SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
A campaign ad being run by Randy Bryce, a Democrat challenging Speaker of the House Paul Ryan in his Wisconsin district. (Image: Randy Bryce for Congress)
Paul Ryan, Iron Stache, and How #WithABuckFiftyAWeek Was Born: A Short Story
It was clear that Ryan had been "suitably shamed." Even the secretary was surprised her story had been used to "sell" the tax bill.
Feb 04, 2018
Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan was pilloried overnight and into Sunday morning after posting a tweet on Saturday--one he later deleted--bragging about the $1.50 per week a public school employee was "pleasantly surprised" to find in her paycheck following the passage of last year's tax cuts which gave the nation's corporations and richest people cuts worth millions, and in many cases billions, of dollars.
Back in his home district, Ryan's 2018 Democratic challenger Randy Bryce, a progressive-minded ironworker with the moniker @IronStache, immediately leapt into action.
Bryce shamed the Speaker--whose political machine was showered with $500,000 in contributions from the billionaire Koch Brothers just days after the #GOPTaxScam was signed into law in December--by pointing out how the Kochs measure their tax windfalls in the billions of dollars, as opposed to quarters or dimes:
\u201cThe Koch Brothers got $1.4 billion. https://t.co/Fy47Ksr2Gh\u201d— Randy Bryce (@Randy Bryce) 1517680582
An analysis released by Americans for Tax Fairness last month showed that while the Kochs spent an estimated $20 million to promote last year's tax bill, they stand to save between $1 billion and $1.4 billion in income taxes per year as a result of its passage. For the 2018 mid-terms, the Koch network is reportedly prepared to spend $400 million to back Republican candidates.
Not long after Bryce pointed some of this out, Ryan deleted the tweet.
\u201cMoments ago, @PRyan deleted this tweet after we told him just how out of touch he was. Show Paul Ryan what you think of his tax bill. Chip in $1.50 now to help us repeal and replace Ryan permanently this November.\nhttps://t.co/c3Fii4Q0Jn\u201d— Randy Bryce (@Randy Bryce) 1517687491
It was clear that Ryan had been "suitably shamed." Even the secretary, Julia Ketchum, originally quoted in the article Ryan shared and who spoke to CBS News later on Saturday night, said she was surprised her story had been used to "sell" the tax bill. "So it shows me," Ketchum said, "he may not have read the whole article."
\u201cAfter Ryan challenger @IronStache pointed out that Koch Brothers got $1.4 billion (and that the billionaires then pledged Ryan/GOP campaign operations $400 million), the speaker decided this wasn\u2019t all that great a story after all. Suitably shamed, Paul Ryan deleted this tweet.\u201d— John Nichols (@John Nichols) 1517702129
Topher Spiro, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, sent out this message on his personal Twitter account which was then retweeted tens of thousands of times:
And because the Internet never forgets, the damage was already done. Behold, the #WithABuckFiftyAWeek hashtag was born:
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan was pilloried overnight and into Sunday morning after posting a tweet on Saturday--one he later deleted--bragging about the $1.50 per week a public school employee was "pleasantly surprised" to find in her paycheck following the passage of last year's tax cuts which gave the nation's corporations and richest people cuts worth millions, and in many cases billions, of dollars.
Back in his home district, Ryan's 2018 Democratic challenger Randy Bryce, a progressive-minded ironworker with the moniker @IronStache, immediately leapt into action.
Bryce shamed the Speaker--whose political machine was showered with $500,000 in contributions from the billionaire Koch Brothers just days after the #GOPTaxScam was signed into law in December--by pointing out how the Kochs measure their tax windfalls in the billions of dollars, as opposed to quarters or dimes:
\u201cThe Koch Brothers got $1.4 billion. https://t.co/Fy47Ksr2Gh\u201d— Randy Bryce (@Randy Bryce) 1517680582
An analysis released by Americans for Tax Fairness last month showed that while the Kochs spent an estimated $20 million to promote last year's tax bill, they stand to save between $1 billion and $1.4 billion in income taxes per year as a result of its passage. For the 2018 mid-terms, the Koch network is reportedly prepared to spend $400 million to back Republican candidates.
Not long after Bryce pointed some of this out, Ryan deleted the tweet.
\u201cMoments ago, @PRyan deleted this tweet after we told him just how out of touch he was. Show Paul Ryan what you think of his tax bill. Chip in $1.50 now to help us repeal and replace Ryan permanently this November.\nhttps://t.co/c3Fii4Q0Jn\u201d— Randy Bryce (@Randy Bryce) 1517687491
It was clear that Ryan had been "suitably shamed." Even the secretary, Julia Ketchum, originally quoted in the article Ryan shared and who spoke to CBS News later on Saturday night, said she was surprised her story had been used to "sell" the tax bill. "So it shows me," Ketchum said, "he may not have read the whole article."
\u201cAfter Ryan challenger @IronStache pointed out that Koch Brothers got $1.4 billion (and that the billionaires then pledged Ryan/GOP campaign operations $400 million), the speaker decided this wasn\u2019t all that great a story after all. Suitably shamed, Paul Ryan deleted this tweet.\u201d— John Nichols (@John Nichols) 1517702129
Topher Spiro, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, sent out this message on his personal Twitter account which was then retweeted tens of thousands of times:
And because the Internet never forgets, the damage was already done. Behold, the #WithABuckFiftyAWeek hashtag was born:
Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan was pilloried overnight and into Sunday morning after posting a tweet on Saturday--one he later deleted--bragging about the $1.50 per week a public school employee was "pleasantly surprised" to find in her paycheck following the passage of last year's tax cuts which gave the nation's corporations and richest people cuts worth millions, and in many cases billions, of dollars.
Back in his home district, Ryan's 2018 Democratic challenger Randy Bryce, a progressive-minded ironworker with the moniker @IronStache, immediately leapt into action.
Bryce shamed the Speaker--whose political machine was showered with $500,000 in contributions from the billionaire Koch Brothers just days after the #GOPTaxScam was signed into law in December--by pointing out how the Kochs measure their tax windfalls in the billions of dollars, as opposed to quarters or dimes:
\u201cThe Koch Brothers got $1.4 billion. https://t.co/Fy47Ksr2Gh\u201d— Randy Bryce (@Randy Bryce) 1517680582
An analysis released by Americans for Tax Fairness last month showed that while the Kochs spent an estimated $20 million to promote last year's tax bill, they stand to save between $1 billion and $1.4 billion in income taxes per year as a result of its passage. For the 2018 mid-terms, the Koch network is reportedly prepared to spend $400 million to back Republican candidates.
Not long after Bryce pointed some of this out, Ryan deleted the tweet.
\u201cMoments ago, @PRyan deleted this tweet after we told him just how out of touch he was. Show Paul Ryan what you think of his tax bill. Chip in $1.50 now to help us repeal and replace Ryan permanently this November.\nhttps://t.co/c3Fii4Q0Jn\u201d— Randy Bryce (@Randy Bryce) 1517687491
It was clear that Ryan had been "suitably shamed." Even the secretary, Julia Ketchum, originally quoted in the article Ryan shared and who spoke to CBS News later on Saturday night, said she was surprised her story had been used to "sell" the tax bill. "So it shows me," Ketchum said, "he may not have read the whole article."
\u201cAfter Ryan challenger @IronStache pointed out that Koch Brothers got $1.4 billion (and that the billionaires then pledged Ryan/GOP campaign operations $400 million), the speaker decided this wasn\u2019t all that great a story after all. Suitably shamed, Paul Ryan deleted this tweet.\u201d— John Nichols (@John Nichols) 1517702129
Topher Spiro, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, sent out this message on his personal Twitter account which was then retweeted tens of thousands of times:
And because the Internet never forgets, the damage was already done. Behold, the #WithABuckFiftyAWeek hashtag was born:
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.