Operative boosted Jon Huntsman at Republican Leadership Conference

Politico ^ | 6-20-11 | Jonathan Martin

[Brookhaven]

Perhaps the biggest surprise at last weekend’s Republican Leadership Conference was the second-place straw poll finish of Jon Huntsman. Continue Reading

He bailed out on his scheduled appearance, is little known among the conservative activists who dominated the event and his closest competitors for the non-Ron Paul vote were grass-roots favorites Michele Bachmann and Herman Cain.

So how did he snag so many votes?

Partly due to the effort of a New Orleans Republican named Bryan Wagner.

An influential former city councilor and big McCain backer, Wagner is close to former Rep. Joseph Cao.

In an interview, Wagner said he, Cao and New Orleans school board member Brett Bonin talked up Huntsman to their friends in the days leading up the gathering.

“We were very, very pleased with the outcome we got,” boasted Wagner.

But when pressed about who paid for the registration of the pro-Huntsman voters, Wagner grew defensive.

He flatly denied purchasing any tickets but wouldn’t say who did put up the money for the Huntsman voters.

“I can’t speak for everybody on the campaign,” he said.

Wagner, did though, confirm that there were two separate groups of Huntsman backers brought into the conference: his friends and associates from the New Orleans area and another group from out of town.

“I had nothing to do with the bus,” he revealed.

After repeated attempts to get him to clarify where the tickets came from, Wagner hung up the phone.

Huntsman’s campaign denied that they had provided Wagner with tickets and won’t say how they got their supporters to the event.

[OCCASparky]

Yeah, like the Stormfront and “troofer” crowds?

[defendit]

I think you have a good point there about Paul supporters, I take the first part of my statement back.

I guess I was pretty impressed with the his performance over at the GOP debate when it came to the economy and domestic policy. Herman Cain was also great. For years before the TPARTY movement and Glen Beck came out and articulated the case for free markets andorganized campaigning and exposing people like alinsky and the tactics of the unAmerican socialist revolutionary LIEberals rather than just playing into lib medias hands by watering the medicine down, Paul and the libertarians were the most vocal and articulate element in the political spectrum which countered the arguments against socialism most directly fundamentally and consistently arguing how and why capitalism peace progress and freedom are complimentary. I believe that some people are so committed to peace that they blind themselves naively about the necessity to stand up to evil when it is necessary to. You can only avoid conflict for so long.

What rules Paul out for me is his December 6 1941 view on America’s options and responsibilities regarding external threats such as al Qaeda in Yemen. Also his call for neutrality when it comes to Israel vs. the other al Qaedas who believe deliberate mass murder and genocidalfanaticism is fair game is worth moral condemnation in the highest order. I can see the way that very questionable characters could follow and promote such an incapacitating and foolish line.