Last night, prominent Republican Rep. Dan Lungren (CA) debunked presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s lie that 47 percent of Americans don’t pay taxes and are simply demanding favors from the government.

During a debate with progressive Ami Bera, Lungren was asked about Romney’s comments and offered a strong rebuke of his infamous statement:

MODERATOR: Mitt Romney’s been trying to explain a lot lately what he meant at a fundraiser. What he said, ’47 percent of Americans,’ and I quote him, ‘Dependent upon government believe that they are victims, whoAi??believeAi??the government is responsible for them, who believe they are entitled to health care, food, housing. Is that how you see the country? And if not, can you tell me how you differ from Governor Romney?

LUNGREN: Ai??I think he made a major mistake in calling people victims, saying that they want to be victims. I do think he pointed that there are approximately 47, 49 percent of the people who don’t pay income taxes at the present time. But there are different categories of folks. Some don’t because they’re retired, they paid all their lives! I wouldn’t call them trying to be victimized. Others because they have a low income, don’t qualify for tax — paying taxes at the federal level. […]

Watch Lungren’s response (the relevant section starts at 09:25):

It’s telling that a Republican as senior as Lungren — who was his party’s gubernatorial candidate in 2004 and is the chairman of the House Committee on Administration — is debunking and distancing himself from Romney’s now-infamous statements. Romney’s fumbling candidacy has become so inept and extreme that Republicans down the ticket are scrambling to get away from it.