The Mark UP

Tag Archives: GOP presidential candidates

Iowa: Example of a Country Deeply Divided

Posted by: Heather Taylor-Miesle -

Mitt Romney squeezed by Rick Santorum to become the winner of the Iowa caucuses by just eight votes. Romney’s inability to score a resounding victory reveals the persistent divide within the Republican Party. Santorum has emerged as the conservative contender of the moment, and Romney continues to be the frontrunner people may settle for but no one really loves.

Ron Paul won a sizeable chunk of voters: 21.4 percent to Romney’s 24.6 percent and Santorum’s 24.5 percent. Paul’s Libertarian views appealed to the far-right, and he could probably win a few of other conservative states, but at the end of the day, he would have a tough time carrying the nation.

The same is true for Santorum, but voters looking for a leader with a stronger conservative spine than Romney have given him his moment in the sun.

While environmental issues did not figure prominently in the Iowa race, Santorum is using his media spotlight to attack attack the Environmental Protection Agency’s new standards to reduce mercury and other dangerous pollution from power plants. Mercury is a neurotoxin that damages the developing brains of children and fetuses, causing developing delays and lowering IQ.

Santorum positions himself as a champion of families and the unborn, but his opposition to mercury limits shows he is more pro-polluter than pro-healthy-life. He tied to bash the science behind the new standards, but I have to wonder when he had time to read the EPA’s 510-page analysis of the rule—on the campaign bus?

Thanks to his showing in Iowa, Santorum has lived to fight another day. He can join other GOP candidates in putting polluters’ interests above the health of ordinary Americans.

When the caucuses began on Tuesday, every candidate but Romney was on life support. Now we know who will stay plugged into donors, party backing, and media attention and who will be taken off the breathing machines.

Conventional wisdom says there are only three tickets out of Iowa; candidates who finish fourth or below tend to park their campaign buses for good. By early Wednesday morning, Rick Perry said he was returning home to Texas instead of traveling on to South Carolina. Later the same day, Michele Bachmann, who received just 5 percent of the votes in Iowa, announced that she was parking her Presidential bus.

Jon Huntsman—the only candidate in the race who still acknowledges the threat of climate change—came in dead last. He hasn’t given up the primary, however, since he made an early choice not to campaign in Iowa but to focus on more moderate New Hampshire votes instead.

Newt Gingrich came in fourth place, with 13.3 percent of votes. Typically that would put him below the bar for fund raisers, but Gingrich doesn’t seem to depend on money. He managed to become a contender based on earned media alone thanks to his loud voice and outsized opinions. He will no doubt continue making appearances on major outlets for weeks to come – possibly making himself a spoiler to Romney since the only think Gingrich seems to want more then being President is defeating Romney.

But for not the focus shifts to New Hampshire, which has become Romney’s race to lose.

Huntsman Must Change Strategies to Rise

Posted by: Heather Taylor-Miesle -

Former Governor Huntsman has once again said he accepts the reality of climate change. He told ABC’s Christiane Amanpour on Sunday: “Let me make it crystal clear. I’m on the side of science in this debate.”

He is now the only GOP candidate for the White House who stands by climate science. All the others have denied it from the start or changed their positions once they got in the race. Even Huntsman had a temporary lapse a few weeks ago, but he quickly cleared up any doubt that he sees climate change as a threat and believes humans have caused it.

Huntsman knows this position sounds reasonable to the moderate voters who will sway the presidential election. A recent Pew poll found that 63 percent of independents agree there is solid evidence of rising temperatures. And more than six-in-ten moderate and liberal Republicans say there is solid evidence of global warming.

But in the GOP primary circus, science gets no respect and Huntsman gets no love. Nearly every other candidate has been the flavor of the week, except for Huntsman. How can he finally get his day in the sun? By reminding voters his is a stable, consistent leader who doesn’t flip.

Huntsman hasn’t captured the limelight yet because he looks too much like Romney. He is another conservative – but not Tea Party, Mormon governor with a background in business. At a time when voters and party leaders are looking for the anti-Romney—even former RNC Chairman Michael Steele saidof Romney “the brother just can’t bake the cake”—you can’t win by being more Romney than Romney.

Huntsman has to distinguish himself, and he can do that by emphasizing the very thing his opponent lacks: steadfast conviction.

Take the issue of climate change. In June Romney told a crowd: “I believe the world is getting warmer, and I believe that humans have contributed to that… And so I think it’s important for us to reduce our emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases.” But then Romney’s commitment to scientific fact went the way of his positions on health care reform and collective bargaining: it flipped. In October 2011, he said: “My view is that we don’t know what’s causing climate change on this planet. And the idea of spending trillions and trillions of dollars to try to reduce CO2 emissions is not the right course for us.”

Huntsman, meanwhile, acknowledged the threat of climate change when he was governor of Utah and he acknowledges it now that he is a candidate for the White House. He holds his convictions for more than a news cycle and that counts for something these days. Our country is in upheaval, and voters are wondering where the adults are. Huntsman is an adult. Whether you agree him or not, he represents exactly what he always has. And in the face of a shifting economic and an uncertain future, stable, even-keeled leadership will sound good to a lot of voters.

But Huntsman can’t wait for voters to come to him; he’s got to do a better job of reaching out to them. If Newt Gingrich has stepped into the ring before you got your turn, you know your campaign strategy isn’t working. Huntsman should change it by emphasizing constancy.

Huntsman Flirts with Climate Craziness, then Returns to Scientific Reality

Posted by: Heather Taylor-Miesle -

Former Governor Jon Huntsman is suffering from a case of always-the-bridesmaid-never-the-bride syndrome. He has watched as nearly every other GOP presidential candidate has taken a spin with frontrunner Mitt Romney.

First Tea Party darlings Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry had their chance to dance around the floor. Then Herman Cain was delivered into the spotlight with his economics-by-mnemonics plan. Now Newt Gingrich has stepped in for his match with Romney.

All the while, Huntsman has remained a wallflower. The man without an expense account at Tiffany’s or extramarital skeletons in his closet can’t get any love. Maybe that’s why he tried flirting with the Tea Party crowd this week.

For months, Huntsman has been the voice of reason in a chorus of denial. Back in August, he famously tweeted:

But in a speech at the Heritage Foundation on Tuesday, Huntsman started to hedge. When asked if he thought climate change was caused by human activity. He replied: “I don’t know — I’m not a scientist, nor am I a physicist. But I would defer to science in that discussion. And I would say that the scientific community owes us more in terms of a better description or explanation about what might lie beneath all of this. But there’s not enough information right now to be able to formulate policies in terms of addressing it overall.”

The reaction was instant: the blogosphere lit up with reports of this apparent reversal on an issue that has become a conservative litmus test. The next day, Huntsman was out trying to set the record straight.

“Let me be very clear on this,” he said. “There is no change. I put my faith and trust in science. So you have 99 of 100 climate scientists who have come out and talked about climate change in certain terms, what is responsible for it. I tend to say this is a discussion that should not be in the political lane but should be in the scientific lane.”

Either Huntsman’s words were genuinely taken out of context or the response to those words made him realize he has more to lose than gain by toying with the Tea Party.

Huntsman knows the White House will be won with the help of independent voters, not the radical fringe. In August, Huntsman called Governor’s Perry’s climate denial a “serious problem” for the GOP. He toldABC news in August: “The minute that the Republican Party becomes the party – the anti-science party, we have a huge problem. We lose a whole lot of people who would otherwise allow us to win the election in 2012.”

Huntsman has built his brand on this reasoned approach. He is the experienced businessman, governor, and ambassador who projects an air of calm, assured leadership. The trouble is so does Romney, and in a race for the White House, you only need one business leader with moderate leanings. Romney staked out this ground first, and Huntsman will have a hard time pushing him aside.

With Huntsman standing in Romney’s shadow, the public hasn’t gotten a chance to learn as much about him as I would like. He hasn’t been put to the scrutiny that the other rivals for Romney’s spot have been given, and I think that’s shame.

I would like to find more about the single GOP candidate who respects climate science, for on this issue, Huntsman actually represents a majority of independent and Republican voters.

A recent Pew poll found that 63 percent of independent voters agree there is solid evidence of rising temperatures. And more than six-in-ten moderate and liberal Republicans say there is solid evidence of global warming, up from 41 percent in 2009. Meanwhile, 65 percent of all Americans agree that climate change is a very serious problem facing the nation.

Huntsman seems to understand this, and that’s why I hope he gets his chance to be a GOP bride.

Another Romney Flip Flop: More Pollution From Cars and Trucks

Posted by: Heather Taylor-Miesle -

Another day, another flip flop. At Sunday’s Mike Huckabee-hosted presidential forum, Republican candidate Mitt Romney offered up yet another flip flop, this time on reducing global warming pollution from cars and trucks. He said that he would “get the EPA out of its effort to manage carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles and trucks.”

Back in 2004, then Governor Romney signed Massachusetts up to copy California in implementing carbon emissions standards for light duty vehicles. The car companies pretty much hated that because it created a dreaded “patchwork,” in which the standard would apply in about half of the states but not in the rest.

Luckily, the Obama administration stepped in. The President brokered a deal to come up with a single national standard to reduce carbon pollution, which the car companies, the states, unions, EPA, and environmental groups like NRDC could all agree on. He made it happen primarily through a rule issued by EPA, which reduces pollution, saves consumers money, and reduces confusion for industry. That program was so successful that last month, EPA proposed to extend and strengthen the program through 2025.

Back to Romney. Of course, no one likes a flip-flopper. But the truth is, sometimes it makes sense to change your mind. You get new information, like former climate-skeptic Richard Muller who came to his senses and realized the globe really is warming up. That’s what makes Romney’s latest flip flop so infuriating. Almost every bit of new information we have shows that the need to reduce global warming pollution is greater than ever and the dangers are worse than we previously thought.

And the rules that Romney once supported, but now decries, provide tremendous benefits. The new set of rules would save over 4 billion barrels of oil. Owners of new efficient vehicles would save up to $4,400 over the life of the vehicle. Since he doesn’t seem to have any problem with changing his positions, can we humbly suggest that the Governor just go ahead and switch back to the position that is good for industry, good for consumers and good for the planet?

The Race That Matters

Posted by: Heather Taylor-Miesle -

If you’ve been following the cable news cycle, you’ve seen the latest sensational headlines about the Republican presidential contest: Newt’s surge, Romney’s stagnant poll numbers, Cain’s reassessment of his campaign. Amidst the news of the ups and downs of the horse race, you may be missing some of the most consequential news of our lifetimes.

Two sobering headlines truly deserve to drown out the political back and forth:

The first tells us the problem of global warming is undeniably real. The second tells us the problem is worse than we thought.

The world’s scientists are practically shouting from the rooftops. And yet, the candidates continue to play games, pretending that the science is iffy or that a handful of hacked emails somehow undermine the case for global warming. The science is clear. The thermometers don’t lie. And we are running out of time.

We are facing a serious problem. We need serious candidates. They can start by acknowledging that temperatures are surging, that weak-kneed politicians have caused U.S. efforts to stagnate, and that it is time for candidates to reassess their positions. We need a race to ramp up clean energy and ratchet down pollution. This — not the political ups and downs — is the race that really matters.

Tags: ,  
« Older Posts