The Turncoat, or why I dislike Huntsman

People have asked me why I disliked Jon Huntsman. Out of all the other candidates — not the warmongering Rick Santorum, not the flip-flopping Mitt Romney, and not the laughably corrupt Newt Gingrich — Huntsman is the only one I truly and personally disliked. I might disagree with Santorum’s insane anti-Muslim hysterics, but I hold no personal dislike (or like) for him. It is the same with Romney, Gingrich, and Bachmann.

From all accounts, I ought to identify more with Huntsman than I could with any of the other Republican presidential nominee contenders. He is modern, cosmopolitan, educated, somewhat secular, and willing to set aside partisan politicking to serve a cause. His policies are moderate and he recognizes science’s role in our society. His acceptance of a position under the Obama administration is very admirable and as Tumblr blogger Karamazov Alexei pointed out, also patriotic.

That Huntsman can set aside partisanship and work with a president from an opposing party, that is admirable. However, Huntsman served ambassador under the Obama administration, only to then run against the very same man who trusted him with that prestigious appointment. After which, Huntsman’s campaign spent considerable effort attacking Romney’s policies only to then completely backtrack and endorse that very same rival. All of this taken together is a picture of a man not bound by any sense of loyalty.

Huntsman has shown himself to be a turncoat: to his party, to his president, and to his own campaign. That is despicable and his actions are indications of a great deficit of character and integrity.