Jon Huntsman served under President Obama as ambassador to China. He already was governor of Utah and had a series of credentials that made him a shoe-in for the position. He was elected governor of Utah twice, enjoyed high approval ratings, and actually has a lot to crow about with respect to his management of Utah. While he is anathema to most progressives and liberals, this is Utah we're talking about here, so cool your jets. In any normal universe, this experience would be seen as positive. After all, he wasn't ambassador to a minor nation, like say, Djibouti. No, he represented America and American interests to an up and coming global superpower with inextricable ties to the U.S. economy. The post was an honor and indicative that his country felt he had what it took to take on such an important task.
This is why when Mitt Romney brought up Huntsman's tenure under President Obama, as if Huntsman was a communist that was trying to sneak into the Republican primary, you could almost see Huntsman's anger come to the fore. Romney was condescending and insulting in his usual manner, yet, this jab was indicative of a trend common among Republicans vying for their parties nomination. To tie a candidate to the President in any sort of positive light is to destroy that candidate in the minds of the primary voter. However, to sully a man's credentials at having taken up such an important post is to besmirch the honor of this country. It's downright embarrassing to this nation and some small part of me hopes Romney vomits a little in his mouth every time the flaming anti-Obama rhetoric spews from his facial orifice. Huntsman has two sons serving in the navy, and was responsible for being the flag bearer of American interests abroad, and yet none of the honor and accolades he rightfully deserves have been bestowed upon him because of the infantile vitriol his party has reduced itself to.This isn't the first time we've seen America's honor sullied by Republican candidates stricken with Obama derangement syndrome. The discussions about the war in Afghanistan have been downright insulting to America's intelligence and the honor of our military. This crop of Republican candidates (save Huntsman and Paul) have bent over backwards to see who can top who in a contest of love for the military. Yet, when they talk about the war, they presume to say that they would "consult with their military commanders and let them handle the war," rather than followed Obama's presumably failed policies. If I were in the military I'd feel insulted. The backbone of the military is the chain of command. It's the spine of the entire operation. No chain of command, no world class military; end of story. The President is head of the chain of command. His subordinates are the generals, who provide him with information and present their case, knowing that their superior will make a decision. The military doesn't work without this rigid, top-down setup. To say that "they would consult the generals" is to assume that somehow those same generals have been derelict in their duties with the current administration. Not only do you accuse the generals of not having done their job, you also wade into murky waters where there is no civilian control of the military. It's bad enough we have Blackwater and military contractors who have diluted, if not downright dashed, that distinction, but to openly say that the President should somehow be the puppet of the military on live national television should have sparked a greater debate.
This entire primary season has left me shaken. There are real life people, with jobs, homes, family, and friends, who feel that this behavior is warranted. They look at someone like Rick Santorum, and they don't see an arrogant clown masquerading as a human being, they see someone that reflects their views and positions. Jon Huntsman is a polished candidate with economic ideas. Sure, to a progressive they're horrendous, but at least they're thought out. He doesn't rely on second rate theatrics to make his points, and he has tried very hard to be reasonable, mistakenly thinking that it would be a strength for his campaign. We've had other candidates, like Buddy Roemer come into the national spotlight, and they seem like reasonable people. Heck, we're actually looking at our crazy uncle Ron Paul as the new messiah for 2012. Where is the sense of honor in this country that Republicans have always laid claim to? I came of age in the Bush era, so my view of Republicans is heavily skewed towards that political climate. Liberals were derided and scorned by the larger society for our outspokenness against the war in Iraq. We were called un-American and traitorous, and our patriotism was questioned as a matter of procedure. "Democrats want to take money from you and give it to losers!" "Democrats wanted Saddam Hussein to win because they hate America!" "War record Shwar record, we can slander that too!" Yet now, these same Republicans are treading on our national dignity and insulting the intelligence of a wider audience so that several hundred thousand reality challenged conservatives in Iowa, New Hampshire, Florida, and South Carolina can live out their revenge fantasy against the leader of their own country. Huzzah!
If anything proved that the Tea Party fueled conservative movement is nothing but a complete, intellectually bankrupt foray into the depths of depravity, then consider this. Mark Meckler, the king of the Tea Baggers, got on Martin Bashir's show, and actually said that he thought Newt Gingrich was a conservative and a historian for Fannie and Freddie.
Dissonance thy name is Tea Bagger. God Help us.