On MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Michael Steele stated that the majority of GOP primaries are open primaries. Jon Huntsman and Herman Cain aren’t exploring Democrats as a vast pool of curious voters. Polls indicate that Huntsman is the Republican who most non-Republicans actually would consider in the general election. (Watch Steele on this video link from the 1:00 mark.)
I am ticked off that GOP voters automatically turn up their noses at Huntsman because he accepted President Obama’s request for him to serve as U.S. ambassador to China. For that reason alone, Huntsman deserves some Obamacrats’ votes and his cool demeanor on the GOP debate stage creates a contrast from red-meat conservatives. I was surprised to learn that Huntsman’s record as Utah’s governor was more conservative than Mitt Romney’s governor record in Massachusetts.
A primary vote for President Obama is basically a “feel good” gesture because he is only person on the Dem ballot. Democrats who vote this one time in the GOP primary would be seriously messing with their heads and their statistical research. They flirt with Huntsman, Cain, Paul and Bachman but we could actually make one of them the winner of the South.
Jon Huntsman and Herman Cain could pack Black college meeting facilities from Orangeburg, SC, to Dallas, TX but their handlers don’t know the potential as well Michael Steele. Moderate Democrats could be their Hail Mary pass and mixing things up would be so much fun.
Project Logic Ga 
It would be fun to watch. Huntsman’s not that bad of a guy. It would be funny to watch Democrats vote en masse for him to try to swipe the election.
I would love to see Dems switch over for this one election just to get the GOP pulled back to center where it should be. Nominating Huntsman would be to their benefit as it would save them from the risk of having an extreme right evangelical nut for the next President. The fact that Huntsman is easily the most qualified candidate on the critical issues (fiscal policy, foreign affairs) would just be a bonus for both parties.
Most Republicans turn up their noses at the Huntsman campaign because it has been their campaign strategy to condescend, denigrate, and insult the conservative base of the Republican party. The fact that Huntsman and to a lesser Romney are the golden boys of the MSNBC set only serves to heighten this distrust. Why is a candidate that is polling in the margin of error getting this much publicity?
Papadoc19: Huntsman gets some much attention because the polls are researching the views of likely GOP voters rather than the whole electorate. Yes, the GOP voters will decide who is their guy before most of the rest of the nation takes notice.
John: this blog started a project ot educate voters on voting option; it’s called unlikelyalliesproject.com and we held our first public event in Augusta, GA, last night. Someone pointed out Rush Limbaugh’s effort to get GOPers to vote for Hillary. I am about to research that smooth move.
Is there any evidence that Huntsman has any appeal among the general voting population? Huntsman is the favorite choice among those would never vote for a Republican anyway. At a time when the country is at crossroads, when the country is on the verge of an economic abyss, the last thing we need is a milquetoast, status quo except slightly less, Democrat-lite candidate like Jon Huntsman yet he is continually promoted by the media despite the inability to show any base of support outside of their media ranks. Given the present day circumstances we need a stark choice not an echo about what direction we wish to take this country (either in the direction of the “successful” European model or towards a smaller leaner one) and Huntsman (and to a lesser degree Romney) does not offer this because they don’t truly believe the conservative principles they espouse or they lack the courage or conviction to stand up for them. This is what ticks off Republican voters most about Huntsman joining the Obama administration. It was an example of the capitulationist/accomodationist mindset that briefly took hold among some “Republican” leaders, pundits, and elites (I think David Frum is the best example) that we should give in to what Obama wanted despite it being fundamentally against what we believe. While I think your motives are noble in presenting more centrist options, there are some disagreements in which splitting the difference will not work because they represent a fundamentally different worldview.