Paul Ryan Looks Like Somebody Kicked Him in the Gut When Romney Admits Obama Didn’t Raise Taxes

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Last updated on February 7th, 2013 at 09:38 pm

When Mitt Romney wandered off script and admitted that Obama hasn’t raised taxes, Paul Ryan looked like someone just punched him in the stomach.

Here is the video:

Romney said, “I admit this, [President Obama] has one thing he did not do in his first four years — he’s said he’s going to do in the next four years, which is to raise taxes.”

The really priceless moment is happening behind Romney, as Paul Ryan realizes what Romney said, and tries his very best to maintain his smile. Ryan’s face transformed into a pained expression, as Romney accidentally let loose with a bit of truth.

What Romney said was true. In fact, Obama is the biggest tax cutter in U.S. history, “For the past two years, a family of four earning the median income has paid less in federal income taxes than at any time since at least 1955, according to the Tax Policy Center. All federal, state and local taxes combined are a lower percentage of per-capita income than at any time since the 1960s, according to the Tax Foundation. The highest income-tax bracket is its lowest since 1992. At 35 percent, it’s well below the 50 percent mark of much of the 1980s and the 70 percent bracket of the 1970s.”

Since truth has no place in the Romney campaign, his spokesperson issued a statement tonight that was a piece of inaccurate damage control, “President Obama has raised taxes on millions of middle-class Americans during his first term in office. Governor Romney was clearly communicating about an additional tax increase President Obama is proposing on American small businesses that will jeopardize over 700,000 jobs. Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan will stop the President’s tax increases, create 12 million new jobs, and turn our economy around.”

The Romney campaign should have stuck with their candidate’s original remarks, because at least they were true. Obama has actually cut taxes by $3,600 for a family making $50,000. The only person in this race who is looking to raise taxes on the middle class is Mitt Romney. The Romney tax plan calls for taxes to go up for people in the middle and bottom, and down for the folks at the top.

Paul Ryan’s reaction to Mitt Romney’s accidental admission of the truth was priceless. Ryan has to be wondering what he got himself into here. He was once one of the GOP’s “Young Guns,” but now he is watching his image and his future national prospects go up in smoke as he finds himself trapped in the burning building that is the Romney campaign.

The look on Ryan’s face has been replicated on millions of conservative faces numerous times when they find themselves confronted by an unexpected truth. Reality isn’t supposed to get through the cognitive dissonance bubble.

The biggest reality check of all could be waiting for Paul Ryan and his fellow Republicans if Romney doesn’t right his sinking ship before Election Night.

Because the takeaway from the event in Ohio was that Romney reboot ver 7.0 was another colossal failure.

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Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association

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