Pack Up Your Daughters, Jon; It's Time to Go Home

- Jon Huntsman: The Non-Republicans' Favorite Republican -

Politics is filled with uncertainties. For that reason, it is somewhat reassuring that the mainstream media can be counted upon to miss or misinterpret the main story.

Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman
Image via Wikipedia

"I suppose tonight's big story is whether Jon Huntsman finishes second or third," intoned a news anchor this evening. Of course this was agreed to by those present and so group-think again fails miserably. It doesn't matter where Jon Huntsman finishes tonight, because after tonight Jon Huntsman is finished for good.

It's not even a question of, "Where will Huntsman win?" It's a question of, "Where will Huntsman finish third again?"

I don't see another third place finish for Huntsman anywhere unless at least two or more major candidates drop out of the race before the former Utah Governor. Huntsman's trip to South Carolina will succeed as a vacation trip, but as a political mission it is dead on arrival.

Who voted for Huntsman in New Hampshire? Huntsman got 41% of the self-described Democrats who voted in the Republican primary, 23% of independents and members of other parties and only 10% of Republican voters. As an excellent tweet pointed out, the exit polling data reveals that Huntsman is running in the wrong party. Go to this page on Politico for their story and the link to the numbers.

Texas Representative Ron Paul is a libertarian by nearly all measures. Paul does well among what are often called "non-traditional Republicans" and that seems a fair description. Based on today's exit polls, Paul scores 60% better among self-described Republicans than Jon Huntsman.

Huntsman is polling at about four percent in the most recent polls in the Palmetto State. I see no reason for this to increase noticeably. Yet Huntsman is pushing on to South Carolina.

The real story tonight was that polls show 47% of those voting in the New Hampshire Republican primary are self-described independents and four percent were self-described Democrats. This begs the question, "If Jon Huntsman were the GOP nominee, how many of today's Huntsman voters would actually vote to re-elect Barack Obama?"

While we do not have an answer, it appears that 51% of those who voted tonight for Jon Huntsman are "satisfied" with President Obama. Check out this short, but informative video of Chris Wallace and Joe Trippi on Fox News. This is a higher number than the nationwide polls that include proportionately represented Democrats and Independents.

Tonight, when Jon Huntsmen said, "We go South from here," he was correct; but not at all the way he meant it. Romney edged closer to the GOP nomination tonight; however, despite what pundits say, this is not yet over for the GOP. It is over for Jon Huntsman.

Pack up your daughters, Jon, and go home. Get ready to help the eventual Republican nominee win an election and possibly save our country. November is coming and it is all on the line.