martes, 8 de febrero de 2011

Mezcla de centrismo y conservadurismo

Katrina Trinko analiza el historial de Jon Huntsman en National Review Online:

(...) Taxes. As governor, Huntsman decreased Utah’s income-tax rate, switching from a top rate of 7 percent with various deductions to a flat rate of 5 percent with minimal tax credits. He also slashed the sales tax on non-prepared foods from 4.75 percent to 1.25 percent and lowered the overall sales tax from 4.75 percent to 4.65 percent. And if he’d had his way, he would have accomplished more: At the beginning of his tenure, Huntsman proposed eliminating the corporate franchise tax for small businesses making less than $5 million, an idea that failed to gain political traction.

Health care. Huntsman began focusing on health care in 2005, when less than a third of Utah businesses with 50 or fewer employees provided their staff with health insurance. In 2009 Utah created a state insurance exchange for small businesses. Employers gave a defined contribution, and employees were allowed to choose from an array of plans. “It’s really a model of defined-contribution, consumer-choice health-care insurance,” says Edmund Haislmaier, a senior research fellow in health-policy studies at the Heritage Foundation, adding that Huntsman was a “prime mover” in creating the exchange. Unlike Mitt Romney’s Massachusetts health-care plan, the Utah program did not include an individual mandate or strive to provide universal coverage. It’s too early to tell how the exchange will work out – it wasn’t fully launched until 2010 — but it will give Huntsman credibility on the “replace” part of the assault on Obamacare.

School choice. Huntsman remains the only U.S. governor to have signed a bill instituting statewide school vouchers. The legislation gave most Utah parents vouchers worth $500 to $3,000 (the amount depended on family income) per child annually to apply toward private-school tuition. Unfortunately for school-choice advocates, the teachers’ union launched a massive push against the law and succeeded in putting the question of vouchers on the ballot. Huntsman, who had campaigned in support of vouchers, did not actively urge support for them after the backlash began. Ultimately, over 60 percent of Utah residents voted against school vouchers.

Abortion. In 2006, Huntsman signed a bill that required girls under 18 to obtain parental consent for an abortion. Three years later, he signed a trio of pro-life bills that made second-trimester abortions illegal, changed performing a late-term illegal abortion from a third-degree felony to a second-degree felony, required abortion providers to explain to women 24 hours before the abortion the kind of pain an unborn child experiences during the procedure, and created a legal fund to which residents could donate for the purpose of defending in the courts a state ban on abortion that is expected to be passed before 2014.

Foreign policy. While Huntsman’s position as ambassador to China is his best-known foreign posting, it’s not his only one. Under George H. W. Bush, Huntsman served as ambassador to Singapore, an appointment that made him, at 32, the youngest U.S. ambassador in a century. Huntsman also served as a deputy trade ambassador for George W. Bush, a position that included negotiations with other nations on free-trade agreements. With the 2012 field short on contenders with foreign-policy credentials, Huntsman’s international experience may prove an appealing difference to some primary voters. (...)

4 comentarios:

Anónimo dijo...

Mañana en Washington pronuncia un discirso de marcado acento económico centro fundamentalmente en la creación de puestos de trabajo.

Si sale medianamente bien de Iowa, New Hampshire y Carolina del Sur cuidadito con Huntsman. La primaria de Nevada que es la tercer primaria republicana, justo antes que Carolina del Sur, la gana fácil. Un muy completo candidato. Romney también lo es.

Antxon G. dijo...

Difícilmente puede pronunciar un discurso en Washington mañana porque está en China.

Anónimo dijo...

La nominación republicana va a ser extraordinariamente abierta si los candidatos en liza salen sin tropezones significativos en Iowa o New Hampsey puede pasar de todo e incluso llegar a Tampa sin un ganador claro en el que saldría un candidato de consenso.

Por el momento hay pocas novedades significativas. Las dos únicas noticias relevantes por el momento las han centrado Pence, correrá por la gobernación de Indiana, y la posible candidatura de Huntsman tras su próximo cese a petición propia como embajador en China.

Las típicas encuestas que a día de hoy no dicen nada. Un liderazgo débil de Huckabee y poco más. Thune no se termina de decidir, Daniels ni está ni se le espera en un tiempo, Barbor de viaje a Israel y la Señora Palin haciendo el carnaval por ahí. No me extraña que Huntsman, ante tanta medianía, sopese presentar su candidatura porque es un candidato muy superior al resto y también sería un excepcional Presidente mejor que Obama (aquí en España le llamamos el Zapatero de Illinois )

Huntsman 2012

Anónimo dijo...

¿Huntsman, un ex miembro de la administración Obama ganando la nominación republicana? No se, yo cre que va ser que no.

¿Rommey?, con el Rommey-care en el equipaje (Obamacare v1.0) y teniendo en cuenta que en 2012 la reforma sanitaria va a ser un tema estrella. Por mucho dinero que tenga, los restantes candidatos le van a destrozar con ese tema.


Se trata de ganar la nominación republicana; lo de presentarse a presidente viene luego.

Como yo lo veo, esta vez habrá un candidato inesperado; alguien de quien ahora casi ni se habla.