MARK SCHUMANN

Former Utah governor and onetime 2012 Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman Jr. was in Vero Beach Saturday evening as the fourth and final speaker in the 2014 Emerson Center Celebrated Speaker Series.

Huntsman, who served as U.S. Trade Ambassador to Singapore during the George W. Bush administration, and as U.S. Ambassador to China in the first Obama administration, said the rise of China and the resulting changes in the global order will be among the top headlines in the 21^st century. Addressing domestic politics, Hunstman  predicted that in the inevitable cycles of political history there might soon be an opening for serious political reform, reform that could restore ethics and trust in the American political system.

Drawing on his extensive experience in China, Hunstman spoke about the many challenges and opportunities China’s leaders face as they guide their country, with its 1.2 billion population, to a central position of leadership and responsibility on the world stage.

Before outlining the prospects for China and the resulting implication for the United States, Huntsman addressed domestic politics, describing a system currently strangled by extreme partisanship.

As a Republican candidate for president, Huntsman faced sharp criticism within his own party for having served as President Obama’s Ambassador to China.  “You serve your country before your party,” Hunstman said.

In the lead-up to the 2012 Iowa Caucuses, filmmaker Michael Moore said Huntsman was a Republican he could support.  Moore’s comment, Hunstman said, hurt him in Iowa.  Then, when former President Bill Clinton echoed Moore’s assessment, the former governor of Utah’s support eroded even further.

“Our system of government was not built for the divide we have today,” Hunstman said.  He rebuked Congress for failing to pass a budget and for “refusing to do the work of the people.”  Too many politicians, he said, are focused on the next election rather than on doing what is best for the next generation. “America is not suffering from a system failure, but a human failure.”

Hunstman contends that the current system of campaign finance is “an abomination.”

Looking back on the Republican primaries, Huntsman described a “game show” atmosphere, which, he said, contributes to the “nonsensical” state of politics.  “We are only as good as the people who run,” he added, suggesting that the bar for entry into presidential politics in quite low.

The current partisan divide, Hunstman said, is partly the result of three decades of highly partisan redistricting of state legislative districts and Congressional districts.  With partisan state legislatures drawing new Congressional district boundaries every ten years, some 70 percent of all Congressional districts are now safe for one party or the other, giving rise to partisan candidates.  “The moderate middle has been blown out of the system,” Huntsman said.  The solution, he offered, is to turn responsibility for redistricting over to independent commissions.

Throughout his message, Huntsman reiterated his conviction that for every problem and challenge America faces, there is a corresponding solution. Working toward solutions, Hunstman has joined with West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin to co-chair No Labels, a citizen movement of Democrats, Republican and independents.

Huntsman then turned his attention back to China, a country he knows well.  China, he said, faces major challenges, including air pollution, deficit spending, a pressing need for financial reform, growing demands for a more aggressive anti-corruption campaign, income inequality and the need to create job opportunities for millions of unemployed farmers who are now flooding China’s growing urban centers.

Next’s year’s Celebrated Speakers Series will feature General David H. Petraeus, lobbyist Jack Abramoff, scientist Dr. Michio Kaku and filmmaker Lee Danies.  For more information, visit www.TheEmersonCenter.org