Updated and Bumped: someone (who shall remain nameless for now) decided to challenge me over my use of the words association, No Labels, McKinnon, and Huntsman. So, here’s yet another association for Huntsman that may drive NH Conservatives crazy:
When Huntsman took second spot in the Republican Leadership Conference straw poll last full week in New Orleans, Politico documented, he benefited from the vote-wrangling of former Louisiana Rep. Joseph Cao, who conservatives nicely keep in mind as the only Republican to vote for Obamacare in the House.
In this case, Google is more my friend than for Mr. Nameless.
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From Townhall:
Why are so many conservatives wary of Jon Huntsman? Certainly the former Utah governor’s positions on issues like cap and trade and civil unions trouble conservatives of both the economic and social variety. But there are other candidates, like front-runner Mitt Romney, whose positions also cause conservatives to grumble. So why does Huntsman stand out?
One answer is the company he keeps. Despite his solidly conservative views on many issues, Huntsman has gathered a group of advisers and supporters from the moderate-to-liberal side of the GOP spectrum and has received largely favorable treatment in the political press. Many conservatives look at that and say: There must be something wrong.
Huntsman’s top campaign aide is John Weaver, who was John McCain’s top campaign aide in 2000 and in the early stages of the 2008 campaign — campaigns that often raised the ire of the GOP base. (Weaver has also worked for some Democrats.) Other McCain veterans have signed on with Huntsman, as well. Still others, like Mark McKinnon — the aide who worked for McCain in the 2008 primaries but left because he did not want to campaign against Barack Obama — also favor Huntsman. (McKinnon is a co-founder of the "No Labels" movement, much derided by conservatives.)
"No Labels" has been derided as a group that can’t figure out what it is or what it stands for, other than (like other Progressive Regressives) Government always seems to be the answer funded with more of your money (and never the converse is true for these folks that must think the rest of us are mere political yokels).
Frankly, every time I hear that such and such prominent Democrat thinks that Huntsman would be a dandy Republican nominee, I cringe. Every time I hear a liberal pundit go "he da man!", I figure that should be a Conservative’s kiss of Death.
Given that it is John Weaver running things, he’s going to run Huntsman as McCain redeux. Problem is, Huntsman is no war hero to make up for his other attributes (e.g., I have a hard time swallowing the "solidly conservative views" line).
So, Steve, does Huntsman’s association with a "No Labels" guy give you the warm and fuzzies (after all, isn’t NH Dem Maggie Hassan a big time No Labeler)?
