2012

So Much For Huntsman 2.0: The 'Crazy' Candidate Swings Right

Benjy Sarlin | September 2, 2011, 6:25AM

Jon Huntsman

Billing himself as the candidate of the "real world" and highlighting his breaks from party orthodoxy, Jon Huntsman has tried to brand himself as a pragmatic truth-teller in a GOP that has swung too far towards the hardline right.

But his rhetoric and policy hasn't always matched up with the broader message in recent days. The tension is most evident in his grand jobs plan, the centerpiece of which is a proposal to slash taxes for the wealthy while eliminating a plethora of popular breaks for homeowners and middle class Americans. Huntsman sells the move on its purity -- tax expenditures for corporations and average Americans alike would be dropped to lower rates -- but realistically, the plan has virtually no chance of passing Congressional muster. The Bowles-Simpson deficit commission, hardly a darling of the left, acknowledged as much in their report last year, suggesting lawmakers keep some of the most popular breaks -- like the mortgage interest deductions, exemptions for employer-provided health care, and the earned income tax credit -- in order to generate sufficient support for tax reform along the lines Huntsman proposes.

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2012

Jon Huntsman Fires New Hampshire Campaign Manager

Benjy Sarlin | September 1, 2011, 1:41PM

Jon Huntsman

Jon Huntsman is shaking up his staff in New Hampshire, dropping his campaign manager for the state, Ethan Elion, and replacing him with a former aide to Tim Pawlenty.

"Sarah Crawford Stewart, a seasoned New Hampshire strategist, will be taking over many of the day-to-day responsibilities in her role as New Hampshire senior adviser," a spokesman told the New Hampshire Union Leader. The campaign is very pleased with the leadership team we have in place in New Hampshire."

Stewart was Pawlenty's state director and also worked on John McCain's successful 2000 and 2008 primary campaigns.

It's a bit of a stretch to call any state a "must-win" for Huntsman given that he's barely registering in national polling at the moment, sharing the bottom-tier with candidates like Thad McCotter and Gary Johnson. But as a far as Huntsman has a path to the nomination, it runs through New Hampshire, where he's hoping he can appeal to independent and moderate voters to jumpstart his campaign.