When Mitt Romney chose as his running mate an avowed acolyte of the serial killer-loving philosopher Ayn Rand, he ensured that the controversial libertarian author would factor significantly in this Presidential race. Here, if you aren’t familiar with her work, are two videos that will bring you up to speed on Rand, who famously referred to altruism as a “basic evil,” and how her “moral philosophy” of individualism over all else, has guided the work of Paul Ryan.
It’s worth noting that Ayn Rand, who consistently referred to those receiving government assistance as “looters” and “moochers,” secretly took advantage of both Medicare and Social Security later in life. And, much like his hypocritical idol, Paul Ryan, who is now known for his efforts to dismantle social programs, payed his way through college with the Social Security survivor benefits that he collected from the government when his father passed away. It would seem, I guess, that a social safety net is OK in some instances… like when it’s employed to assist white, middle class conservatives.
update:Our friend Doug Skinner had the following to add:
Here, if you’re curious, is an appreciation of Rand from the Church of Satan. They do point out, though, that although they share Rand’s values of reason, greed, selfishness, and atheism, they’re not as dogmatic. Apparently, Satanists see Rand as someone who takes those Satanic values too far.
31 Comments
Quote: It would seem, I guess, that a social safety net is OK in some instances… like when it’s employed to assist white, middle class conservatives.
That’s exactly it. A very large percentage of our voting population will vote for Romney just so those black/non-white lazy assholes have to get up to go to work like the rest of us and stop having the life of leisure. I was in a FB conversation with someone who seemed alright, but who said he was sick of “getting up and going to work every day while others got free money”. Later on, he referenced Detroit and so I knew exactly who he meant by “others”. Again, this guy seemed decent (despite some obvious prejudices), wasn’t going to vote for Romney, but had the perception that voting for Obama would mean continued monies flowing to “others”.
As I said yesterday, this pick was brilliant as many, many low income and middle income whites are going to be secretly cheering this guy.
On another note, what the HELL was wrong with Ayn Rand? What shaped her life views? Was she locked in a closet and raped by a Satanic cult as a child? What? Did she get picked last for the gym teams? Did she need a cookie? What the HELL!??!
Patti – I just had a similar interaction on fb today. Can’t say the person seemed ok (by the wild sentence structure I’d guess either poorly educated or heavily medicated) but when pressing her to try & find some evidence to support her claims that another Obama term would turn us all communist, she immediately recanted a story about how she had a relative & a friend back in the 60’s who were black. The irony was that I hadn’t suspected or accused anyone of racism, but once the race issue sprang up out of her like projectile guilt vomit I immediately knew the score.
“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.”
-John Rogers
I think you give the American people a little too much credit when you suggest that Rand will now dominate the public discourse. On CNN this morning, I heard their reporter introduce Ryan like this – “He listens to Led Zeppelin and has ripped abs”. That’s how they started their coverage at the top of the hour.
To answer your question, Patti, Rand escaped Russia after the revolution. I think this explains her fear of government. Why anyone else would listen to her, though, is beyond me. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about her early years.
“Rand was born Alisa Zinov’yevna Rosenbaum (Russian: Алиса Зиновьевна Розенбаум) on February 2, 1905, to a bourgeois family living in Saint Petersburg. She was the eldest of the three daughters of Zinovy Zakharovich Rosenbaum and Anna Borisovna Rosenbaum, largely non-observant Jews. Rand’s father was a successful pharmacist, eventually owning a pharmacy and the building in which it was located. Rand was twelve at the time of the Russian Revolution of 1917, during which her sympathies were with Alexander Kerensky. Rand’s family life was disrupted by the rise of the Bolshevik party under Vladimir Lenin. Her father’s pharmacy was confiscated by the Bolsheviks, and the family fled to the Crimea, which was initially under the control of the White Army during the Russian Civil War. She later recalled that while in high school she determined that she was an atheist and that she valued reason above any other human attribute. After graduating from high school in the Crimea, at 16 Rand returned with her family to Petrograd (the new name for Saint Petersburg), where they faced desperate conditions, on occasion nearly starving.”
She moved to the United States in 1926.
Remarkable. I suppose Ayn is having some great times explaining her ideas to Hitler while on her 5 minute break between endless back-to-back 12 hour shifts shoveling brimstone into the eternal fire.
So, is this the year we vote between good or evil? Is this the year our “better angels” triumph, or are ground up and sold to China, to be repackaged as pet food and sold back to us by a former Bain Capital company? Holy Swiss Bank Account!
Here, if you’re curious, is an appreciation of Rand from the Church of Satan. They do point out, though, that although they share Rand’s values of reason, greed, selfishness, and atheism, they’re not as dogmatic. Apparently, Satanists see Rand as someone who takes those Satanic values too far.
http://www.churchofsatan.com/Pages/SatObj.html
Rand was not from a very bourgeois family as she claimed. She lied even about her passenger status on the boat to the U.S. I’m curious to know how Paul Ryan manages to justify his religion with his worhip of Rand. She hated religion as much as she worshipped capitolism.
Footage of a 71 year old man being tacked by private security forces for asking Ryan about his proposed cuts to Medicare.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBhdXfCdaA8&t=0s
This is not the kind of thing that plays well with retired voters.
Can anyone doubt that this is nihilistic modernity come home to roost? Rand is the modernist par excellance, who saluted smoke stacks and believed ciggerette smokeing is a patriotic duty. Ryan believes we are living in one of Rand’s novels, this is true, but not in the sense he thinks. Our dark and worldless world is indeed governed by antisocial, sociopathic charecatures of serial killers who ernestly believe (in err) they are superior beings because of their vast wealth, who are morally obliged to cast off the shackles of the parasitic masses and let the poor and homely drown in their own blood. The major difference is that these people will be just as dead as everyone else when the ocean dies. There is no alternative vto earth, no off shore planet to run to when the atmosphere becomes as Venus, no arc to carry you above the rising tide.
Thank you, Doug. The addition of your comment on Satanism really made the post something special.
If I’m living in an Ayn Rand novel, how come I’m not having sadistic sex with any hot, young, subservient women?
More to consider.
Read the rest here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/13/us/politics/paul-ryans-views-on-abortion-guns-and-same-sex-marriage-come-to-forefront.html
Paul Ryan is not enough of a culture warrior for me. I would have preferred it if Romney had picked this woman.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3mDLsyn6ns
Charlie, I need to stop schooling these people on Facebook because here I am again today, trying to school someone WHO JUST DOAN WANNA KNOW!!!! I generally presume that every person I meet, online or in person or in my head, will one day be my friend; I am starting to replace that vision with a much less happy, less butterflies & hops reality :(
Knox, thanks for the info. I guess I can see why one would not like *that* government, but I hope I would not a) extrapolate that to hate *all* governments and b) write awful books about it. :) She really did need a hug, too.
Oh my God, John Galt–YES! I walked around yelling SLYKICS (or however she says it) for weeks after I saw that. Just random yelling of the word. It makes for fun times.
Eel,
Having not read Rand, I didn’t get your reference, so I searched and found an interesting conversation on the “welcomed rape”, or “rape by invitation” , in Rand’s novels.
http://jezebel.com/5490207/a-welcomed-rape-sex-and-ayn-rand
Ayn Rand collected Social Security. Pretty much as soon as she could.
Hypocrite.
The tone of the media regarding the Romney/Ryan ticket is discouraging. The Huff Post/MSNBC crew and late night comics seem to be tickled at how unelectable they are against Obama. They have even momentarily stopped talking about how much more money Romney has raked in over the last several months. It’s starting to sound like the attitude they had towards W’s chance against Gore and even Kerry. We know how well that turned out.
Paul Ryan has broken things off with Ayn Rand.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-T_39o-cXVg
It’s music to my ears. Paul Ryan being booed and called a “liar” by seniors today at the annual AARP conference.
http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/09/21/889511/ryan-gets-booed-at-the-aarp/
After being booed by the AARP, Paul Ryan is desperately trying to distance himself from his earlier statements concerning social security.
Read more:
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/09/paul-ryan-ayn-rand-divorce.php?ref=fpnewsfeed
The thing about being in the House, is that you can be as extreme as you like since very little of what you say will ever become a reality.
Andrew Sullivan on the evidence that Catholics are fleeing Romney Ryan.
Read more:
http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/09/catholics-flee-romney-ryan-dolan.html
Obama called Ryan out for his love of Ayn Rand, saying that her books are for misunderstood teenagers.
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/obama-ayn-rand-is-for-misunderstood-teenagers?ref=fpb
Funny news.
“Atlas Shrugged producers turn to Kickstarter for help warning others against moochers”
Rad more: http://www.avclub.com/articles/atlas-shrugged-producers-turn-to-kickstarter-for-h%2C103253/
I was reading about the resurgence of Black Lung among miners this weekend and thinking the same damned thing.
When you see Rand in hell, ask her what she thinks of rape and murder.
As a recently outed Libertarian, I can’t describe how happy this makes me.
Ryan could be evolving. He said the following yesterday.
“There was a time when I would talk about a difference between ‘makers’ and ‘takers’ in our country, referring to people who accepted government benefits. But as I spent more time listening, and really learning the root causes of poverty, I realized I was wrong. ‘Takers’ wasn’t how to refer to a single mom stuck in a poverty trap, just trying to take care of her family. Most people don’t want to be dependent. And to label a whole group of Americans that way was wrong. I shouldn’t castigate a large group of Americans to make a point.
“So I stopped thinking about it that way—and talking about it that way. But I didn’t come out and say all this to be politically correct. I was just wrong.”
– See more at: https://sojo.net/articles/watch-paul-ryan-publicly-repents-past-comments-about-poor#sthash.0ydAdbZt.dpuf
That speech was a political power play. As speaker, he’s a key player if the GOP primary goes to a brokered convention. There are rumors he could be put forward as an alternative candidate. But it’s nice to see one of the GOP in charge step off the rhetorical bandwagon. There really is no more room to cut federal welfare benefits. so what did he have to lose? He said nothing about providing more or even adequate benefits. It was just time to kill the welfare queen narrative. She had a good run. People know better now. I wonder if EOS got the memo.