Will Newt Gingrich start to decline significantly before the first few primaries come around. And if does this happen who will be the next “Great Right Hope”? I think if this happens Jon Huntsman can portray himself as a consistent conservative unlike Romney-he already has started to break five percent in the polls, if given a few more weeks he may get a surge…
I think he’ll start to decline based on his personal/professional history. Maybe the next “Great Right Hope” will be the candidate that tells us God chose them to run for president-- oh, right. FOUR of them did that already. 
Sending mixed messages. Clearly, God, like the Republican voters, needs to make up His mind.
Huntsman has no shot at this from what I’ve seen. He has too many positions that are anathema to the far right.
Plus, don’t forget he actually served as ambassador to China for Teh Evul Won.
There is not time for Newt to implode before Iowa. One way or the other the nominating process begins with him in the lead.
That doesn’t mean he won’t blow up during the process, though. In fact, it seems likely somehow.
But he’s the last anti-Romney standing.
Fred Karger for the win!
So go back and start at the beginning. Bachmann had a pretty good debate last week, maybe the GOP will start recycling its discards.
Except Huntsman and Santorum haven’t been up yet.
Sure, but Huntsman just comes off as a more liberal and less interesting Romney, and Santorum doesn’t really have anything except gay marriage and abortion. I don’t think either of them are going to break out.
You mean a far more honest and consistent version of Romney. Huntsman has always been pro-life and against Obamacare and its ilk, Romney hasn’t,
I think it’s a shame Ron Paul isn’t doing better. I thought he was great on Leno the other night.
I’m not sure where this comes from. Huntsman is a solid conservative, with the standard positions. I suspect that his main problems are a) he is Mormon, and b) he does not seem to believe that Obama is out to destroy the country.
Really it’s just the latter. The desired tone for the GOP base this cycle is unfettered hatred of Obama. Even Mitt has basically accused him of treason.
Huntsman worked for Obama… Not gonna happen.
Intrade gives Huntsman a 6 or 7 percent chance of nomination, which seems a little high to me. Nate Silver posts the pro-Huntsman scenario.
The man is angling for 2016. He’s staking out his stance (which is “I am a sane conservative”) and waiting/hoping for the party to come around. It’s not an implausible plan, since the party might be hungry for victory by then. And Frank is correct that the man is highly conservative – he was a tax-cutting Republican from the conservative state of Utah: what kind of bona fides do people want?
I have suggested before on this board that his abysmal showing so far reflects poorly on the Republican base. I suspect that he will pull above 10% in New Hampshire. But will a moving average of his national polling break the 15% barrier, if only for a moment? Bachmann, Perry, Gingrich, Ron Paul and of course Romney can answer in the affirmative. If Huntsman can’t scrape that together, diagnoses of the base’s psychology look grim.
Polling averages over time: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2011/12/the_gingrich_dive.php?ref=fpblg
Note that both Bachmann and Santorum tend to poll better than Huntsman.
“Silly pledges” refers to tax cut pledges. Huntsman got that right.
Now let me be clear: to call Huntsman serious is definitely a case of grading on a curve. He has spoken of the EPA’s, “regulatory reign of terror” more than once, which is frankly silly. He would veto a deficit bill skewed 10-to-1 toward spending cuts rather than tax increases. Ten to one! He supports Paul Ryan’s phase-out of medicare – never mind that medicare contains costs better than the private sector on average and that evidence to the contrary is basically nonexistent.
Worked for Obama, said he believed in global warming, came out for gay civil unions, supported S-CHIP, won’t sign the no tax pledge, etc.
Clearly the man is a socialist.
If they could just train him to say “tax cuts!” every time he hears a bell ring, what more does he need?
He’s got the Google problem.
No, but he’s to the left of the Republican field.
I don’t think he is to the left of Ron Paul. And he could be both left and right of Newt Gingrich is, his conservatism changes hourly.