john huntsman is one of them. he's criticizing this republican j strategy that uses a government shutdown as leverage to underkhundercut the health reform law. john huntsman joins me now from washington. governor, awesome having you back on the show. >> thank you, brooke. >> let's get right to it. i read how, you know, you called some of these republican senators who rejected this strategy, you called them heroes. my question to you, putting you on the smpot, what do you call these house republicans who led this charge? >> listen, let's just get to the real conversation here. it's above and beyond just any one party or a faction of one party. what we're seeing play out unfortunately is a failure of political leadership on both side. the people who are suffering are those out in the real economy. we forget at the end of the day our focus ought to be on creating jobs and expanding the economic base. you've got people in boardrooms across this country who want to reinvest in the economy, who want to expand their base

john huntsman said people in his state of utah don't favor extreme politicians. quote, you don't have ideological whack jobs for all of us, all of its labeling as a red state. underneath it, utah is a pretty pragmatic western state. the new cnn poll has cruz's favorable rating at 23%. his favorable's dropped 7 points, his unfavorable has raised 6. i worked in politics in utah. that's where i got my start in democratic politics out there. but it's interesting that orrin hatch isn't some crazy right-winger. i just wonder if there's a more reasonable center right out there that has been given credit because of all the noise of the tea partiers. >> well, utah is an amazing well governed state. you look at the olympics. you look at the economic development. you look at the sheer number of technology jobs leaving california, for example. moving to utah. it's a state where government is working efficiently. it's really achieving as it was a conservative, that level of functionality that you'd like to see out of government. so this caricature that utah is a crazy right-w

a former spokesman for former republican presidential candidate john huntsman. welcome to both of you. >> thanks for having me. >> richard, first, can you tell us about the strategy your party used and where you think you are positioned right now? >> i think the democrats are in a very, very good position right now. from the president to harry reid and nancy pelosi standing their ground saying we are not going to negotiate with a party that is not willing to bring anything to the table. this is about putting the american people back to work and making sure our government works for the american people. >> how significant would you say that the obamacare argument for organs -- or against has been part of the republican strategy and what is yourest station? i want to show you -- your estimation because i want to see a poll of owe -- of obamacare now versus the shutdown. >> obama's winning turf, we saw that in 2010 when obamacare was the main issue on the ballot and the republicans want -- wanted a huge landslide. what the party needs to do is be a solutions party a

. >> you know, talking about mike lee, your father, former republican governor john huntsman who once employed mike lee in the governor's office had some strong words for him today he said you don't have id logical whack jobs for all of this labeling, all of its labeling as a red state underneath it all. utah is a pretty pragmatic western state, a just get it done ethos. >> he's exactly right. as i said, utah is the most conservative state in the country, but at the end of the day, they're the type of conservative, they want smaller government. they want their elected officials to solve their problems. they want them to govern. i think you see something different in texas. that's a whole different bucket of conservatism. i'm glad my dad stepped in. it wouldn't be surprising if lee is challenged. you may see a democratic senator in utah in a few years. >> how much trouble are they in, michelle? >> i think with the house, you don't have the same dynamic, because you do it district by district. and a lot of the guys who were trying to shut down obama care are from safe districts who were

she's got a special guest, the former republican presidential candidate john huntsman, who says republicans went too far this time. [ male announcer ] this is brad. his day of coaching begins with knee pain, when... [ man ] hey, brad, want to trade the all-day relief of two aleve for six tylenol? what's the catch? there's no catch. you want me to give up my two aleve for six tylenol? no. for my knee pain, nothing beats my aleve. no. at...you could be a victim of fraud. most people don't even know it. fraud could mean lower credit scores, higher loan rates... ...and maybe not getting the car you want. it's a problem waiting to happen.

she's got a special guest, the former republican presidential candidate john huntsman, who says republicans went too far this time. [ male announcer ] this is brad. his day of coaching begins with knee pain, when... [ man ] hey, brad, want to trade the all-day relief of two aleve for six tylenol? what's the catch? there's no catch. you want me to give up my two aleve for six tylenol? no. for my knee pain, nothing beats my aleve. no. at...you could be a victim of fraud. most people don't even know it. fraud could mean lower credit scores, higher loan rates... ...and maybe not getting the car you want. it's a problem waiting to happen. check your score, check your report, at experian.com america's number one provider of online credit reports and scores. don't take chances. go to experian.com. >>> here we go. i'm brooke baldwin. this is cnn's special live coverage of the first government shutdown in 17 years. right now neither side is talking to one another. they're just simply attacking one another. the vitriol is palpable in washington. in fact, the nation's largest employer has now just lai

republican governor john huntsman, who had been governor of utah, an extremely liberal state, utah, said this about the current republican brinksmanship over the default: "it's pretty sad, pathetic for the greatest economy on earth to be experiencing this, russian roulette with our economy." he went on to say "we have to see it as an economic issue. if you think the government shutdown is a big deal, that's a hand grenade compared with a therm owe nuclear weapon that would be hitting the debt ceiling." yesterday the minority leader suggested that the only way to disarm this weapon would be for me to engage in one on one talks with the speaker of the house. i'm happy to talk to john boehner any time. we've talked. but it's obvious to me no amount of talking will make the speaker willing or able to end the shutdown. as the senior senator from arizona said yesterday, it's time for the senate to deal. and to lead, and he's right. we have an issue coming before us momentarily, the debt ceiling. we have to be the senate and lead and get that passed, send it over to the house of representatives

former governor john huntsman will be talking about that. >>> listen if you have a pet, hundreds of dogs dead or hurt, certain treats may be the cause. we have the names and latest information on how to keep your pet safe. >>> warren buffett his son and grandson are declaring their own war on hunger. could their big money make a difference? we'll hear from them coming up. >>> we're going to begin with what could be called the aflawedable care act and the rollout. president obama tapping former budget chief jeff zeinst to oversee fixes. what about kathleen is he bealeus. >> she is finally addressing calls for her resignation only on cnn, she sat down for an exclusive interview with our chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta. >> there's no question the pressure has been building for some time a lot of frustration what happened at healthcare.gov website. she said this is primarily a volume issue, and that unmasked a host of other problems, some significant within the website and they're working to try and correct those things. i also wanted to get a look at what was happening behind t

. >> john, does he think that he has a window of opportunity here? jon huntsman rights in the "financial times" today that the gop must now be seen as a more constructive party to do deals on the budget, taxes, and immigration. does he see that there is weakness in the gop of increasing willingness to go along with him on immigration? >> reporter: well, there's definitely weakness in the gop. we see that from the poll numbers. i'm not sure there will be willingness to cooperate with him. that's one of the tests going to be -- coming out of the government shutdown, republicans took a big hit in the polls. does the fact a deal was averted to raise the debt limit? does it make it more likely republicans will cooperate with him, or less, because their base is so angry and upset about what happened in the last showdown? i think most people are expecting the latter, which is why we're not looking for a big budget deal, a grand bargain with the president. and i think the chances for immigration reform are not dead, but not a lot of optimism in washington no