John Huntsman, Jr, a Republican I can trust.

Now, I know I beat up a lot on the Republicans, but it isn't like they don't deserve most of it, if not all. When you're in the business of affecting millions of people's lives by making laws and spreading ideals, you're bound to have to take some punches. It's especially bound to happen when many of your prominent members embrace literal creationism in the face of scientific fact and use every venue available to remove rights from our gay population, instead of protecting rights. Abstinence-only education, religious icons and phrases in government buildings, cutting corporate taxes, cutting education spending, picking fights with foreign countries, the list goes on. So why do I like our Republican governor John Huntsman? Enough to even vote for him last go-around? Because he appears to be a logical, moderate-thinking person. He has come out in favor of gay civil-unions in the state practically run by the LDS church, who sealed the fate of Prop 8 in California. Ballsy move, man. Republicans don't even like the idea of civil unions, let alone for homos. Also, in a more personally intimate matter, he is strongly in favor of revamping Utah's bizarre liquor laws, in order to appear more, well, modern. Being the only state in the Union with restrictions on beer and no actual bars, he has a point if we want a stronger future in tourism.
But this latest statement from our governor has made me just about tumble head-over-heels for this republican. Basically, he ignores Utah's own GOP leaders. He's so sick of an 'inconsequential' leadership, he doesn't even bother to get to know them. You've got to be doing something wrong when someone who runs on your own ticket is about to pull anchor and sail for better waters. I agree. When you've been reduced to bickering amongst yourselves and standing for nothing but the opposite of whatever the Dems stand for, you've about come to the end of your run. And if Mr. Hannity thinks people like Mrs. Palin are the new face of his party, he'd better reconsider. If they're going to survive past the end of the decade and actually come up with some real ideas and solutions, they need to get behind someone like Huntsman.