Are Huntsman's Adopted Children Fair Game in Campaign Attacks?

A new attack ad has been launched on GOP presidential candidate Jon Huntsman and this one is over the adoption of his daughter from China and a bonus cameo of his daughter adopted from India. To put the icing on this ugly, nasty cake - it's an attack launched by a group supporting another GOP candidate.

Jon and Mary Kaye Huntsman have seven children – 5 biological (Sons: William and Jon III; Daughters: Liddy, Abby and Elizabeth), and 2 internationally adopted daughters (Asha from India and Gracie Mei from China). Asha was left to die in a field after her birth and Gracie Mei was found in a vegetable market in China. Both had little chance for survival.

Some folks on both the left and right are trying to include the children of GOP candidates as fodder in the nasty political attacks launched recently. This is wrong and it must be stopped. It is indefensible, especially when the victims of these attacks are minor children. It is sick.

The ad is running now. The ad is by Ron Paul supporters. Ron Paul, to his credit, has stated that he does not approve of the ad and asked that it be taken down.

The attack against Jon Huntsman is particularly nasty. The attack calls Huntsman the "Manchurian candidate" because of his service as Ambassador to China. Yes, this kind of ignorance exists.

The video, posted to YouTube by a group claiming to be "New Hampshire Liberty 4 Paul," attempts to draw a sinister connection between Jon Huntsman's fluency in Mandarin -- he was a former U.S. ambassador to China -- and adopted children to suggest that he may be some sort of Manchurian Candidate. It closes with an illustration of Huntsman as Chairman Mao.

Classy, right?

You can listen to Abby Huntsman Livingston's response to the attack on her father HERE

"I think it's unfortunate that the political conversation has become this vile," she said. "I think this video goes a bit far. My two little sisters are the love of my dad's life. They came from very unfortunate circumstances, and we feel blessed every day to have them in our lives. So, they're the ones I think about in a video like this."

Abby Huntsman Livingston continued, saying "the Ron Paul supporters don't realize that these actions really affect the Ron Paul campaign."

Of all the candidates challenging Paul for the nomination, Huntsman is one of little consequence. New Hampshire will be his high water mark in the contest and he is predicted to lose it to Romney by a wide margin. The attack is wrong and completely unnecessary. Plus the question is presents: what kind of voter supports this kind of reasoning, that if you speak a foreign language and open your heart to a child, somehow you are parallel to a Communist dictator?

Also, I'd like to point out to my fellow Republicans and those proclaiming pure, conservative views: where is your outrage? Because Jon Huntsman is not the darling of the most vocal and purity seeking conservatives, the attack on the children of Jon Huntsman has mostly gone unchecked. How about some old-fashioned condemnation against this, like the kind of support Sarah Palin received when Trig Palin was part of attacks launched against her?

Jon Huntsman has been grossly mis-characterized by conservatives and is not taken seriously because he does not have a good campaigning personality. He is a real conservative, though, which cannot be disputed as much as his critics would have you believe. His record shows his conservative cred.

The silence is deafening.