Amongst the GOP contenders for president discussing the plan to pass the debt ceiling, only Jon Huntsman has come out in support of the proposal passed by the House on Monday and expected to pass the Senate Tuesday.
It fits into his character that the former Utah governor would support the plan, which as most Democrats would say, is hardly a "balanced" approach to reducing the deficit, as the trillion dollar reduction in the debt that is to result from the plan comes entirely from spending and not on raising any revenue.
Nevertheless, Tea Party favorites like Ron Paul and Michelle Bachmann were consistently against raising the debt ceiling from the get-go.
The presumptive front runner, Mitt Romney, blasted the plan, saying, “While I appreciate the extraordinarily difficult situation President Obama’s lack of leadership has placed Republican members of Congress in, I personally cannot support this deal,” adding that it "opens the door to higher taxes and puts defense cuts on the table.”
Such sentiments place him away from the business establishment that he supposedly represents on the issue, and more of the side of the Tea Party, most of whose members want to have absolutely nothing to do with his candidacy
This article appears in Jul 28 – Aug 3, 2011.