Morning Joe: In Rejecting Huntsman, Republicans 'Turned Their Back' On Reagan
By Mark Finkelstein | January 16, 2012 | 07:21
Tuning in Morning Joe today, I half expected to discover on the set some professional mourners imported from North Korea, keening and crying over the political demise of Jon Huntsman.
Huntsman had had the Morning Joe crowd from hello. The overwhelming winner of the bien-pensant MSM primary was amazingly popular—except with actual Republican voters, who didn't dig his moderate positioning and a tone that some found . . . well, how do you say "supercilious" in Mandarin? Taking today's cake was Joe Scarborough finding Huntsman's "moderate temperament" Reaganesque, and claiming that in rejecting Huntsman, Republicans have "turned their backs" on Ronald Reagan. Video after the jump.
Reagan: moderate temperament? The man whose most famous phrase as a candidate was "I paid for this microphone!" and as president, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"?
Watch Scarborough make perhaps the year's least likely political analogy.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: Now seems the best time for [Huntsman] to get out of the race. I will just tell you on a personal note I hate to see it because he is one of the few true conservatives in this race. We are now left with big-government conservatives.
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Yeah, I would agree. I thought he would have really added to the conversation. But it didn't take off.
. . .
SCARBOROUGH: Again, the great irony is that Jon Huntsman, ideologically, if you look at his record from being governor of Utah forward, Jon Huntsman was the most conservative Republican--small-government conservative--in this race, bar none. Again, the Wall Street Journal said it, Erick Erickson said it, George Will said it. But because he had a moderate temperament, like another guy named Ronald Reagan, he was not seen as being conservative enough. Because he didn't call Barack Obama a Marxist or a fascist or a socialist, he was somehow deemed unworthy, as not hating enough to be a true conservative. If that is how the Republican party defines conservative in 2012, then they have turned their backs not only on Ronald Reagan but also on leaders like Jeb Bush and Mitch Daniels.
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Comments
Too Bad Joe.........
Submitted by jmigyanka@msn.com on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 7:55am.
The MSN will NOT choose the next REPUBLICAN PRESIDENT, real AMERICANS will.
Mitt Romney may not be all
Submitted by Dan The Man 2 on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 8:33am.
Mitt Romney may not be all that much better than Huntsboy. Huntsboy just had that Obama stink on him; like when a dog gets sprayed by a skunk, ya just don't want to be next to him.
I also don't trust Romney.
Submitted by mattm on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 12:40pm.
I also don't trust Romney. He's a RINO in my book. However, I'd rather have him, than the anti-American, pagan socialist, inelligible and illegal faux president we have now.
don't trust Romney or anti-american, pagan socialist, ineligible
Submitted by vrwc13 on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 2:53pm.
I also don't trust Romney. He's a RINO in my book. However, I'd rather have him, than the anti-American, pagan socialist, inelligible and illegal faux president we have now.
So we either get a untrustworthy RINO, whom we have no clue just what he will do as president, OR a anti-American, pagan socialist, inelligible and illegal faux one which at least we know what he is up to.
Some choice. I instead choose what's behind door #3!
v
Joe, you need to go back to selling cars or whatever you did.
Submitted by acaiguana on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 7:56am.
Joe's a complete flake.
ACA
...
Quoted from: 'Acaiguana notes from the Underground' (Soon to be at theaters near you)
Schmo
Submitted by dostrow57 on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 8:34am.
i despise j scarborough
used to watch it a lot
cant stand it anymore
Dan The Man
Submitted by jpalm32 on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 8:49am.
Diito!
alternate reality? altered reality?
Submitted by jon_torlin on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 8:50am.
Sure is interesting these alternate/altered reality views that these jokers have.
-Jon
Spew alert!
Submitted by motherbelt on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 8:52am.
The most hilarious postmortem of the Huntsman candidacy comes from the NYT, where the report had this to say:
Mr. Huntsman, who had struggled to live up to the soaring expectations of his candidacy,
Soaring expectations???
What the slimes means is
Submitted by Boudin on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 8:57am.
They had soaring expectations
Apparently someone at the NYT
Submitted by motherbelt on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 9:23am.
Apparently someone at the NYT got embarrassed.
The (online at least) article has been changed, and now refers to "early" expectations, not "soaring." LOL
Huntsman may have convinced
Submitted by Tugboat Phil on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 9:08am.
the people of Utah that he liked that state and those people, but I have yet to think that he has the same feelings towards America, with the exception of Democrats and media hacks. (yeah I know they're both the same)
_______________________
Don't Give Up The Ship!
Huntsman lost his one chance at a good 1st impression
Submitted by Slyrr on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 9:18am.
I remember Huntsman's kick-off speech. He gave it in the same spot Reagan gave his 1980 kick off speech, in a pathetic attempt to pass himself off as some kind of Reagan reincarnation. He failed utterly.
His kick off speech was a slobbering love-letter to Barack Obama, filled with disgusting words about how much he loved Obama, how much he respected him, and how he would never, ever EVER say anything bad about his beloved man-crush, Barack Obama because he loved him sooooo much. He may as well have given up that very moment and ordered anyone who was planning to vote for him to switch to Obama and have done with it.
He totally blew it, if he was trying to palm himself off as a Reaganite. Reagan stuck it to Carter hard and pointedly in his kick off speech and was NOT shy about pointing out exactly how Carter was a disaster for America and how America needed to throw the bum out. Reagan certainly didn't slobber over Carter and say how he 'respected' him and would 'never say anything bad' about him.
That's why Huntsman's campaign crashed and burned. Because America knows that Obama has been, and is, and always will be BAD for America. Obama needs to be thrown out as soon as possible, and the GOP wants a candidate who will stand up to Obama instead of humping his leg and kissing his backside like Huntsman and McCain did.
Huntsman was no Reagan. If he was a re-incarnation of any politician, it would have been McCain. And McCain's not even dead yet (though his career may be).
But because he had a moderate
Submitted by MidAmerica on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 9:23am.
But because he had a moderate temperament, like another guy named Ronald Reagan, he was not seen as being conservative enough.
Joe is being a little slick here and is half right. Reagan was of a moderate temperament. Reagan was a very easy fellow to be with but the implication that Reagan's views were temperate (moderate) couldn't be more wrong.
Has Joe been hitting the
Submitted by dscott on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 9:26am.
Has Joe been hitting the sauce again?
2012 - the year of Orwellian Propaganda, that or the rantings of sloshed MSM/DNC writers and talking heads.
You gotta give J Scarborough one thing
Submitted by Clemenza on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 9:30am.
This piece of $hit will parrot anything to keep his job. A real company man.
Lean forward.
You gotta give J Scarborough one thing
Submitted by Clemenza on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 9:30am.
This piece of $hit will parrot anything to keep his job. A real company man.
Lean forward.
Well it's obvious...
Submitted by MightyMouth on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 9:41am.
Joe is making the comparison to Ron Reagan Jr! In that case he's right!
So true. Joe only knows the balllet-dancing
Submitted by bfrank on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 11:13am.
anti-patriarchal Junior.
Scarborough and his
Submitted by Captain Repus on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 9:43am.
Scarborough and his breasted-American 2nd fiddle have spent months trying to pass this Huntsman phony off on the public but us 'dumb conservatives' just don't have the intellectual capacity to see what is best for us.
I predict that within the next 3 months Joe and his circle-jerk of political assassins will read the tea leafs and start the 'Hillary in 12' campaign.
Is it just me or does that
Submitted by Captain Repus on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 9:47am.
Is it just me or does that Tina Brown look like she was born with a very sour pickle in her mouth.
It's called a sophisticated
Submitted by Gat New York on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 12:38pm.
It's called a sophisticated sneer but I am not sure if she was born with it or developed it.
Joe done been. . .
Submitted by rickbren on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 9:52am.
. . . smokin' that wacky tubacky again!
ROFLMAO!
Submitted by Dave. on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 9:55am.
Huntsman is a joke that is barely one notch above the Dear Ruler, who he once worked for.
Joe Scarborough is an f'ing moron.
-Dave
mika
Submitted by ladeflippinda on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 9:57am.
Said Huntsman would have added to the conversation. What exactly? That his former boss is misunderstood?
No one is sure what he would have added, ladeflipp
Submitted by Blonde on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 11:06am.
....but of course, that's because he is always speaking in Chinese (in an effort to impress).
Huntsman may have been fiscally conservative, but his embrace of "climate change", calling everyone else stupid who didn't, and his overall snotty remarks and smart-ass attitude (particularly in the debates) was a total turn-off.
He tried to charm, oozing sleazy smarm, and it had the opposite effect. He came off as a phoney.
Handy Reference Guide to Obama's Gaffes and Goofs ~ Currently Numbering 109 (and Counting)
Wow, Joe has gone off the
Submitted by Scuba Dude on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 10:50am.
Wow, Joe has gone off the deep end yet again.
Huntsman was no Reagan. Huntsman was the candidate that the LSM wished they could put up against President Downgrade like they had with McRino back in 2008.
We are not going to be falling for the lies the LSM anymore. WE will pick our next candidate, not you!!!
Reagan would have not sugarcoated Obama's policies and
Submitted by bfrank on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 11:05am.
intentions like Huntsman and other 'moderate' Republicans. Reagan would not have been intimidated by race-baiting liberals and seen Obama for what he is, a socialist and his policies antithetical to American liberty.
So far this is the most
Submitted by rbosque on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 11:18am.
So far this is the most absurd comment that has come out of the mouths of these idiots. If Huntsman were another Reagan, then why did the left love Huntsman and hated Reagan?
Clearly, that comment was made on behalf of the DNC.
"...he is one of the few true conservatives in this race."
Submitted by vrwc13 on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 12:19pm.
he is one of the few true conservatives in this race.
...if that's so, then why is he endorsing the least conservative McRomney?
What's the connection here?
What do they have in common?
Why McRomney?
v
Endorsing Romney
Submitted by Agnostic on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 12:24pm.
So did Bolton. Since Bolton is not going to be an insider and he was promised a job by Newt it seems there is more of a reason than we see on the surface. It is hard to imagine that Bolton sees Romney as stronger on Defense than Newt. Perhaps Romney stand against illegal immigration is pushing this decision because of the terrorist groups south of the border and oil financing from the ME flowing into the Cartels (who didn't need more money to begin with but the connections to arms dealers is a boon for them). If Bolton sees that as our biggest threat I can see why he would turn from Newt.
But, but...
Submitted by amyshulk on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 12:19pm.
So what if this was all a double reverse psych thing - where Huntsman played a moderate to keep the msm from destroying him, glad handing them and wooing them, so they'd support him, and instead of the usual "I will do x when in office" on the stump, he would have done x when in office, putting Country above ego???
Ronald Reagan
joe blow
Submitted by angelann1 on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 12:37pm.
I wonder if joe ever listens to what he says.
Joey Scarborough compares Reagan to Huntsman...
Submitted by Conservator on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 1:59pm.
...as true conservatives like HIM (LOL). And of course the lefties, Mika and Tina agreed. I've posted some harsh criticisms regarding the coverage of Joey by NewsBusters last year. But as December neared, I noticed that the coverage of Joey had change regarding his leftist guests and the political views they opined while Joey was nodding his head in agreement.
I applaud all at NewsBusters for focusing on the fool's lefty quips. He was always ready to vote again for Obama like his fellow hosts at MSNBC. He just needed an excuse to rationalize his conclusion that he's still a small government conservative, who believes Obama deserves another term (ROTFL). BTW, I'm sure the greatest President in American history, Ronald Reagan would agree with me regarding the fashionable Joey - based on the great pictures of him modeling on the streets of the city.
Americans Say Reagan Is the Greatest U.S. President
In another segment
Submitted by amyshulk on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 2:47pm.
I don't believe it - in pushing back against Dr. Sachs, Joe *almost* stumbled on the connection between the high costs of health care and big gov't.!!!
Ronald Reagan
What!
Submitted by rusino on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 4:56pm.
Joe's opinion has no validity. To compare Huntsman's mamby pamby Casper Milqtoast message and delivery to Ronald Reagan is ridiculous. Mika is a feather weight. They are an embarrassment to broadcast journalism. What I mean to say is they are as embarrassing as most broadcast journalists.