Sinking in the national polls but still a factor in New Hampshire, which will hold the first presidential primary, Republican presidential hopeful former Gov. Jon Huntsman of Utah took aim at his opponents and Washington in a speech at the National Press Club on Thursday.
In the speech, Huntsman insisted that there were two deficits facing America: an economic deficit" and a trust deficit.
"America suffers from a deficit of dollars and jobs, Huntsman said. We also suffer from a deficit of trust -- trust in our institutions of power, from Washington to Wall Street."
Despite serving as ambassador to China under President Barack Obama, Huntsman also took aim at the Democrat incumbent.
The American people have lost trust, first and foremost, in the president, Huntsman said. A president who, rather than focusing like a laser on fixing our economic core, wasted an entire year jamming through a health care plan the American people didnt ask for and cant afford. A president who brazenly ignored the bold and creative proposals put forth by his own bipartisan deficit commission -- Simpson-Bowles -- whose failure to deal honestly with our debt caused the first-ever downgrade in our nations credit rating. A president who has employed the same crony politics he once decried; who has used public dollars to pay off campaign contributors like Solyndra; and who has been willing, through his National Labor Relations Board, to sacrifice American jobs to appease union allies.
Huntsman continued to fire away at Obama during the speech.
The president came to office with a mandate to restore trust in Washington, yet his inexperience and failure to lead have left us worse off, Huntsman said. He promised to change Washington, and then immediately succumbed to the partisanship, corporate handouts, bailouts, and spending that have made it so reviled.
Huntsman also took aim at the two leading candidates for the Republican presidential nomination -- former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Huntsman has been running commercials in New Hampshire against Romney, who is leading the polls in the Granite State.
Governor Romney will say anything to earn the voters' trust, said Huntsman. We are in this mess because there are already enough people in Washington who make a career out of telling people what they want to hear.
Newt Gingrich is a product of that same Washington, who participated in the excesses of our broken and polarized political system, he added.
Huntsman also took aim at Washington as a whole.
The people have lost trust in Congress and their ability to come together for the common good -- dysfunction evidenced by the supercommittees recent failure, he said.
Huntsman unveiled his plan to battle against the two deficits he cited on Thursday. He pledged to reform the federal tax code, promising to establish a tax that will be flatter and simpler. Huntsman said this type of tax reform would lead to an end of corporate welfare.
Promising to enact the entitlement reforms proposed by U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and other congressional Republicans, Huntsman insisted that he would review all aspects of the federal government to cut down on costs in an attempt to combat the rising national debt. Huntsman added that he would continue to back our nations commitments to those in or near retirement.
Huntsman vowed to break up big banks on Wall Street and cut down on federal regulations that, he insisted, were hurting economic growth. We must save capitalism from crony capitalists, and return to our founders' vision of a limited government that protects free markets and provides a level playing field of opportunity, he said.
The former Utah governor, who also served as ambassador to Singapore, also weighed in on energy, calling for energy independence and ending all energy subsidies.
Weighing in on foreign affairs and military policy, Huntsman called for withdrawing American troops from Afghanistan while keeping counterterrorism units there.
Huntsman called for reforming Washington, including backing congressional term limits. He also took aim at lobbyists and promised to reform the system.
Rather than a limited, efficient government that serves the public's interest, Washington has grown bloated and bureaucratic, captured and corrupted by swarms of lobbyists, influence-peddlers and crony capitalists, Huntsman said.
Huntsman also stressed his conservative credentials.
You may not agree with me on every single issue, said Huntsman, but youll always know exactly where I stand, and I will never waver from my conservative convictions.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
