# The Next Great Right Hope?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-great-right-hope/606562
**Category:** Politics & Elections
**Created:** [December 17, 2011, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-great-right-hope/606562 "2011-12-17T20:04:56Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2011, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-great-right-hope/606562/1 "2011-12-17T20:04:56Z")
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…
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### Author:  [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2011, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-great-right-hope/606562/2 "2011-12-17T20:35:43Z")
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. 😃
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### Author:  [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2011, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-great-right-hope/606562/3 "2011-12-17T20:40:47Z")
Sending mixed messages. Clearly, God, like the Republican voters, needs to make up His mind.
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### Author:  [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2011, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-great-right-hope/606562/4 "2011-12-17T21:08:34Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)
#### Post date: [December 17, 2011, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-great-right-hope/606562/5 "2011-12-17T21:12:13Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2011, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-great-right-hope/606562/6 "2011-12-18T00:47:52Z")
Fred Karger for the win! 😃
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### Author:  [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2011, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-great-right-hope/606562/7 "2011-12-18T00:48:37Z")
So go back and start at the beginning. Bachmann had a pretty good debate last week, maybe the GOP will start recycling its discards.
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### Author:  [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2011, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-great-right-hope/606562/8 "2011-12-18T01:58:58Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#):
>
> 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.
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### Author:  [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2011, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-great-right-hope/606562/9 "2011-12-18T02:36:16Z")
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.
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### Author:  [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2011, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-great-right-hope/606562/10 "2011-12-18T03:58:41Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#):
>
> Sure, but Huntsman just comes off as a more liberal and less interesting Romney
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,
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### Author:  [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2011, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-great-right-hope/606562/11 "2011-12-18T03:59:25Z")
I think it’s a shame Ron Paul isn’t doing better. I thought he was great on Leno the other night.
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### Author:  [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2011, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-great-right-hope/606562/12 "2011-12-18T04:20:19Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#):
>
> Sure, but Huntsman just comes off as a more liberal and less interesting Romney, …
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.
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### Author:  [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2011, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-great-right-hope/606562/13 "2011-12-18T04:48:36Z")
> [@Frank](#):
>
> 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.
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### Author:  [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2011, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-great-right-hope/606562/14 "2011-12-18T05:02:25Z")
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](http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/12/jon-huntsmans-path-to-victory/).
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](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2011/12/the_gingrich_dive.php?ref=fpblg)
Note that both Bachmann and Santorum tend to poll better than Huntsman.
> [@](#):
>
> “I think people are coming around to finding that I am the consistent conservative in this race. They’re coming around to find that I am not going to pander, I’m not going to contort myself into a pretzel to please any audience I’m in front of and I’m not going to sign those silly pledges,” Mr. Huntsman stated, essentially calling out all of his GOP rivals for things they’ve done throughout the primary campaign season.
>
> “And you know what else? I’m not going to show up at a Donald Trump debate,” Mr. Huntsman remarked, to a mixture of applause and jeers from the audience.
>
> Read more: [http://www.thestatecolumn.com/articles/donald-trump-slams-jon-huntsman-for-being-a-lightweight/#ixzz1grIAKIyV](http://www.thestatecolumn.com/articles/donald-trump-slams-jon-huntsman-for-being-a-lightweight/#ixzz1grIAKIyV)
“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](http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/12/if-were-nearing-peak-newt-its-time-to-talk-more-about-huntsman/249437/). 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.
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### Author:  [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2011, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-great-right-hope/606562/15 "2011-12-18T06:35:48Z")
> [@Frank](#):
>
> 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.
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.
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### Author:  [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2011, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-great-right-hope/606562/16 "2011-12-18T16:30:35Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#):
>
> 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.
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### Author:  [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-great-right-hope/606562/17 "2011-12-18T17:13:33Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#):
>
> …and Santorum doesn’t really have anything except gay marriage and abortion.
If they could just train him to say “tax cuts!” every time he hears a bell ring, what more does he need?
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### Author:  [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2011, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-great-right-hope/606562/18 "2011-12-18T18:26:47Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#):
>
> …and Santorum doesn’t really have anything except gay marriage and abortion.
He’s got the Google problem.
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### Author:  [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2011, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-great-right-hope/606562/19 "2011-12-18T19:43:31Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#):
>
> Clearly the man is a socialist.
No, but he’s to the left of the Republican field.
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### Author:  [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)
#### Post date: [December 18, 2011, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-next-great-right-hope/606562/20 "2011-12-18T22:52:16Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#):
>
> 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.
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