The Mean Girls of the Huntsman Campaign
Andy Ferguson had the definitive takedown of the Jon Hunstman campaign, as Claire noted in her post "In a Just World, This Would Be The Last We Hear of Jon Hunstman." But if you like reading about petty campaign infighting, as I do, grab a bowl of popcorn and sit down for Jonathan Martin's 4,000 word expose of just how dysfunctional things are in the former Utah governor's shop.
A blistering internal feud in the Jon Huntsman presidential campaign is erupting into public view, with dueling camps trading charges and an exodus of campaign officials. ...
Tensions within presidential campaigns, especially those struggling to find traction, are common. But the ferocity with which Fischer and others attack Weaver and the extent they went to disclose sensitive internal problems is not merely the stuff of a power struggle. It’s illustrative of a campaign that has been thrown together on the run and is comprised of figures who hadn’t even met the candidate before he returned from China this spring, working alongside those who have known him for much of their adult life.
And there's much, much more. Mostly centered around chief strategist John Weaver, who is described as vindictive, controlling, abusive and intimidating:
A mercurial political lifer, Weaver has found himself in the spotlight before. After rising to fame in the political world as one of McCain’s closest advisers in 2000, he carried on a feud with Karl Rove and briefly became a Democrat in the Bush years. He returned to the GOP and was the Arizona senator’s chief strategist in the build-up to the 2008 campaign. But then the Texas native left the wheezing McCain campaign in 2007, losing out an internal power struggle to a rival faction.
So the whole idea behind the Huntsman campaign is that he's a grown-up. Civil. In charge. Able to manage huge operations. This seems to undermine whatever weight that argument held.
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Jun '10
Re: The Mean Girls of the Huntsman Campaign
You can mold the staff to the candidate's style, or mold the candidate to the staff's style, but you can't do both at the same time.
May '10
Re: The Mean Girls of the Huntsman Campaign
In a way, I'm disappointed. Hunstman is the only candidate who is sure to steal more primary votes from Romney than from other candidates. The better he does, the more of a chance the others have to win the nomination.
Aug '10
Re: The Mean Girls of the Huntsman Campaign
Thanks Mollie, that was a hoot.
The candidate really comes across like a befudlled princeling trying to keep the grown-ups from finding out what a mess he has gotten himself in to. Weaver comes across like a jerk.
Sounds like they are going to ride it out together, but the candidate will not be laying any more golden eggs.
This thing ends the instant the money is spent.