'GOP Devoid of a Soul': Jon Huntsman Blasts Republican Party

(Photo: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)
U.S. Republican presidential candidate former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman speaks during the CNN GOP National Security debate in Washington, November 22, 2011.

By Myles Collier , Christian Post Contributor

January 1, 2013|1:03 pm

The former governor of Utah recently called out Republicans insisting the party as a whole is without a soul. He said the far-right members were preventing "long-term competitive candidates" from leading the party.

With the defeat of Mitt Romney dashing Republican hopes of controlling the White House, a scramble to right the course going forward has transpired, leaving the GOP looking frantic as they begin to put last year's election behind them.

Jon Huntsman, the 1-time Republican primary candidate, called out his own party for being fearful and encouraged his party to exercise a libertarian focus as the catalyst to move forward.

"The party right now is a holding company that's devoid of a soul and it will be filled up with ideas over time and leaders will take their proper place," Huntsman told The Daily Telegraph in an interview.

"We can't be known as a party that's fear-based and doesn't believe in math," he added. "In the end it will come down to a party that believes in opportunity for all our people, economic competitiveness and a strong dose of libertarianism," he added.

The comment regarding a "dose of libertarianism" could be an attempt to have some members of the Republican Party to adopt softer stances regarding social issues, while still maintaining the GOP's fiscally conservative principals.

Huntsman also scolded fellow Republicans who have previously pounced on various party members after they happened to work across the aisle, adding that members who compromise should not be vilified.

"Thwart the opposition, stymie the opposition, obfuscate, be a flamethrower, go out there and destroy the system, and here we are … in my party, compromise cannot be seen as analogous to treason, which it has been recently," Huntsman previously told the Huffington Post.

Huntsman, who is seen as a moderate, is one of the names being floated for the presidency in 2016, but the former governor has not directly answered the question.