Benjy Sarlin June 22, 2011, 12:08 PM

Having reviewed the sum total of Jon Huntsman’s accomplishments and biography, indeed looked deep within the former Utah governor’s very soul, Club For Growth announced its findings on Wednesday: “Meh.”

The conservative anti-tax outfit dubbed Huntsman a “frustrating figure,” whom they nevertheless credited with pursuing “pro-growth” policies in Utah. On the negative side, they took off major points for increasing state spending (“inexcusable”), backing TARP, and once supporting cap-and-trade legislation to combat climate change. They were especially concerned with the governor’s belief that Americans deserve proper health care.

“We find Governor Huntsman’s statement that ‘health care is a right’ to be simply flabbergasting,” they wrote. “We’re not sure what part of the United States Constitution Governor Huntsman was referring to when he made that statement, but he certainly needs to explain what he was thinking.”

Overall, Club For Growth said that Huntsman might be a decent president if he can shake off his tendency to determine “policy positions based on what the so-called ‘intelligentsia’ believes,” but they didn’t sound too optimistic.

“We believe that pro-growth conservatives looking for a kindred spirit in Governor Huntsman will probably find common ground on trade and taxes, but they will most likely be disappointed overall if he is elected President,” they concluded.

None of the top-tier presidential candidates have come out looking too great in the influential Club For Growth’s ongoing series of white papers thus far. They demanded Mitt Romney acknowledge his Massachusetts health care law is a “failure” and wrote that they “struggle to identify the real Tim Pawlenty.”

2012, 2012 Presidential Primaries, 2012 elections, Club For Growth, Jon Huntsman