2012 hopefuls cool to Boehner’s debt proposal

House Speaker John Boehner isn't just getting the cold shoulder from the White House and conservative Republicans on his debt ceiling proposal.

So far, just one 2012 GOP presidential hopeful--Jon Huntsman--has come out in support of the Boehner's legislation, which would require two separate votes by Congress to increase the debt ceiling and mandate nearly $3 trillion in spending cuts over the next decade.

In a statement Monday, Huntsman called the plan "a good first step" to deal with the nation's ballooning federal deficit and called for further "meaningful steps toward addressing the long-term drivers of debt" including entitlement and tax reform.

But he's the only GOP 2012 hopeful who has offered any enthusiasm about Boehner plan. Since Monday, Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul have come out against the bill, citing their opposition to any increase in the debt limit--a position Bachmann reiterated during a campaign swing in Iowa on Tuesday.

'The premise is wrong," Bachmann said, per Radio Iowa's O. Kay Henderson.

On Tuesday night, Tim Pawlenty voiced his own opposition. In a statement, the former Minnesota governor praised Boehner for "courageously leading the fight" to stop President Obama from running up more debt, but he said he couldn't support the plan, implying it doesn't go far enough.

"I am for the plan that will cut spending, cap it, and pass a balanced budget amendment, but unfortunately this latest bill does not accomplish that," Pawlenty said.

GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney has been more cagey about his feelings on the bill. In a statement Tuesday, Andrea Saul, a Romney spokeswoman, said her boss "applauds" Boehner's efforts, but the campaign has stopped short of offering an endorsement of the legislation.

Newt Gingrich and Herman Cain haven't commented on Boehner's proposal. But on Tuesday, Gingrich told reporters in New Hampshire that he supports a 30-day extension on the debt ceiling, even though he suggested the risk of a credit downgrade is "baloney."

"It's based on Wall Street politics. It's not based on reality," Gingrich told the Nashua Telegraph. "It's an effort to scare the American people."