Former 2012 Presidential Candidate Jon Huntsman has announced that he will not be going to the GOP National Convention in August. The Former Utah Governor has attended every GOP Convention since 1984 when he was a delegate for Ronald Reagan. At the last Convention Huntsman announced the Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin.

Obama’s former ambassador to China told the Salt Lake Tribune: “I will not be attending this year’s convention, nor any Republican convention in the future, until the party focuses on a bigger, bolder, more confident future for the United States – a future based on problem solving, inclusiveness, and a willingness to address the trust deficit, which is every bit as corrosive as our fiscal and economic deficits.”

Huntsman left the presidential race in January of this year and endorsed Mitt Romney as the Republican candidate. Huntsman won three delegates during the race, two when he took third place in the New Hampshire primary and one from Texas. These three delegates would have guaranteed Huntsman a speaking part at the Convention.

Former New Hampshire GOP Chairman Fergus Cullen claims that Huntsman’s comments represent the independent nature of the former candidate.

This is not the first time Huntsman has butted heads with Republicans this year. In March of this year Huntsman was dropped from a Republican National Committee event that was being held in Palm Beach after comments he made about having a third party in America.

Huntsman stated, “I think we’re going to have problems politically until we get some sort of third party movement or some voice out there that can put forth new ideas. We might not win, but we can certainly influence the debate.” Huntsman was lined up to speak at the “Regents” event but was informed personally by the RNC Chairman Reince Preibus that he would not be allowed to attend.

Huntsman is not the only Republican who was invited and is not going to the Convention. Virginia Senate Candidate George Allen is also planning to not attend, but not for ideological reasons. Instead, the candidate claims that he wants to stay in state to talk to constituents and continue to campaign.

Similarly, many Democrats are skipping the Democratic Convention in September 2012 to try to garner more votes. Representative Steve Israel, the head of the House Campaign side of the Democratic Party, encouraged those who are running for election in 2012 to stay home because “if they want to win an election, they need to be in their district” he added “I don’t care if the president was at 122% favorability right now. I think [candidates] should be in their district.”

Missourian Senator Claire McCaskill agrees with Israel and was originally criticized for not going. McCaskill stated, “I’ve got a really hard election. If you had a really hard election and it was after Labor Day, would you go to North Carolina to a bunch of parties and glad-handing or would you stay home and work as hard as you know how to convince Missourians they should rehire you?” She also claims that she is not trying to distance herself from Obama.

Huntsman’s decision to stay home from the GOP Convention is unique in its ideological origins. Huntsman claims that the Republican party must “put our country before politics.” He also stated, “I encourage a return to the party we have been in the past from Lincoln right on through to Reagan, that was always willing to put our country before politics.”

Image Courtesy of  Gage Skidmore

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Health care was a major issue at the November 9 Republican presidential debate hosted by CNBC titled, “Your Money, Your Vote: The Republican Presidential Debate.” With each Republican presidential candidate stating that they would repeal ObamaCare, the debate gave them the opportunity to address the steps to reform health care once elected to office.

Ron Paul, who has had previous experience in the medical field as a doctor, addressed the issue by stating that the solution to heath care was to get the government out of the business altogether. He stated that there should be the right to “opt out of ObamaCare,” as well as any health care program to bring health care back to patient-doctor relationships.

Paul also discussed the need for patients to have medical savings accounts, which would drive down the prices on major medicines. Rick Perry believes that Medicare should allow more options for people to choose from. He also said that the best solution was to send money to the states and have them decide on what program fits best for their state.

Mitt Romney, who is currently taking the lead in recent polls, has received criticism in the past on his stance on health care. His plan is often referred to as “RomneyCare” because of its similarities with ObamaCare. During the debates, he responded that he would appeal ObamaCare and the solution would also be to send money to the states and allow them decide which health care plans are best for their state.

Romney also stated that Americans should be allowed to purchase their own insurance, instead of being forced to receive it through their company. He also agreed with Paul, saying that health care should work like a market so that Americans have a stake in the quality of their insurance. Michele Bachmann also held the same stance. She also maintained her true “malpractice liability reform” stance.

Newt Gingrich stated that there was a need to restore patient-doctor relationships, as well as turn over the funds to the state level so that they can craft a plan, similar to what John Huntsman indicated. Gingrich then stated that there has to be more concentration and funding for research on brain science.

By finding cures for many leading diseases and illnesses, people wouldn’t have to pay for such federal programs. Senator Rick Santorum thought that many other candidates lacked his experience in the health care field, and that other candidates such as Romney were not consistent in their plans.

He stated, “I was always for having the government out of the health care business and for a bottom-up, consumer-driven health care, which is different than Governor Romney and some of the other people on this panel.” Though each candidate has different plans for repealing ObamaCare, health care will continue be a hotly debated topic in future debates.

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