Huntsman to meet with South Carolina GOP leaders

[Mr. Morden]

Hmmmm.....I was skeptical, but maybe he is seriously thinking about running:

http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705286033,00.html

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[Lunar]

Henry McMaster is the kingmaker in SC GOP politics btw.  He endorsed McCain in the last cycle and it was a big deal

[Landslide Lyndon]

I think that he should ignore South Carolina for two reasons.

1)If Mormonism proved an insurmountable obstacle for Mitt Romney then I don't see why the same won't happen with Husntsman.

2)Mark Sanford will probably run making the state pretty irrelevant.

[Keystone Phil]

Good. I like him. Make Romney irrelevant.

2)Mark Sanford will probably run making the state pretty irrelevant.

He's made clear that he probably won't run.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Huntsman is a great guy and is third on my list right now of favorites for 2012


1. Can you Guess?
2. Mitch Daniels(I am beginning to like this guy and I would prefer the GOP stick with Northerners.)
3. Huntsman
4. Jindal(I have down graded him do to when his next LA election is, and that he might wait till 2016. Would be an excellent Veep for Daniels though).

[RI]

If Huntsman and Romney both run, who wins Utah?

[Keystone Phil]

If Huntsman and Romney both run, who wins Utah?

Romney - A Mormon with connections to Utah.

Huntsman - A Mormon who actually serves the people of Utah.




I guess Romney could try to use Huntsman's civil unions support against him but I'm not sure if that would be enough.

[Keystone Phil]

By the way, this guy has a tan that makes Crist look like an albino...






Another random note - I'm pretty sure Huntsman is wearing a University of Pennsylvania tie in that picture. This is odd because when the Governor's conference was in town this past summer, my friend and I were walking to 30th Street train station, just blocks away from Penn, and we're 90% sure Huntsman and some security jogged by. My friend yelled, "Governor!" just as a joke (not knowing if it was really a Governor) and the guy addressed us right away. I think his security guys gave us a second look, too.

[Keystone Phil]

Yep, it's a UPenn tie. He went to the Wharton School.

[RI]

He is probably one of the better names that I have seen floated around.

[tmthforu94]

He's OK
I agree with someone above on Mitch Daniels. This guy has no major flaws. He is extremely likeable, and he gives people the impression that he cares, and he isn't in politics for the attention.
My list. Hopefully it will start growing shorter
1. Mitt Romney
2. Bobby Jindal
3. Mitch Daniels
4. Michele Bachmann
5. John Thune
6. Sarah Palin

[RIP Robert H Bork]

Good. I like him. Make Romney irrelevant.

2)Mark Sanford will probably run making the state pretty irrelevant.

He's made clear that he probably won't run.

I agree, better to have Huntsman than Mitt Romney, in any case.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

He'd be a fine choice.  I don't know many of his positions; what's he like?

[Lunar]

He'd be a fine choice.  I don't know many of his positions; what's he like?

He was with McCain as one of the early pro-environment wing of the GOP.  Pro-civil unions (breaks with his state's establishment).  Speaks Mandarin Chinese fluently, has served as Ambassador to Singapore, has adopted two Asian daughters (one-ups McCain here) etc.  He's competent and independent while still very conservative.  I wouldn't vote for him in 2012, but I wouldn't be depressed about his candidacy, at least not until I see if he maintains his independence during the primaries or not.

[bgwah]

Just imagine how pissed this must be making Romney.

[Keystone Phil]

Just imagine how pissed this must be making Romney.

[Rowan]

Just imagine how pissed this must be making Romney.

Tough. He stinks.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Just imagine how pissed this must be making Romney.

[Brittain33]

There's going to have to be some follow-up to his statement supporting civil unions. There is no way that the S.C. GOP muckity-mucks won't bring it up and I expect he'll recant.

[RIP Robert H Bork]

Just imagine how pissed this must be making Romney.

[Mr. Morden]

What exactly was McCain's position on gay marriage / civil unions in the 2008 campaign?  I know McCain was against the passage of a constitutional amendment that would ban it.....so I guess he was for the federalist position of "let each state pass their own laws on this".  But did he come out with a position on the question of what he thought the states should do on this, if they retained the authority to decide on their own?

Actually....now that I think about it.....wasn't there that one Hardball interview, where McCain said that he's fine with gays having private ceremonies or what have you.....but didn't think it should be called "marriage"?  So is Huntsman's position really much different from McCain's?

[Alcon]

What exactly was McCain's position on gay marriage / civil unions in the 2008 campaign?  I know McCain was against the passage of a constitutional amendment that would ban it.....so I guess he was for the federalist position of "let each state pass their own laws on this".  But did he come out with a position on the question of what he thought the states should do on this, if they retained the authority to decide on their own?

Actually....now that I think about it.....wasn't there that one Hardball interview, where McCain said that he's fine with gays having private ceremonies or what have you.....but didn't think it should be called "marriage"?  So is Huntsman's position really much different from McCain's?

It is, a little.  McCain was either for very weak civil unions, or against them, depending on which position he was pretending to advocate on the given day.

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I doubt he really cares about civil unions one way or another.  I also doubt he'd be crestfallen if gay marriage happened, but obviously he objects to it enough to campaign for a ban in Arizona.  More than anything, I think it was clear during the campaign that it made him uncomfortable, and he would have liked people to stop asking.  I'd say he seems internally conflicted, but I'm not even sure he thought about it enough for that.

Huntsman is unequivocally for strong civil unions.  So yeah, I would say their positions are notably different.

[paul718]

Is there any record of how much money Romney got from Mormon donors in his '08 run?