Pro-Life
This issue is perhaps the defining characteristic of Jon Huntsman’s status as a conservative, and the only issue that challenges his status as a moderate. Huntsman is pro-life, typified by his signing of three anti-abortion legislations during his last year as the Governor of Utah.
Nevertheless, Huntsman has refused to sign the Susan B. Anthony List pledge which required signatories to appoint only pro-life cabinet members in a potential administration and stop federal funding of abortions, among others.
Adoption
With two adopted daughters, Huntsman is clearly in favor of it.
“Because although you would not know it in this town, there is something more essential than politics, and that’s life, especially a child’s life. I can’t imagine how much poorer the world would be without Gracie and her younger sister Asha who is adopted from India. Mary Kaye and I give thanks to those two mothers, not just on Mother’s Day, but every day of our lives for valuing their daughters life enough so that they could become our daughters.”
June 3, 2011, The Faith And Freedom Coalition Conference, Washington D.C
Roe v. Wade
Huntsman supports a constitutional amendment to overturn Roe v. Wade
“I sign the bill that would trigger the ban on abortion in Utah if Roe v. Wade were overturned”
June 3, 2011, The Faith And Freedom Coalition Conference, Washington D.C
"I do support a right to life amendment"
Jun 08, 2011, Radio Interview with Hugh Hewitt
“Governor Huntsman supports a federal amendment that would ensure legal protections for the unborn… He’s proud of his record in Utah and will continue to advocate for life on a national level.”
August 20, 2011, Tim Miller, spokesman for Huntsman
Parental notification
“I signed the bill requiring parental permission for an abortion”
June 3, 2011, The Faith And Freedom Coalition Conference, Washington D.C
Embryonic stem cell research
Huntsman supports stem cell research, but not embryonic cells.
“Jon Huntsman is a passionate supporter of stem cell research which is leading to new discoveries that will improve and lengthen the lives of many Americans… He supports federal funding for lines that have a demonstrated history of success — adult stem cells, non-embryonic stem-cells and certain types of embryonic stem cell research. Gov. Huntsman opposes federal funding for new lines that would do harm to embryos”
28 Jun 2011, Huntsman’s spokesman Tim Miller
Huntsman opines that we should immediately cut our losses and withdraw our soldiers in the absence of ‘winning exit strategy”.
"If you can't define a winning exit strategy for the American people, where we somehow come out ahead, then we're wasting our money, and we're wasting our strategic resources … It's a tribal state, and it always will be. Whether we like it or not, whenever we withdraw from Afghanistan, whether it's now or years from now, we'll have an incendiary situation. Should we stay and play traffic cop? I don't think that serves our strategic interests."
15 June 2011, Esquire magazine
He has repeated the comments several times since, with the latest one made during the Heritage/AEI GOP Debate in Washington.
“I think we need to square with the American people about what we’ve achieved. We need an honest conversation in this country about the sacrifices that had been made over nearly ten years. We’ve dismantled the Taliban, we’ve run the out of Kabul, we’ve had free elections in 2004, we’ve killed Osama bin Laden, we’ve upended, dismantled, al-Qaeda. We have achieved some very important goals for the United States of America.
Now the fact that we have a hundred thousand troops nation building in Afghanistan, when this nation so desperately needs to be built, when on the ground we do need intelligence gathering, no doubt about that. We need a strong Special Forces presence, we need a drone presence, we need some ongoing training of the Afghan National Army. But we haven’t done a very good job defining and articulating what the endpoint is in Afghanistan. I think the American people are getting very tired about where we find ourselves today.”
November 22, 2011: Huntsman speaking at the CNN/Heritage/AEI Republican Debate at the DAR Constitutional Hall in Washington
Cost
•"I think the public will is such that there is the desire on the part of most Americans to being phasing out as quickly as possible.”
•“Now does that mean we’ll likely have 10,000 or 15,000 troops behind who are prepared to collect intelligence and fight an asymmetric war against terror? Of course. We should be doing that at every corner of the world.”
•“Does it mean that the very expensive boots on the ground may be something that is not critical for our national security needs, nor is it something we can afford this point in our economic history? I think most Americans would say it’s probably a good transition point.”
Excerpts from an interview by The Times' Jim Rutenberg on June 14 at the Reuters HQ where Huntsman was scheduled for a discussion with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
Pakistan
Huntsman was surprisingly forthcoming in expressing his incredulity and anger at Pakistan
"And a bit of anger toward the Pakistani government, to be honest. I've been to Pakistan, I know how they operate, I know their politics, and I was angry that this guy could be thirty miles north of Islamabad, and their plausible deniability? That's just such bullshit, I can't even believe it."
15 June 2011, Esquire magazine
In view of his long private, public, diplomatic and political experience, there were high expectations surrounding a Huntsman economic plan. After all, during his time as Governor of Utah, he presided over the largest tax cut in its history, balanced every budget during his tenure and tripled the state’s rainy-day fund. So much so, that the Pew Center name Utah as the best managed state in the country. The libertarian think tank, Cato Institute, even labeled him ‘Reaganesque’.
He did not disappoint his core support base, the conservative intellectual elites . His Time To Compete: An American Jobs Plan, unveiled in New Hampshire on 31 Aug 2011, offers a comprehensive strategy on tax and regulatory reforms, energy independence and free trade – reminiscent of former president Ronald Reagan’s 1986 tax reform proposal.
In his tax plan, Huntsman proposes to develop a simpler taxation system through a formula that does away with the current deduction/credit method, and instead, introduce a three-tier rate (8, 14 and 23 percent) in place of the current six, along with the elimination of capital gain and dividend taxes, while reducing corporate taxes from 35 to 25 percent.
“Our tax code is too complex, our rates are too high, and the tax burden is carried by too few. It costs America’s taxpayers over $400 billion every year just to be in compliance with the 17,000-page tax code.”
The repeal of Obamacare, Dodd-Frank Act (H.R. 4173) and the Sarbanes–Oxley Act (H.R. 3763) serves as the centerpiece of his regulatory reforms, which aims to reorganize the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), U.S. Patent Office and other allegedly inefficient and bureaucracy-mired bodies that creates unnecessary hurdles and barriers for economic activities.
He also intends to challenge the primacy of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in determining world energy prices, while expediting the development of the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska’s oil, gas and shale gas energy projects.
His plan received generally positive reviews, with the notoriously difficult to please Wall Street Journal editorial board giving it high marks.
“That means economically inefficient tax carve outs for mortgage interest, municipal bonds, child credits and green energy subsidies would at last be closed… The double tax on capital gains and dividends would be expunged as would the Alternative Minimum Tax. The corporate tax rate falls to 25 percent from 35 percent, and American businesses would be taxed on a territorial system to encourage firms to return capital parked in overseas operations… Mr. Huntsman says he’d also bring to heel the hyper-regulators at the Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Administration and the National Labor Relations Board, all of which are suppressing job-creation… Mr. Huntsman's proposal is as impressive as any to date in the GOP presidential field, and certainly better than what we've seen from the front-runners … Perhaps Mr. Huntsman should be asked to give the Republican response to the president's jobs speech next week. The two views of what makes an economy grow could not be more different.”
September 2, 2011, Huntsman's Good Economic Plan, Wall Street Journal, Editorial
The Business Insider, meanwhile, opines,
“Regardless, his plan — and the positive response it has gotten from fiscal conservatives — is enough to get Mitt Romney worried. The former Massachusetts governor will announce his own plan on Tuesday, and he is under pressure to cater it to appeal to the tea party. Such a move would weakening (sic) his position in the eyes of the so-called "conservative intelligentsia," who haven't found a candidate to get behind — until now.”
However, the plan also met with some criticism, which generally centers on the fact that it disproportionately favors the more affluent segment of the demographic, while shifting the tax-paying burden into the direction of lower income Americans.
“As presented, it would almost certainly benefit people at the top end better than people in the bottom end,”
Roberton Williams, Tax Policy Center
Huntsman presenting Time to Compete; Gilchrist Metal Fabricating plant, NH, August 31, 2011
Budget
Huntsman is a proponent of a balanced budget approach, and while he agrees in principle with the Ryan Plan, a proposal forwarded by fellow Republican Paul Ryan, the Chairman of the House Committee on the Budget, he insists that there should be no ‘sacred cows’ in spending cuts, and advocates a cutback on military expenses as well. He also wants to have a closer look at Social Security and other entitlement items in the budget.
"We're not gonna spend money we don't have... we gotta move towards a world we have a balanced budget amendment... We don't have it as a country right now... and that's going to ensure that the percentage of our GDP that's allocated to government spending is not 23 or 24%, like it is today which is unsustainable, but is more like 19%. If we can assure the American people that we are willing to move in areas like this, I'll feel a whole lot better about what's the next generation is going to get"
7 July, 2011, Foxnews Radio, WFLA 970
Deficit
Huntsman strongly believes that our economic policy should be centered on a balanced budget. ”Everybody has the expectation we will move towards a balanced budget amendment. This is a no-brainer and must be done. People are fed up with where we are financially, $14.3 trillion in debt. This cancer has got to be cut out. And one of the most important and powerful tools getting us there is a balanced budget amendment… The market is going to react as we do. The markets are going to react as they will. But listen, it is important to maintain our triple-a rating in this country. We have done so for almost 100 years.”
28 July, 2011, Greta Van Susteran, Fox News
Debts
Huntsman, critical over the delay in the resolution of the debt ceiling discussions, nevertheless is one of the few prominent Republicans who has come out in support of the Boehner plan, citing it as the ‘only act in town’.
"I think the Boehner bill is the only act in town. I think it's sound, given every other alternative -- or lack of alternative. It cuts. It allows us to meet our obligations, and most importantly, it begins to address entitlements and something as important as a balanced budget amendment that, as governor, I had to use.... It’s the most important safeguard when a governor or a president is preparing a budget. And I think it would be terribly important for this country.
And it also envisions looking at a competitive tax code longer-term, and I think that's terribly important for our overall competitiveness in the country. So the Boehner plan gets us short-term to be short of where we need to be, but I think these bigger issues that are going to be terribly important for our overall competitiveness -- it gets them queued up so that we can begin discussing them seriously.
This is what people hate about Washington. The fact that something this important to our well-being and overall economic competitiveness [is] delayed until the 11th hour. The president has shown no leadership and doesn't have a plan on the table. My opponents in the race haven't even come up with what they support."
28 July, 2011, Greta Van Susteran, Fox News
Policy
A call to arms by Huntsman, filled with idealistic sentiments and tugs at a listener's sense of patriotism.
What we now need is leadership that trusts in our strength. Leadership that doesn't promise Washington has all of the solutions to our problems, but rather looks to local solutions from our cities, towns and states. Leadership that knows we need more than hope; leadership that knows we need answers.
"We must make hard decision that are necessary to avert disaster... If we don't, in less than a decade, every dollar of federal revenue will go to covering the costs of Medicare, Social Security and interest payments on our debt. Meanwhile, we'll sink deeper into debt for everything else – from national security to disaster relief.
Our country will fall behind the productivity of other countries. Our influence in the world will wane. Our security will grow ever more precarious. And the 21st century will then be known as the end of the American Century. We can't accept this, and we won't.
But here is the challenge. We must proceed at a time of weak economic growth and very high unemployment. We desperately need jobs and the opportunities they carry. So, we must play to our strengths, and give the most innovative society on Earth the tools they need to succeed.
We must make broad and bold changes to our tax code and regulatory policies, seize the lost opportunity of energy independence and reestablish what it means to be a teacher in society.
We must reignite the powerful job-creating engine of our economy -- the industry, innovation, reliability and trail-blazing genius of Americans and their enterprises -- and restore confidence in our people.
June 21, 2011, Official Text of Huntsman's presidential campaign announcement
“President Obama broke a pledge to close Guantanamo Bay prison facility; this flawed approach to leadership leaves us all uncertain as to the future of not only Gitmo, but a multitude of matters that impact our security. The professional men and women who take this fight to the enemy on our behalf should not have to wonder whether they'll later be prosecuted by the justice department for doing their jobs in good faith. And Americans should know that their government has a constitutionally sound plan for dealing with terrorists who seek to kill them.”
Jon2012.com, Issues/Foreign Policy
On Enhanced Interrogation Techniques
Oppose
“First of all, let me thank the sailor on the ship. I have two boys on the United States Navy and all they want to do is go on to fight and protect the freedom that we share in this country. This country has values. We have a named brand in the world. I’ve lived overseas four times. I’ve been an ambassador for my country three times. I’ve lived overseas and done business. We diminish our standing in the world and the values which we project, which includes liberty, democracy, human rights and open markets when we torture. We should not torture. Waterboarding is torture. We dilute ourselves down like a whole lot of other countries, and we lose the ability to project values that a lot of people in corners of the world that are relying the United States to stand up for.”
Nov 12, 2011; CBS News/National Journal GOP Presidential Debate, Spartanburg, South Carollina
The Second Amendment: Individual or Collective Right?
"And when people say, 'Where do you stand on the Second Amendment?' I say, 'With a name like Huntsman, do you think I have a choice?"
July 10. 2011, KSL5 News
While serving as the Governor of Utah, Huntsman endorsed and signed Senate Bill 78 (the right to lawfully transport and store firearms in privately-owned, locked motor vehicles) and House Bill 357 (allowing the presence of a concealed firearm in their own residence, on their own property, or in their place of business without a concealed carry permit).
NRA’s chief lobbyist, Chris W. Cox, commented, “NRA would like to thank Governor Huntsman and the lead sponsors … for their continued support for the Second Amendment.”
April 11, 2009, National Rifle Association of America, Institute for Legislative Action.
Huntsman believes that China holds the key to the North Korea problem.
“Likewise, as a neighbor to North Korea and a member of the United Nation's Security Council, China will be pivotal in trying to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, both in North Korea and Iran. Speaking in China in 2006 while on a trade mission, Huntsman said that North Korea's pursuit of nuclear arms will "test the resolve of our strategic relationship [with China] in ways we haven't seen.”
May 16, 2009: Huntsman Takes On daunting Task With China, Salt Lake Tribune
“Because of the proximity, I think the Chinese, with their first and foremost concern being economic development, I think their concerns are long term stability on the peninsula. Not wanting to do anything, not wanting to say anything, not wanting to engage in any kind of activity that might disrupt that delicate balance. I think that’s probably what’s driving their position more than anything else at this point…
We’ve had extensive consultations with the Chinese on this particular situation. We’ve shared information, we've exchanged points of view, and it’s not unlike the run up to the work done on the Iran sanctions resolution most recently, where at the very outset people were saying, there’s no way the Chinese gonna be part of this. They’ll peel off at some point and will refuse to take any position that would see it through to the end. Well, we got a pretty good result in the last 24 hours.
Similarly I think with North Korea, there will be, I think, a strong sense of unity, going in to the UN Security Council. It will be discussed and deliberated on as all things are at that point, and then we’ll have to keep a close eyes on what results, will it be a resolution, will it be a statement by the president of the Security Council, and then what will that language read like. We don’t have the answers yet. People are working on this and will continue working on it till end of next week. All I can tell you at this point is that the key players in the region, who have been at least very involved in the six party process are hanging together so far enroute to further actions in the UN Security Council”
June 10, 2010: Huntsman offering a glimpse on China’s thinking before a United Nations Security Council session to discuss North Korea’s sinking of a South Korean warship on March 26.
