The AP's Phil Elliott reports that Jon Huntsman will likely be skipping the Iowa caucus. Huntsman justifies the reasoning on his past opposition to ethanol subsidies. Huntsman explains: "Why waste time trying to court Iowa voters who see that support as a way of life and a deal-breaker." This is a smart frame for Huntsman to use, given that he was unlikely to win support from Iowa's far right social conservatives anyway. Opposing ethanol is a good excuse in that it is an Iowa-specific problem, as opposed to winning socially conservative Republican primary voters, a nationwide constituency.
