DAD, GET ME OUT OF THIS
The New York Times reports that Jon Huntsman's campaign has very little money, but it's benefiting from ads run by a group called Our Destiny PAC -- a group partly bankrolled by Huntsman's billionaire daddy. According to the Times, however, the candidate isn't happy about this state of affairs:
...It is an uncomfortable spot for a candidate who said from the outset that a credible campaign had to be able to raise money on its own....
But, at times in spite of his own aides' hopes, Mr. Huntsman has been unwilling to signal that he wants his father, the founder of Huntsman International, to go all in on his behalf.
People close to him, speaking on the condition of anonymity to share the candidate's thinking, said he did not want to be seen as having an election delivered to him by his father's wealth.
When asked during an interview here on Thursday night if he would call for more help from his father, Mr. Huntsman said: "We don't operate that way. We’re all pretty pragmatic in my family. We might help a little, but the marketplace ultimately is the greatest judge of whether or not you’ve got the winning formula."
What a priss. What a loser.
Don't get me wrong -- I suppose it's admirable that he wants to do this more or less on his own. What I'm thinking about is his relationship to his party's voter base.
Do you think they give a crap where his campaign's money comes from? Modern Republicans aren't principled -- or if they are, their principle is: If you're got money and you're right-wing, you deserve every dollar you have, no matter how you got it. If you're right-wing, your wealth shows you're favored by God.
They didn't care that John McCain married his money. They don't care that Rick Scott stole his. When they put Donald Trump at the top of their presidential heap, they didn't care that he was born a millionaire. They don't like Mitt Romney very much, but that's not because of his wealth, even the inherited wealth -- they think that's just fine.
Jon, the base doesn't want you to be high and mighty about this -- if you've stopped running as a centrist, which is what I'm reading lately, and you're now running as conservative, then the base wants you to stand up against us Satanic liberals by any means necessary. Use Daddy's money. Use any money you can get your hands on. The party is on the verge of nominating a guy whose cash all comes from grifting -- do you think they care where your cash came from?
And I'm going to tell you the same thing I say to Mitt Romney: GOP voters want you to stop pretending you're well-heeled. Only Democrats (e.g., John Kerry) get criticized for wealth. They loved the fact that the Reagans flashed the cash. They didn't care how many states the Bushes had homes in. Way back, a lot of them loved Ross Perot. If you've got it, flaunt it.
