Huntsman: Rest of GOP field was 'in favor of basically defaulting'

Jon Huntsman criticized his competitors in the Republican presidential primary field, claiming they had irresponsibly advocated economic default during this summer’s debt-ceiling debate.

"Every single Republican I was running against was in favor of basically defaulting," Huntsman said in an interview with New Hampshire's daily Telegraph editorial board. "I mean I just couldn't believe what I was hearing. I mean, what world was everyone living in?"

In August, President Obama and congressional Republicans negotiated vigorously over an agreement to raise the nation’s debt ceiling. The protracted negotiations went down to the wire as the White House and lawmakers scrambled to reach a deal before an Aug. 2 deadline, when the government was expected to default without an extension. 

Many GOP presidential candidates expressed skepticism that the U.S. would default or that a default would harm the economy.

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) said at the time that the president was misleading the public about the likelihood of default and called on him to “tell the truth.”

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) suggested at the time that the repercussions of increased spending would be “much, much worse” than an immediate default.

During the debt-ceiling talks, Huntsman had supported a plan from House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) that called for a limited debt-ceiling increase, included $900 billion in spending cuts but did not include a balanced-budget amendment. A number of other candidates in the field had voiced opposition to the Boehner plan.

In the same interview, Huntsman also touted his support for House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) deficit-reduction plan. The plan proposes Medicare reforms that would effectively change the entitlement program into a voucher system for Americans currently under the age of 55. 

"I like the Ryan plan," Huntsman said. "I'm the only candidate who has embraced the Ryan plan."

Soon after he entered the presidential race, Newt Gingrich, who has recently jumped to near the front of the Republican primary field, had said he didn't think "imposing radical change from the right or left is a very good way for a free society to operate" when asked for his opinion of the Ryan plan. Gingrich's statement earned him strong conservative criticism, and he later walked back the remark.

---