Huntsman nebulously noted in a Wall Street Journal op-ed Wednesday about the “opportunity to reduce, reform and in some cases end government programs — including some popular but unaffordable subsidies for agriculture and energy — in order to save the trillions, not billions, necessary to make possible a future as bright as our past.”

Huntsman's refusal to compete in Iowa, which he confirmed to ABC News, is reminiscent of 2008 GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, who is a strong critic of ethanol subsides and essentially ignored the Iowa caucus in 2008. McCain finished fourth in the caucus that year.

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GOP energy strategist Mike McKenna — a vocal opponent of energy subsidies — said some of the leading candidates are “kind of playing footsie with the issue.”

But former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin — who has not announced plans to make a White House run in 2012 — may have more closely laid out the tea party marker. Responding to a question about ethanol, she told reporters Tuesday that “all of our energy subsidies need to be relooked at today and eliminated."

There are doubts that Palin will actually mount a campaign. But her role as a potential kingmaker for the tea party movement may drive other Republican candidates further to the right.

That question affects a host of other historical and prospective energy sector beneficiaries, including nuclear power, natural gas vehicles and oil companies.

“Once you get beyond ethanol, there’s definitely an issue about ‘what do you talk about when you talk about a subsidy,’” said Steve Ellis, vice president at Taxpayers for Common Sense.

At the same time, it’s early in the campaign, and the lack of detail from candidates isn’t a surprise. “Nobody really expects them to have some sort of very narrow, specific energy plan other than ‘drill, baby, drill’ and eliminate subsidies,” Ellis said.

President Barack Obama has gone after billions of dollars in annual tax incentives for oil companies — which Democrats say are subsidies to Big Oil and cutting them is a better way to reduce federal spending than going after Medicare and other programs.

Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist said Democrats are unfairly targeting some oil industry incentives — like a section 199 domestic manufacturing tax deduction — that are available to others.

"It's one thing if you said it's a special tax deduction credit only for this industry because they lobbied well," Norquist recently told POLITICO.

Norquist’s group is against credits for ethanol and natural gas vehicles, such as in a plan pushed by T. Boone Pickens that has earned some broad bipartisan backing in the House.

About a handful of initial GOP co-sponsors to the bill have dropped off the Pickens bill amid conservative ire that it is an expensive and targeted tax subsidy.

But one of the co-sponsors remains Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) — a representative of the libertarian wing of the Republican presidential contender crop.

Paul told POLITICO that doesn’t believe in energy subsidies. But, “I have to know your definition of subsidies because it’s a careless term and it’s misused,” he said.

Tax credits for example are fine, Paul said, because “if I give you back your money, I’m not giving you my money or somebody else’s money. If you get a tax credit, I’m just letting you keep more of your money. If somebody gets a check from the government or gets a mandate that’s different.”

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 5:37 a.m. on June 3, 2011.