up for reelection. Voters from the two major parties are too invested in their own sides under those circumstances Republicans were dead set on ousting O and Democrats were dead set on protecting him. Its hard to convince people in a situation like that to waste a vote on an indie. The same was true in 2004 when Bush was up for reelection. In 2016, though, youll have two non-incumbents duking it out for the presidency; whats more, one of them is very likely to be named Clinton (and the other quite possibly named Bush), which leaves lots of space for an indie to run against the Washington machine and the parasites attached to it. It seems odd to think that two centrist-y candidates like Hillary and Jeb might entice a third-party centrist challenge, but thats basically what happened with Clinton, Bush, and Perot in 1992, right? And if instead the GOP passes on Jeb and nominates someone more right-wing like Rand Paul or Ted Cruz, so much the better for a third-party type. Therell be lots of centrist Republicans eager for another option in that case. That doesnt mean the indie would win, but he could make a splash.
The big problem here, and not just for Huntsman, is that an effective independent candidate absolutely must be a populist and yet anyone with the dough to fund a national independent candidacy is highly unlikely to be one. That was Perots special magic. He was folksy, and he also had billions to spare. Imagine Mike Bloomberg (giggle) trying to play that role. Imagine Huntsman, who famously posed for photos in Vogue in 2011 for a story on his last candidacy, trying to do it. There arent many gazillionaires out there and there are even fewer Perots among them.
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I never want to hear from this douche again. GO AWAY HUNTSMAN!
He should run as a Democrat
How many votes will Hunstman take from the GOP candidate in 2016?
But, on the other hand, he may actually take away even more votes from Shrillary.
He’s mormon, too, didn’t read if the article mentioned it.
but he was a convert, so he is still considered an outsider and must pay the jizya like the rest of us infidels
...
oh wait... never mind
Actually I want him to run. He will suck votes off from the other RINO’s
who enter the race.
lol. I thought this was the Glenn Beck thread
He always looks like he just smelled a fart.
All are not huntsmen who can blow Huntsman’s horn. By the look of this one, you’ve not got much to fear.
He does seem alive at both ends, but a little dead in the middle, doesn’t he?
Bernie Sanders is thinking of running...Yes, that Bernie, the SOCIALIST from Vermont.
Jon Hunstman.
Because Shirley Chisholm and Pat Paulsen are dead.
Gotta give him credit for one thing, he does have some fine looking daughters.
John Huntsman is such an inspiring figure...not! He’s inspiring like a bowl of pudding. Go pound sand Mr. Huntsman.
He will split the Repub vote and we will get Hillary. Either run as a Republican or stay home!
Dream? He’s a phoney
Who?
Yep, that’s what I keep hearing, an independent Hunstman run is the only way to go, lol.
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