This Utah native is not happy about Pres. Obama's pick of Gov. Jon Huntsman as ambassador to China.

Don't get me wrong—I have no question about our smart, well-educated, articulate (and might I add, good-looking) governor's credentials as a diplomat. He's fluent in Mandarin, a veteran of heavy industry, served a two-year LDS mission in Taiwan as a young man, and (I almost forgot) as US Ambassador to Singapore in the early 1990s. No, I'm more worried about what Huntsman won't be doing here at home while he's serving abroad

My first, and most selfish, concern is that he won't be Governor of Utah anymore. This may seem shallow, but let me explain: Huntsman was a positive anomaly in Utah's dissent-wary GOP politics. As a moderate reformer, he had the gall to confront the blood-red legislature (Republicans hold nearly a ¾ majority in both houses) on issues of civil unions, intelligent design, and the state’s arcane liquor laws. Although a member of Utah’s Mormon Old Guard, Huntsman’s social agenda was remarkably—and controversially—progressive. He was a godsend for Utah’s urban and ski-town liberals.

Now that our dear old boy has been abducted from Salt Lake City, his shoes are likely to be filled by a Mormon traditionalist of the kind we’re more used to. Indeed, Lieutenant Governor Gary Herbert, who will serve as his replacement until a special election in 2010, has already called Huntsman’s approach too “global” in its scope (veiling his disapproval with typical Utahn obsequiousness) and has stressed that he will govern with a more “local” outlook. In the lingo of the Utah GOP establishment, “local” unequivocally means “pro-Mormon.”

Huntsman’s did not represent a significant shift in the party’s doctrine and it’s unlikely this “closet libertarian” would ever have gotten the Republican nomination had his “radical” social views been known. Take, for instance, former governor Olene Walker, who succeeded former EPA director and Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt when he was called to Washington by President Bush, and who Huntsman himself ousted at the 2004 state party convention. Republicans refused to give Walker the nomination, ostensibly because she had adopted a decidedly liberal stance on a number of social issues.

The GOP could hardly deny Huntsman the nomination in 2008, given his stellar approval ratings. But the party remains in the grasp of hard-line conservative Mormons (despite their shrinking majority) and the state remains in the grasp of the party. Gary Herbert looks like a sure bet in 2010 and it’s unlikely another man like his soon-to-be predecessor will emerge any time soon.

For those of you who don’t give a shit about what happens in Salt Lake City, let me explain why this matters to you. In the wake of last year’s election, Huntsman became an outspoken critic of the national party and called for a realignment of Republican policy. The party today is torn between revolutionaries who want to modernize the GOP’s social platform for the 21^st century and reactionaries who believe the party is in need of (and this baffles me) a further rightward shift in order to restore their relevance.

Huntsman fell unashamedly in the former camp, calling for an embrace of gay rights and swift, private sector-driven action on climate change. His statesmanlike persona, his sparkling record, and his audacious calls for reform catapulted Huntsman to the short list of candidates for the 2012 election. Held next to the likes of Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee, or even his scary-looking traditionalist of an alter ego Mitt Romney, he’d have a promising shot at the nomination.

Before I continue, let me make a confession: I’ve been aching to become a Republican for some time now. As the feeble, bleeding heart idealist in me has slowly choked to death on his own self-righteousness and been consumed by his evil twin, the money-grubbing curmudgeon, I’ve been taking a closer look at conservative doctrine and finding much of it makes perfect sense to me. For now I’m a registered Democrat and I voted for Obama in November, but despite recent developments I’m a firm believer in a liberalized economy and a strong national defense.

What deters me from the GOP is its shameless subservience to Christian populists and other regressive members of the religious right. If there was a party that believed both in free markets andfree people, I would be its first member. It looked as though Huntsman were proposing the Republicans become just that.

Back in the days of old, Roman consuls, triumvirs, and emperors would quietly do away with their political rivals by assigning them to prestigious governorships far removed from the city. Likewise, the Obama Administration was keenly aware of the danger Huntsman could pose in 2012 and selecting him as ambassador was undoubtedly a political maneuver meant to dispose of the upstart before he could gather the political momentum necessary to pursue the nomination. After four years in isolation from domestic politics, Huntsman will be in no shape to contend for the nation’s highest office, and would besides have a rather sticky time contesting the man who appointed him for the job. Hence Huntsman’s rather somber appearance at the press conference announcing his appointment; hence his rather dutiful, hardly jubilant statement of acceptance.

In making this choice, Obama has screwed over my home state and again made it impossible for me to think of joining the GOP. So damn him to hell. But on the other hand, this move again highlights just how calculating this president really is. And when I can look at Barack Obama and see a shrewd, dynamic pragmatist masquerading as a bleary-eyed champion of social democracy, it reminds me why I’m still happy I voted for him.

Want more Wyatt? Head over to his blog, Wyatt's World, where there's plenty more where this came from.