Michael Gerson was far more impressed with Paul Ryan's economic speech this week than I was, but there was a line in the conservative's column that stood out for me. Gerson, a former George W. Bush speechwriter, dismisses Ryan's affinity for Ayn Rand as "an embarrassing past flirtation" (via Jon Chait).
It's worth clarifying that the flirtation may be embarrassing, but it's a fairly recent one.
Ryan recorded these remarks celebrating Rand and her philosophy in 2009. Gerson makes it sound as if Ryan were some misguided teenager who borrowed someone's copy of Atlas Shrugged and got a little carried away in high school -- but that's just not the case.
Ryan was elected to Congress when he said, "The reason I got involved in public service, by and large, if I had to credit one thinker, one person, it would be Ayn Rand." He delivered a speech in 2005 to an Ayn Rand group -- after having been in Congress more than a half a decade -- where he said Rand's books "taught me quite a bit about who I am and what my value systems are." The novels "inspired" him, Ryan added, and became "required reading" for his staff and interns.
That last part is literal. Ryan told National Review, "I give out 'Atlas Shrugged' as Christmas presents, and I make all my interns read it."
"An embarrassing past flirtation"? I wish that were true. It's not.
Postscript: Incidentally, Rolling Stone asked President Obama about Ryan and Ayn Rand. He said, "Ayn Rand is one of those things that a lot of us, when we were 17 or 18 and feeling misunderstood, we'd pick up. Then, as we get older, we realize that a world in which we're only thinking about ourselves and not thinking about anybody else, in which we're considering the entire project of developing ourselves as more important than our relationships to other people and making sure that everybody else has opportunity – that that's a pretty narrow vision. It's not one that, I think, describes what's best in America."
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He probably likes this lady because if rearranged, her first name and the first letter of her last name spell "Ryan"
It amazes me that pro-life Catholic Ryan can accept ideas from a Russian/Jew/Communist/Athiest, but can't find any common ground with Democrats.
Ryan wants to be the vice president in charge of being a lady-parts-communist.
We know this because Ryan's inspiration was a communist.
Ayn-Rand-Paul-Ryan
Mike & CA
Ayn Rand was one of the most virulently Anti-Communistthat ever lived. Her father worked for the Tsar. She blamed the Communists for depriving her and her family of their home which is impossible because Jews weren't allowed to own real estate in Tsarist Russia.
Paul Ryan apparently never realized that Ayn Rand was extremely pro-choice. (Probably the only thing I find acceptable about her philosophy.)
It may not describe what is 'best about America', but it sure does describe a 'lot of ameriKans'.
Ryan is such an a$$.
"then, as we get older.."
How true that statement is, except in the case of habitual selfish and self centered a$$holes that is..
Thanks for the editing tip Karensc!
The better part of the Rolling Stone Interview is where Obama calls Romney what he is: a "bullshhitter."
Randians are generally "permanent college sophomores," which is why they're considered the "intellectuals" of the Republican Party, where the average member is a "permanent high school freshman" (at best).
Seems like Obama's heard John Rogers' famous quote: "There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs." :)
One of my favorites.
Atlas shrugged as republicans worshipped Ayn Rand and her fiction.
From trickle down disasters to imaginary theories.
Ayn Rand was a communist AND an atheist.
Both at the same time.
Kind of hard to be a communist without being athiest in most communist countries. As to her being athiest , hey even a rock can show some sign of intelligence.
No surprise that Michael Gerson is helping to spread the fiction of Ayn Lyin' Ryan.
"...a former George W. Bush speechwriter" - now there's a line for the ol' resumé, huh? Do you suppose he's the one who came up with "food on your family"? Ooh, or maybe "is our children learnin'" was one of his classics. Given the latest task he's set himself, I'd almost be willing to bet that "catapult the propaganda" was one that he came up with.
Get Enraged and Engaged:
Mooch the Vote 2012!
;-)
I laughed so hard when Ryan tried to distance himself from Rand! Romney likely coached him about denouncing video of yourself, it's not an innate skill. Now poor ole Ryan is not even doing campaign events in battleground States, as he tries to hide out from reporters. In alot of ways Ryan is even worse than Palin, at least Palin would look you in the eye.
Gerson is writing what he wants to believe, not the truth. The truth is, as you document that her stupid and evil philosophy
is at the core of his belief system.
"...he said Rand's books "taught me quite a bit about who I am and what my value systems are."
So basically Ryan's "value system" is to screw over everyone that he feels is "beneath him" even as he's sucking on the government teet, interesting!!
And Gerson, he's just ignorant!
Well, Ayn Rand approved of sucking on the government teet as long as you were doing it in protest (I think she used another word, but I just lost it.) It was just doing it because you needed it that she disapproved of.
The Romney Ryan economic plan has an 84% chance of causing another economic collapse.
Click for references.
Republicans have collapsed the economy every time they won starting with Ulysses S Grant.
Democrats have improved the economy.
The only exceptions are Reagan, Taft, and Wilson. 84% = 100 X ( 16 / 19 )
We know the economy collapsed under Bush #1 AND Bush #2, and Romney said he has the same policies as Bush.
Lets not forget the huge BP oil spill in the gulf. The president had BP's top brass in his office. Before they left he had them agreeing to pay millions and millons of dollars to the victims. Can anyone imagine a President Romney doing that?
Mitt would have had the Gulf Coast States pay BP for the oil deposited on their beach--except of course for the private communities ,which would have gotten a huge government clean up and renourishment gift.
As an ex resident of Ohio, it blows my mind to think anyone in that great state would vote for Obama...he has done you all dirt and my union friends tell me that secretly they are voting for Romney but saying they are voting for Obama...good for them to recognize the lies, deceit and lack of leadership of this President. And NBC/MSNBC are avoiding the whole Libya coverup, but it is really beginning to hit the fan.
It has now come out that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ordered additional security for the U.S. mission in Benghazi ahead of the terrorist attack but the orders were never carried out, according to “legal counsel” to Clinton.. Those same sources also say former President Bill Clinton has been “urging” his wife to release official State Department documents that prove she called for additional security at the compound in Libya, which would almost certainly result in President Obama losing the election.
Bill and Hillary Clinton have been having “big fights” for “two or three weeks” about the issue.. While Bill Clinton wishes his wife would “exonerate” herself by releasing the documents that show she wasn’t at fault for the tragic security failure in Libya, the secretary of state refuses to do so because she doesn’t want to be viewed as a traitor to the Democratic party.
Obama had enough resources to sendto Benghazi. Obama could have sent special ops units stationed one hour away in Italy to save our people. He refused. The two seals that died weren’t killed until SEVEN hours after the attack started. Obama is proudly saying that he’sstaying awake for 24 hours to campaign this week. Too bad he didn’t do that during the attack, but rather chose to go to bed. For you dead in mind Ohians, wakeup and vote for Romney.
Can't you even find one good thing to say?
speaking of being brain dead..........and what is your source for this "fantastic information"? i don't think i was able to find one element of truth in anything you said. well except maybe for your being an ex resident of ohio. i don't know that that isn't true.
And exactly how does this relate to Paul Ryan's affinity for Ayn Rand?
"..great state"? You don't get out much! Ohio is in the dark ages, what's great about it again, exactly?
Copy, Paste, Repeat.
I will admit runningfast did use far more words than the usual troll. My guess is that in the last couple weeks before the election the Repub Trolls negotiated a word-rate.
Please provide post. I will give you two post to two articles that Bush Administration was aware of an impending terrorist attack prior to 9/11/01. Does that mean that Bush lied to the American People? Did Bush fail to protect us? Or is it regretably one of those terrorist attacks you simply can not prevent? Yes this is off the main subject but is in response to runningfast post.
1. New documents uncovered by investigative journalist Kurt Eichenwald show that despite repeated, urgent warnings from intelligence officials about an impending Al Qaeda attack, Bush did nothing because his neoconservative advisers told him that the threats were merely a “ruse” and a distraction.
http://www.nationalmemo.com/he-kept-us-safe-bush-ignored-repeated-warnings-of-terrorist-attack/2/
2. On Aug. 6, 2001, President George W. Bush received a classified review of the threats posed by Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network, Al Qaeda. That morning’s “presidential daily brief” — the top-secret document prepared by America’s intelligence agencies — featured the now-infamous heading: “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.” A few weeks later, on 9/11, Al Qaeda accomplished that goal.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/11/opinion/the-bush-white-house-was-deaf-to-9-11-warnings.html?_r=2&3.
@runningfast...
You bring a different level of troll to this web site. Most of you repuke paid trolls have neither the intelligence to spin such an elaborate work of fiction nor the ability to use reasonable good grammar.
However, I would suggest that with such a vivid imagination you could find a better paying gig in an ad agency or as a used car salesman.
Your "union friends" have alot in common with your man Romney, they are liars and use deceit on purpose. Makes perfect sense that people who stoop to dishonesty support a candidate who is truth-challenged. My favorite part of your post is the pathetic and ongoing attempt in wingnut circles to try to distance the Clintons from Obama. Good luck on that, it's quite a tall order. Asking people to discard knowledge they gleaned from their own eyes and ears is a conservative standard because you folks are so willing to believe complete nonsense.
Tripoli and Benghazi aren't the same city. Low information = bad connections. There were requests for increased security in Tripoli as part of the ongoing security mission in Libya. There weren't requests in Benghazi
....they would not have gotten there in time, you do realize this?
....I don't even know where you got this from. They were both on compound when the attack happened, then they both helped to escort the ambassador to a safe haven before finally being killed. That took place within approximately 3 hours. The attack was over by then. Even if that had been the case- 7 hours later- that would've been in a hospital. Not sure what you're even thinking here.
I would really like to see where "It has now come out" for myself (and I am sure for several other people here.)
While I am sure (well, not really) that you think you may be telling the "truth", I would appreciate your posting the original source of this "coming out party".
I am floored that you are so knowlegeable of the private discussions between Bill Clinton and his wife over the past 2 or 3 weeks. Not to mention that the President in the debate clearly stated that as the Commander in Chief he is responsible for all of his people.
Sources on all of this inside information, please.
Source?
LOL..yeah..I'd love to see your source info on the Clinton family's personal conversations and "big fights". (lol?)
Sources, please.
runningfast: I am from Ohio and you are certainly Lying all the way thru. I benefited from the Auto Industries comoing back. If it was not for President Obama I would still be unemployed. You are a trolling Romney Insider on the websites to put out untruths. The information about the Clintons are also lies. I have to tell all my website readers to watch out for the Romney Liars on these sites all they are trying to do is change your mind and Vote for that Lying Romney.
Who is John Gault? The one percent!
John Gault saved the world using magic gold coins like a leprechaun and free electricity that comes from thin air.
Romney and Ryan's hero.
The Ryan/Romney beast shows that it has not grown up. Utopian society only works in movies and fiction books. Didn't we all figure out fantasy from reality long ago?
Apparently not!
And as for John Gault- what a self- righteous Capitalist prick!
I have heard that Rand modeled her John Gault character on (narcissistic) Frank Lloyd Wright.
Ayn Rand coming to America from communist Russia in the midst of our Depression in 1925-1929; it doesn't take a brain to accept her perceptions and love of capitalism... the why and how are pretty self explanatory. The "why" Ryan would latch onto it is another thing altogether.
I was enthralled with a Boston radio talk show host by the name of David Brudnoy, a liberaterian, in 1978. My first introduction to conservatism ... then life happened and I had to grow up!
What I find amazing, this Good Christian - does not credit his parents for being the ones to getting him involved in public service, nor does he credit his Church for having an influence on his life as a public servant. Is this because Ayn Rand's philosophy is different than the teachings of the Church? This is not a young boy's flirtation, this was a grown man's decision to respect and admire Ayn Rand. Own it Ryan you have adopted and want to impose Ayn Rand philosophy on the rest of us who choose a different philosophy.
Thomas Hobbes wrote better prose than Rand and makes his points which are not dissimilar in clearer and shorter terms. Hers is a NOVEL and not a coherent work on economics or finance. Fiction writers can make choices of possible plot paths and outcomes that just aren't available or even applicable in real life or in markets.
We need pragmatists; not ideologues.
Ayn Rand WAS a pragmatist. She did exactly what she needed to do to sell her wares and support herself, then tossed it all off like an old coat when she got sick and went on Medicare.
Ryan comes off as a pseudo intellectual and thinks quoting Rand makes him high-brow. The truth of the matter is the Reps are where the Dems were in the 60s -- controlled by their fringe elements. The entire campaign has undercurrents of racism and hate -- all to speak to an element of the population that lives and breathes this behavior (and I guarantee they don't read or know of Rand). BTW -- he looks like Eddie Munster to me -- and his own state is leaning Dem. We just need to VOTE!
Anybody else think it's hilarious that he gives out Ayn Rand for Christmas?
...it's worst than getting jellies of the month club membership...lol
Jellies would at least be edible, the only use I can think of for "Atlas Shrugged" would clog the sewer system...
She was an atheist for goodness sake, she found religion to be "abhorrent" and he gives it to people for Christmas? Is he really that dumb? (That's a rhetorical question)
Hmmm... 51 comments as I write this, and not one voicing support for Ayn Rand. That is most unusual, as the community of Objectivists normally moves in on a feeding frenzy such as this to point out the errors and distortions. Either we are all asleep today, or that voice is being selectively excluded. Okay, here is my response, let's see what happens:
President Obama said this:"Ayn Rand is one of those things that a lot of us, when we were 17 or 18 and feeling misunderstood, we'd pick up. Then, as we get older, we realize that a world in which we're only thinking about ourselves and not thinking about anybody else, in which we're considering the entire project of developing ourselves as more important than our relationships to other people and making sure that everybody else has opportunity – that that's a pretty narrow vision. It's not one that, I think, describes what's best in America."
1) the reason Ayn Rand ignites a brilliant fire in millions of young people is not "they are feeling misunderstood." It is because the Progressive and Religious Moral Orthodoxy of selflessness and duty is ugly in their soul, and Ayn Rand holds up a projection of the alternative. This stays with people for life, unless they succumb to despair and abandon the fire.
2) Ayn Rand does not project "not thinking about anybody else" and "developing ourselves as more important than our relationships to other people." She merely says "Before one can say 'I love you' one must be able to say the "I".
3) Mr. Obama would have you believe that "making sure that everybody else has opportunity" is a kindly, loving type of voluntary caring, personal altruism. What he really means is that American citizens must be ever increasingly bound by law as a legal obligation punishable by prison and fine, to have their wealth expropriated and distributed to others, regardless of deservedness.
4) What "describes what's best in America" is not legal enslavement of one citizen to another, but rather the typically American spirit of independence and freedom to think, judge and act on the basis of one's own mind, not the edict of a encroaching government or shaming religion.
As Miss Rand said, in a razor-sharp slice through the entire Progressive/Religious collectivist project: "The smallest minority is the individual."