Free Republic

MERRIMACK, N.H. — Jon Huntsman has staked his presidential bid on doing well in New Hampshire. With few exceptions, the former two-term governor of Utah has campaigned exclusively in the Granite State. Two months ago, he moved his national campaign headquarters to Manchester, and he’s beginning to make some inroads there. Huntsman explained his strategy this way: He wants to avoid the meteoric rises and flameouts of Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry and Herman Cain. “I don’t want 15 minutes of fame,” Huntsman told reporters at the Merrimack Town Hall. “I want a sustained rise that isn’t fickle and isn’t short-lived,...

Jon Huntsman is rising in New Hampshire. If Huntsman comes back in New Hampshire, he is in the game. Here’s the funny thing about Jon Huntsman. His record as a Governor is more conservative than Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney combined. He is more pro-life than either of them. He is more economically wedded to the free market than either of them. He has better foreign policy experience than either of them. Huntsman should be a conservative hero in this race. But he is not because of his own campaign’s doing. The campaign made a conscious choice to give the...

There certainly appears to be a blood-feud between Jon Huntsman and Mitt Romney. Huntsman continues his attacks focused almost exclusively on Romney with this new ad that takes from Romney’s recent interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier in which Romney claimed Baier’s list of past “flip-flops” was “just not accurate.” The web ad then goes on to show clips of Romney from the past on that list of issues juxtaposed with his current views. This ad makes you think Huntsman’s Campaign is far more about keeping Mitt Romney from being President than it is about Jon Huntsman wanting to be...

Republican Jon Huntsman today refused to rule out running as an independent candidate for president should he fail in his quest for his party’s 2012 nomination. Jon HuntsmanAsked, “Is there any situation in which you would run for president as an independent?” Huntsman told The Boston Globe, “I don’t think so.” Told that anything but a flat denial could perpetuate speculation about the possibility, Huntsman replied: “I’m a lifelong Republican. I’m running as a Republican, and I fully anticipate that that’s where we’re going to be.” The former Utah governor has faced persistent speculation about an independent candidacy. He worked...

Please vote at the following TWO links. Only one vote per IP address is allowed (the previous poll allowed more than one vote per IP address). The first poll is by request, NOT including write-in options: Poll #1: NOT Including Write-In Options The second poll is the original poll, which INCLUDES write-in options: Poll #2: INCLUDING Write-In Options Please do vote in both polls, so we can get an idea of how things change without write-ins. .

If turn out to be right on this, remember you probably read it here first. I’m beginning to suspect that the GOP nominee for the 2012 general election may well be, “None of the above“. I.e., some dark horse candidate who’s either at the margins (like a Huntsman or a Roemer), or someone totally out of left field. It involves two words which we haven’t used in about 70 years: “Brokered Convention“. There are Republican candidates with support an inch wide and a mile deep, and candidates with support a mile wide and an inch deep. None of the current...

Yesterday, 11 National Post contributors named their preferred Republican nominee in less than 250 words. Being more indecisive and longer-winded, I needed 24 extra hours and 500 more words. I’m looking for two chief things in a candidate for 2012: The temperament, judgment, deftness and largeness of spirit required in the presidential office; and The creativity and intellect to respond to the global economic crisis — a crisis threatening to actually get worse if (or when) the euro implodes. Those conditions obviously and categorically exclude the clownish Herman Cain, the daffy Ron Paul, the dim Rick Perry and the firebrand...

A president's most solemn duty is to protect America and her people -- a responsibility that, in a time of evolving security threats and unsustainable debt, will only grow harder for the next administration. In the aftermath of the failure of the super committee, we are facing cuts in defense. Yet there has still been little discussion about overall defense spending priorities and how we must transform our defense infrastructure for the 21st century. Some of my opponents suggest maintaining the status quo, thus avoiding the tough decisions. Others advocate retrenchment and isolationism through draconian across-the-board cuts, which brings greater

"The significant trends continue and Newt Gingrich takes the lead."

Hosted by the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute, the theme of tonight's Republican presidential debate is foreign policy and national security.The debate is being held at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.CNN is carrying the debate live at 8 p.m. EST.Participating candidates are: businessman Herman Cain, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former Speaker Newt Gingrich, Reps. Ron Paul (TX) and Michele Bachmann (MN), former Gov. Jon Huntsman, and former Sen. Rick Santorum.

(Feeling I needed a link as proof) I caught the end of my overnight recording on SNL and saw Jason Segel thank at the end John Huntstman. The report is Huntsman appeared on Weekend Update trying to make progress in New Hampshire. The segment may be available soon. He has no chance , but his daughters are certainly lovely women.

Jon Huntsman is running a traditional, retail politics campaign in New Hampshire. He has 55 days left to make it work. "We are working this state like no one else," he told an audience of more than 100 voters last night in Portsmouth. "We are being honest. We are being sincere. We are bringing a vision that is realistic and doable for this country. And I say, now we need some people. We need a little groundswell. And this is where we're going to get it, in New Hampshire." ......snip........ Last night's town hall was Huntsman's 100th public event in...

Here's a great ad being run by a PAC friendly to Huntsman (I think) or by Huntsman's campaign itself that hits Liberal Mitt right between the eyes. Pretzel Candidate http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fsqSIr9EHE Enjoy and spread it around!

SALT LAKE CITY — GOP presidential candidate Jon Huntsman Jr. predicted Friday that New Hampshire voters will rally around him in the nation's first primary. Huntsman stopped short of saying he would win in New Hampshire but said he is moving up in the polls there, sparking what he said was a 240 percent boost in fundraising.... And he took a swipe at the other Mormon in the race, former Utah Olympic leader Mitt Romney. Romney, who has the support of most Utah GOP leaders in both his 2008 and 2012 bids, has been a frontrunner.... "You can't be a...

[Actual chart coming in a follow up(s) comment as it is too large for a main post.] Column Definitions: Tax Pledge: Has the candidate signed the “Taxpayer Protection Pledge” sponsored by Americans for Tax Reform? Individual Rates: What tax rate or tax rate range does the candidate want the individual income tax to have? Business Tax: At what marginal tax rate would the candidate tax corporate and small business profits? National Sales Tax: Has the candidate endorsed any form of a national sales tax, including a VAT? Cap Gains: At what marginal tax rate would the candidate tax capital gains...

Two-question poll. Send FReemail to me with your vote -- don't post your vote on the thread. This will be a confidential poll, and I will post the results Tuesday night. . . . Question 1: If the election were held TODAY, of the following four candidates, who would you vote for for the Republican Nominee for President? (in alphabetical order) CAIN GINGRICH PERRY ROMNEY . . . Question 2: If the election were held TODAY, of the following four candidates, who would be your SECOND CHOICE for the Republican Nominee for President? (in alphabetical order) CAIN GINGRICH PERRY ROMNEY...

Your unbiased opinions please.

I read in one thread that a FRpeeper was under the impression that tonight's debate would only be online and was disappointed, so I wanted to let everyone know that it will be on TV as well. Check your cable/satellite TV listings for CNBC at 8pm.

Fresh off their spoof of a Herman Cain campaign video, GOP presidential candidate Jon Huntsman's daughters aren't finished yet. Appearing on CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday, three of Huntsman's daughters who participated in the parody said they might have a sequel in the works and joked that they were the campaign's "secret weapon." "We're always up to something," said Abby Huntsman, daughter of the former Utah governor. "Something might be coming. You'll have to tune in," her sister Liddy Huntsman added. Liddy also took credit for the concept. "I had been receiving e-mails and I had seen the Herman...

Republican White House hopeful Jon Huntsman is calling on rival Herman Cain to disclose all of the details about the allegations of sexual harassment that topped the headlines last week. In an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press, the former Utah governor said that Cain is “a decent man and a good candidate,” but the allegations are a distraction that has taken the focus away from more important issues. “It’s up to Herman Cain to get the information out and get it out in total,” Huntsman said. “That’s important because we’ve got some real issues to discuss in this campaign...