The Republican Party needs to do its best to get away from the swing-hard-right mindset, one that is slowly breaking the party apart.  The tea party has the right goals, but their aggressive nature is not helping a country in need of healing.
The GOP needs to find a candidate closer to the middle of the road, one who will represent the center-right populace.  Perry, Bachmann and Palin are not what this country needs. They are too far right and too caught up in themselves.
Use Perry’s Aug. 6 Prayer Rally as an example.  This event clearly does not illustrate separation of church and state. The idea of a prayer rally in a political context is terrifying.
I learned of Gov. Jon Huntsman back in January when he was still ambassador to China.
From that point I’ve realized that he is a levelheaded leader (something that tea partiers aren’t).
The GOP needs to understand that Huntsman’s mindset and style appeal to a majority of Americans — even a good number left of center.  His “no pledge” pledge gives him flexibility, relieving him of the natural pandering of candidates to special interest groups that comes along with the signature.
John Weaver, a Huntsman strategist, told Esquire Magazine that the Republican Party is not the governing party because “no one wants to be around a bunch of cranks” – a description the tea party has definitely achieved.
Huntsman is no tea partier – he has done his best to veer away from the harsh rhetoric of candidates such as Perry and Bachmann.
Obama recognized Huntsman as the most formidable opponent when he sent him overseas as ambassador to China in May of 2009.
Others may argue that his appointment as ambassador was based more on his language or diplomatic skills.  He is able to speak Mandarin Chinese and Taiwanese Hokkien.
David Plouffe, Obama’s campaign mastermind even said that Huntsman is the only Republican candidate that made him “a wee bit queasy.”
Last Thursday The Wall Street Journal, a paper influential among fiscal conservatives, touted Huntsman’s jobs plan, “as impressive as any to date in the GOP presidential field, and certainly better than what we’ve seen from the front-runners.”  His plan drastically scales back the purview of government spending as well as simplifies the tax code.
Huntsman said that his plan encourages small business growth in addition to growth in the United States as opposed to overseas.
His plan also pushes for energy independence and free trade.  As he said in a speech in Hudson, New Hampshire recently, “…it represents a serious path forward – toward fiscal discipline and economic growth.”
“This is a proposal that has come right from what I have done as governor,” said Huntsman on CBS’s Face the Nation this past Sunday.  He describes his plan as “hard hitting, bold, and big picture.”
As he told Bob Schieffer, he’s not talking hypotheticals or political hyperbole; he’s drawing on exactly what he did in Utah as governor that gave him so much success.  Obama ran on “hope” in ’08; Huntsman is running on facts and a proven record.
He supports green and solar energies as long as they are part of a balanced approach to end addiction to foreign oil and within a sound economic plan.
Jon Huntsman is a candidate with an impressive record.  As governor he was number one in job creation during his tenure.  He’s a candidate with a record going into our country’s highest office, something we were left without in ‘08.