20 years from now pot legalization will be viewed completely as a State’s Rights issue. It might happen sooner, but demographically there’s just too much support once the boomers become the retirees and “South Park Republicans” are in their 40s and running the show. There’s just too much demographic support for legalization amongst younger folks, support that hasn’t eroded as Gen X gets older. Party “core values” constantly shift with demographic trends.
He’s getting some mainstream attention, but John Huntsman to me is what a Republican “should” be; intelligent, pro-science, and rational. Huntsman could probably beat Obama in the general, but he’ll never make it past the right wing base.