Paul Ryan flip-flops on Ayn Rand: "“I reject her philosophy”

[Lakhota]

Rep. Paul Ryan and his on-again, off-again
political inspiration, Ayn Rand

By Scott Keyes

In 2005, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) heaped praise on Ayn Rand, a 20th-century libertarian novelist best known for her philosophy that centered on the idea that selfishness is “virtue”. The New Republic wrote:

“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,” Ryan said at a D.C. gathering four years ago honoring the author of “Atlas Shrugged” and “The Fountainhead.”​

Ryan also noted in a 2003 interview with the Weekly Standard, “I give out ‘Atlas Shrugged’ as Christmas presents, and I make all my interns read it. Well… I try to make my interns read it.”

But today, Ryan is singing a far different tune.

From an interview with National Review’s Bob Costa this week:

“I reject her philosophy,” Ryan says firmly. “It’s an atheist philosophy. It reduces human interactions down to mere contracts and it is antithetical to my worldview. If somebody is going to try to paste a person’s view on epistemology to me, then give me Thomas Aquinas,” who believed that man needs divine help in the pursuit of knowledge. “Don’t give me Ayn Rand,” he says.​

It’s understandable why Ryan would back off his former political muse. She described altruism as “evil,” condemned Christianity for advocating compassion for the poor, viewed the feminist movement as “phony,” and called Arabs “almost totally primitive savages.” Learn more about Ayn Rand in this short ThinkProgress video:

The Truth About GOP Hero Ayn Rand - YouTube

Despite Ryan’s newly-professed distaste for Rand, were she alive today, she would likely applaud Ryan for his draconian GOP budget, which cuts food stamps and other programs for the poor, ends Medicare as we know it, gives $3 trillion in tax breaks for corporations and the rich, and raises taxes on the poorest Americans.

Paul Ryan Flip Flops on Ayn Rand: ‘I Reject Her Philosophy’

NOTE: The above link contains live source links.

 

[Lakhota]

"If Paul Ryan Knew What Poverty Was, He Wouldn't Be Giving This Speech" | Mother Jones

 

[jillian]

even ayn rand rejected her "philosophy" and lived on social security at the end of her life.

 

[rdean]

Catholic Bishops are ashamed of Paul Ryan. Like he cares.

"Let them eat cake".

Or do they say "rice" now?

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GHMEO-DM6E]Let Them Eat Cake: Sean Hannity Advises Hungry Americans. - YouTube[/ame]

You can make a "BIG" pot.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

"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."

============

While Ryan is rejecting the teeparty goddess' "philosophy", the Catholics are rejecting his -

Religious Groups, Georgetown Faculty Protest Ryan's Use Of Catholic Social Teaching To Justify Budget Cuts | ThinkProgress

Like so many pubs these days, Ryan has no soul. All he has is his own wallet.

 

[Vidi]

Objectivism has always been the right wing radicals response to altruism.

I was turned onto Rand by the liner notes of Rush 2112 and consumed Atlas Shrugged, The Fountainhead and Anthem. They were insipational to me.


...and then I graduated high school and went to work in the really real world.

The truth is Rand, like Marx, missed the point. The relationship between worker and owner is, always has been and always will be symbiotic. The prosperity of one cannot be attained without the prosperity of the other.

 

[Paulie]

even ayn rand rejected her "philosophy" and lived on social security at the end of her life.

The SS she paid into her whole life?

 

[SniperFire]

even ayn rand rejected her "philosophy" and lived on social security at the end of her life.

The SS she paid into her whole life?

Seems the irony and hypocrisy escapes you on this one.

 

[zeke]

First the Catholics were mad at Obama.

Now the Catholics are mad at Paul Ryan.

Which one you think the Catholic's will stay mad at until Nov 2012?

 

[Katzndogz]

even ayn rand rejected her "philosophy" and lived on social security at the end of her life.

The SS she paid into her whole life?

Oh that's why she founded the Ayn Rand Institute, she was so poor.

 

[Greenbeard]

Objectivism has always been the right wing radicals response to altruism.

Indeed, which is bizarre because Ryan is correct here, Objectivism is an atheist philosophy. It's an ethical framework explicitly built around the idea that there is no god and death is the end of existence. And yet in practice it seems to overlap heavily with where reactionaries like Ryan claim their faith leads them (as Ryan tried to explain just this week at Georgetown how pissing on the poor is somehow an expression of his Catholicism).

 

[Truthmatters]

"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."

============

While Ryan is rejecting the teeparty goddess' "philosophy", the Catholics are rejecting his -

Religious Groups, Georgetown Faculty Protest Ryan's Use Of Catholic Social Teaching To Justify Budget Cuts | ThinkProgress

Like so many pubs these days, Ryan has no soul. All he has is his own wallet.

Love the quote.

I as a teen read both. But Im a chick so I guess I could handle both

 

[Sallow]

even ayn rand rejected her "philosophy" and lived on social security at the end of her life.

She pined for the good old days of Mother Russia and her Tsars..

That's when the rich could trample the poor in style!

 

[TakeAStepBack]

Never read both. Never even heard of that book.

 

[squinch]

First the Catholics were mad at Obama.

Now the Catholics are mad at Paul Ryan.

Which one you think the Catholic's will stay mad at until Nov 2012?

The $64,000.00 question. My guess is the guy who buys the most quilt raffle tickets and shows up at pancake breakfasts will be forgiven first.

 

[Paulie]

even ayn rand rejected her "philosophy" and lived on social security at the end of her life.

The SS she paid into her whole life?

Seems the irony and hypocrisy escapes you on this one.

No it doesn't. I'd opt out of SS in a second if I could, and I think it's unconstitutional and is bankrupting this nation. But when I hit 65 you're damn fucking straight I'm recouping what was taken from me.

 

[Political Junky]

Looks like someone told Ryan that Rand was an atheist.

 

[squinch]

Ryan's flipflop indicates that he is squarely in Romney's camp.

 

[TakeAStepBack]

Of course he is.

 

[Paulie]

Ryan's flip flop indicates that he's just another politician with no conviction.