Where the Dreams of the Broderites and Libertarians Converge
By Actually, in a way, it makes sense — the central fantasy of both is to completely shred the federal safety net. But libertarians have apparently found a new savior who merits a second look:
While less than perfect, libertarians are hoping for a Jon Huntsman resurgence to spare them from Newt and Mitt. “I think there is burgeoning interest in Jon Huntsman,” says Boaz, though perhaps “too late to matter.” While not a card-carrying libertarian, says Tanner, he possesses the right combination of a very conservative economic agenda and more moderate positions on foreign policy and social issues.
Huntsmentum!
It is actually a puzzle why Hunstman decided that Lieberman ’04 was the model campaign, especially since (unlike Lieberman) there was no policy heresy that prevented him from running as the plain-vanilla conservative alternative. I suspect the theory that typical GOP primary voter likes to see pandering to centrist journalists about how awful the party is is won’t get another trial soon, although we’ll see it on the Democratic side should Mark Penn ever get another gig.
In other GOP primary news, Romney is inevitable.