I wondered earlier this week whether a Republican presidential candidate with culturally moderate views (a.k.a. Jon Huntsman) could feasibly shore up conservative support for the Republican 2012 popularity contest. I wondered whether there was room for a ‘moderate.’ However, being reminded of tidbits such as the ones that follow, I sobered up and realized that it just ain’t possible:

In a 2010 Pew survey, only about one in six Republicans said they believed human activity was changing the climate. In a Gallup survey this March that phrased the question differently, 36 percent of Republicans said they believed pollution from human activities had contributed to “increases in the Earth’s temperature over the last century,” while 62 percent of Republicans attributed those changes to natural changes in the environment. Rejection of the scientific consensus on climate change has become an article of faith for virtually all elements of the GOP coalition. Even in a secular, well-educated state such as New Hampshire, for instance, University of New Hampshire surveys since April 2010 have found that only about one-fourth of Republicans believe human activity is changing the climate. National figures provided to National Journal by Gallup combining surveys from 2011 and 2010 show that college-educated Republicans are even more likely than their non-college counterparts to reject the notion that human activity is changing the climate.

Yes, being a college-educated Republican makes you less likely to believe that humans have contributed to climate change than if you were non-college educated.

[hits self over the head with a book]

Furthermore, this latest Gallup poll shows that Jon Huntsman has fallen to 1% while anti-science Rick Perry has surged to the lead of the primary race with 29%. I think this should put the subject of a ‘moderate’ Republican’s viability to rest for a while. Goodbye Jon Huntsman.