Paul Ryan rejects 'sorely needed' moral hero Ayn Rand to suck up to bishops

Poor Paul Ryan. He's been such a bad boy, he has to renounce Ayn Rand. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
Paul Ryan, August 18, 2009:

It doesn't surprise me that sales of The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged have surged lately with the Obama administration coming in because it's that kind of thinking, that kind of writing, that is sorely needed right now. And I think a lot of people would observe that we are right now living in an Ayn Rand novel, metaphorically speaking. [...]

Ayn Rand, more than anyone else, did a fantastic job of explaining the morality of capitalism, the morality of individualism, and this to me is what matters most. It is not enough to say that President Obama's taxes are too big or the health care plan doesn't work for this or that policy reason. It is the morality of what is occurring right now and how it offends the morality of individuals working toward their own free will to produce, to achieve, to succeed, that is under attack. And it is that what I think Ayn Rand would be commenting on, which we need that kind of comment more than ever.

Paul Ryan today:

I reject her philosophy [...] 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 [...] Don't give me Ayn Rand.

Huh. Isn't that funny? Two years ago, Ayn Rand was the pre-eminent voice of morality, but now Paul Ryan's all, "Ayn Rand? Pfft. I've barely even heard of her." Hmm. Why would Paul Ryan suddenly renounce "sorely needed" Ayn Rand? What could possibly have inspired such conversion ...

'Our problem with Representative Ryan is that he claims his budget is based on Catholic social teaching,' said Jesuit Father Thomas J. Reese, one of the organizers of the letter. 'This is nonsense. As scholars, we want to join the Catholic bishops in pointing out that his budget has a devastating impact on programs for the poor.' [...]

'I am afraid that Chairman Ryan's budget reflects the values of his favorite philosopher Ayn Rand rather than the gospel of Jesus Christ,' said Father Reese. 'Survival of the fittest may be okay for Social Darwinists but not for followers of the gospel of compassion and love.'

Now that Paul Ryan has been schooled repeatedly by the Catholic bishops, theologians, and faculty from the Jesuit Georgetown University for claiming his Screw The Poor budget is inspired by his Catholic faith, he's awfully desperate to claw his way back into the good graces of his Church, isn't he? Heck, he'll even reject that evil atheist Ayn Rand if the Church will just please, pretty please, stop telling him how immoral he is.

Funny thing about Ayn Rand. She's been dead for a while now, which means she didn't become an atheist last week. She always was one, including back in 2009 when Paul Ryan thought she was the voice of morality. She was also always anti-gun, anti-politician, anti-monogamy ... In other words, she was anti-everything Republicans supposedly stand for. Which is why it's more than a little amusing that teabaggers like Paul Ryan have been invoking her name in the last few years as their spirit guide because she would have hated them too.

Well, good for you, Paul Ryan, for deciding to suddenly reject the moral teachings of Ayn Rand that you so enthusiastically embraced just a short time ago in favor of that Jesus stuff you claim to prefer.

Send a fax to Paul Ryan to remind him of just how immoral his budget is.