Republicans’ ‘Pledge to America’ Draws Fire From Left and Right

The big political news on Thursday was the Republicans’ much-touted “Pledge to America,” which Republicans said was a new promise for fiscal prudence. Since the release of the plan, a steady stream of pundits has weighed in, and Sunday was no different.

While it was announced with great fanfare, both left and right roundly criticized it. On Fox News Sunday, moderator Chris Wallace spoke with House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.

Wallace pointed out that Eric Ericson of the conservative website RedState said, “it will actually do nothing but keep making Washington fatter before we crash from the sugar high.” (Ericson went further, calling it “dreck.”) While Boehner and McCarthy defended it, Wallace pressed both on a number of questions, including earmarks; the spending cuts mentioned in the document and how Republicans planned to achieve them (Wallace: “Why is [sic] there not any specific cuts here?”); and why no specific cuts are proposed to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

Hoyer called the document “more spin than specifics,” and said that the Club for Growth, a conservative group, called it “milquetoast” and said it proved “these guys just aren’t ready to lead.”