Jon Huntsman: Still the sanest guy at the party

By Richard K. Barry 

Republicans have been taking shots at some Democratic candidates who have chosen to skip their party's nomination convention this summer. It's been suggested that they don't want to emphasize their party affiliation or ties to President Obama to the extent that it could be a drag on their own electoral chances. I'm sure there is truth in the charge. 

Let me know when you
come to your senses.

This is, however, somewhat different than a flat out, undisguised, denunciation of one's own party as was offered by former GOP presidential hopeful Jon Huntsman. In explaining why he would not be attending the Republican convention, he said this:

I will not be attending this year's convention, nor any Republican convention in the future, until the party focuses on a bigger, bolder, more confident future for the United States -- a future based on problem solving, inclusiveness, and a willingness to address the trust deficit, which is every bit as corrosive as our fiscal and economic deficits.

I have to think that there are at least a few more reasonable Republicans who are hanging back to see what happens with their party's current experiment with radical conservatism. If things go poorly in November, I suspect there will be hope on the part of those like Huntsman that they can get their party back, to borrow a phrase.

I suspect Huntsman, and maybe Jeb Bush, is setting himself up for that possibility.

It does beg the question, what would it take for the GOP to find its way again?

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)