paul ryan tells the truth
by phillipa diamond
MADISON,
Wisc. -- In a highly unanticipated and unprecedented move, Republican State
Representative and 2012 Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan of Wisconsin told
the truth to the public earlier this month. The statement took the media by
surprise, leading to the St. Petersburg
Times’ truth-o-meter hosted on its PolitiFact
site to publicize that Ryan, a known liar-liar-pants-on-fire, went renegade by
saying words to people that he did not make up to look good or to further his
personal interests.
A report released in March by the House Budget Committee chaired by Ryan reported: “Over the past three years, ‘deep poverty’ has reached its highest level on record.”
PolitiFact seized upon the opportunity to publish verification of the Representative’s statement being uncharacteristically accurate, proclaiming:
“The past three years -- 2010 to 2012 -- clearly produced the highest percentage since the statistic has been calculated in 1975. . . So we rate the claim True.”
A report released in March by the House Budget Committee chaired by Ryan reported: “Over the past three years, ‘deep poverty’ has reached its highest level on record.”
PolitiFact seized upon the opportunity to publish verification of the Representative’s statement being uncharacteristically accurate, proclaiming:
“The past three years -- 2010 to 2012 -- clearly produced the highest percentage since the statistic has been calculated in 1975. . . So we rate the claim True.”
As Adam Levine writes, Ryan has built a political career upon speeches woven of fabricated facts. After forwarding a budget to slash Pell Grants while allowing interest rates to double on student loans, Ryan told an undergraduate at a New Hampshire Town Hall that he supports legislation to make “your education dollars stretch farther than they have in the past.” Representative Ryan told voters that he works to keep middle class families out of debt but voted against credit card reforms and for cuts to bodies charged with protecting consumers. Just last month, a cute anecdote Ryan gave in a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference was cited for being based upon the false statement that a Republican cabinet member of Wisconsin governor Scott Walker actually talks to poor children. Ryan has been found to lie repeatedly about unemployment statistics, consistently reporting more favorable numbers for Republican presidents than reported by the Department of Labor. On the presidential trail, Ryan even managed to anger typically apolitical sporting enthusiasts by lying publicly about his marathon time.
PolitiFact’s determination of a Ryan-issued statement on poverty as true has been picked up by news sources such as Tampa Bay’s Bay News 9 sharing alacrity over the incident.
In a press conference in the State Capital on Tuesday, however, representatives of Ryan issued a correction, stating that the Representative was misquoted. “Clearly, Paul Ryan did not write, support, or in any way mean to associate his name with that part of the report,” aid Miff Gingbush told journalists. “Representative Ryan wants it to be known that he had no hand in issuing this statement on poverty that has been tied to him. However, he does want to make clear that he has the best interests at heart for the average American worker. Thank you. No more questions.”
PolitiFact’s determination of a Ryan-issued statement on poverty as true has been picked up by news sources such as Tampa Bay’s Bay News 9 sharing alacrity over the incident.
In a press conference in the State Capital on Tuesday, however, representatives of Ryan issued a correction, stating that the Representative was misquoted. “Clearly, Paul Ryan did not write, support, or in any way mean to associate his name with that part of the report,” aid Miff Gingbush told journalists. “Representative Ryan wants it to be known that he had no hand in issuing this statement on poverty that has been tied to him. However, he does want to make clear that he has the best interests at heart for the average American worker. Thank you. No more questions.”