Huntsman was harsh critic of Romney's health record

Jon Huntsman, who is expected to drop his bid for the presidency and endorse Mitt Romney Monday, has been one of the harshest critics of the Republican front-runner's record on healthcare.

Huntsman during the campaign repeatedly skewered Romney for signing a healthcare reform law requiring people to have health insurance when he was governor of Massachusetts in 2006. Huntsman has also lambasted Romney's shifting stance on abortion rights, which he publicly supported before a change of heart around 2004.

"I'm pro-life, always have been, unlike Gov. Romney. Pro-Second Amendment, always have been, unlike Gov. Romney. Pro-growth, largest tax cut in the history of my state, healthcare reform without a mandate, unlike Gov. Romney," Huntsman told Fox News after being endorsed by the Boston Globe earlier this month.

The Democratic National Committee lost no time sending around news articles and video clips of Huntsman's words Sunday evening. The strategy aims to portray Romney as a flip-flopper whose promises can't be trusted.

"Tonight, Jon Huntsman announced he is ending his candidacy for president and on Monday, he will endorse Mitt Romney — the same Mitt Romney that Huntsman said lacked a core, couldn't be trusted, was a 'weathervane' and was making himself 'unelectable,' " the DNC said.

To mitigate the damage its own words might do, Huntsman's campaign quickly removed attacks against Romney from its website.

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