Pledge to America would increase deficit over $4 trillion in 10 years

Upon further reading of the Republican "Fledge to America," it dawned on me their two biggest proposals, repealing HCR and extending the Bush Tax Cuts permanently would add almost $4.2 trillion to the deficit in 10 years. You couldn't cut enough spending to make up for that gap.

The Wonk Book, who is on top of their game this week, notes the Republican plan entirely neglects the two wars we are still fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, wars that were left over from the last time Republicans were in a position of power, mind you.

There are platitudes of course. It notes “we are a nation at war” and there is one bullet on pledging to “pass clean troop funding bills” (something Republicans never did during the last decade). But there is no plan for Iraq or Afghanistan. There is no mention of how Republicans plan to deal with either war, no notion that things could be done differently, and no acknowledgment that this year was the deadliest year in Afghanistan. One would think that the opposition party in the United States would have something to say about the war in Afghanistan — a war that appears to be floundering.

*Update:

Steven Benen also mentions a core value of the Republican cause completely left out of the Pledge. Their make-believe ban on earmarks.

As The Fold Blog has documented, Republicans broke their earmark ban a long time ago.

Rep. Paul Ryan, one of the main architects of the Pledge, tells ABC News the earmark ban isn't mentioned because they have already done that.  NO YOU HAVEN'T.