The New MSM Meme: Jon Huntsman, The Man Who Scares Democrats
There’s an old saying that goes “Once is happenstance; twice is coincidence; the third time is enemy action.” It’s a useful phrase to remember during a Presidential election season as you can use it to identify interesting new memes coming out of the MSM.
Take, for instance, the story reported last week by Jake Tapper at ABC News headlined, “Top Democrats: Huntsman Would Be Toughest to Beat in 2012; Won’t Win GOP Nomination”. Here’s how it begins.
Top Democrats in and outside the White House, speaking on background so they could be more candid, suggest that former US Ambassador to China and Utah Governor Jon Huntsman would be the GOP candidate President Obama would least like to face in 2012 — but they think he can’t win the nomination.
The very qualities that make Huntsman formidable in November 2012 — his centrism and bipartisanship — will work against him in Iowa and South Carolina, Democrats say.
White House senior adviser David Plouffe was years ago quoted saying the notion of a Huntsman candidacy made him “queasy.”
Now, if you had read that, you might think to yourself, “Well, that’s interesting. Maybe this Huntsman guy, of whom I had not heard until just now, might be a formidable opponent to the President.” What you won’t think is, “Gee. I wonder why ‘top Democrats’ are praising a Republican and pointing out their own President’s electoral weak spots?”
There’s a reason for that. This is not a real news story. It’s propaganda. Notice what makes Huntsman fearsome to the likes of David Plouffe. First, he’s a centrist, which to most progressives means that he’s easy meat in any Presidential election (since no “centrist” has won the White House in my lifetime). Second, he’s bipartisan, which is Democrat-speak for anyone who’ll give in to their demands without demanding anything of consequence in return.
But that was only one story. It could simply be happenstance — a few idle words by a couple Democrats here and there. Now, consider this story that appeared in Time Magazine a day later, entitled “Jon Huntsman: The Potential Republican Presidential Candidate Democrats Most Fear”. Curious that such a glowing profile of a candidate who has to little popular support or name recognition among Republicans nationwide would get such attention, don’t you think? Yet, there it is, a day after Jake Tapper’s report on the murmurings from “top Democrats”.
Coincidence? Well, let’s see.
Jump forward six more days to yesterday, and a piece in The Hill headlined, “Dems find awkward foe in Huntsman”.
If Jon Huntsman is not the most feared potential Republican opponent for President Obama in 2012, he certainly would be the most awkward.
As the former ambassador to China plots a possible presidential bid, Democratic operatives have yet to figure out how to handle a man who, until two weeks ago, was a loyal and highly praised member of the Obama administration.
[...]
Ask Democrats about Huntsman, however, and the most frequent response has been: “No comment.” They offer nothing but praise for his service to Obama, and nary a word of criticism about his five years as the Republican governor of Utah.
Huh. More whispered concerns from anonymous “top Democrats”. More glowing praise from administration sources. The same David Plouffe quote snippet. More talk of centrism and bipartisanship.
Three stories in a week, all with the same thrust? That’s not coincidence and it’s not journalistic synchronicity. That’s intentional propaganda from inside the Democratic Party. Jon Huntsman scares “top Democrats” not because he can beat Barack Obama in the general election but because he can beat him in the primaries. The like him because he’s the appealing centrist they wish they had — the guy who is already with them on certain of their progressive schemes like cap-and-trade and who could be pulled closer to them on others, like spending. Unlike the President, he has a resume full of electoral success and few, if any, skeletons in his closet they’d have to devote time and resources to hide.
If Jon Huntsman were to flip parties right now, he’d crush Barack Obama. No one would hold the flip against him — heck, he’s halfway there now as a former Obama appointee. That is what really scares Democrats right now and so the puff pieces that paint him as a formidable Republican so that he’ll stay right there and start drawing attacks from fellow GOP candidates (attacks the Democrats do not want to have to make right now).
I find it hard to believe that three different major media outlets all spontaneously decided to write the same things about the same candidate, with many of the same sources and quotes. I prefer to apply the old aphorism and note the obvious enemy action. I hope that other conservatives will do the same.
Other Posts of Interest:
- Who in 2012?
- Watch the MSM Build Their Election Narrative in Real Time
- The Rise of a New Electoral Meme: George Bush Wasn’t So Bad.
Category: Oh, THAT liberal media., The 2012 Horse Race
Huntsman sure scares me and I'm no dhimmirat.
Huntsman is a moderate, not a centrist, and yes, a moderate has won the White House. Daddy Bush was a moderate, and he would have won reelection had it not been for Perot.
Yet he rode high on the strength of the war in Kuwait and on the Reagan economic legacy, neither of which were particularly moderate.