Ayn Rand, Paul Ryan and the issue of morality
In a more fact-based world, the centrality of Ayn Rand to Paul Ryan’s perspective on the world would be undeniable. She is, so to speak, the fountainhead from which much of his political thought flows. But rather than take my word for it, listen to Ryan himself, just three short years ago, laying it out explicitly in back-to-back videos prepared by his congressional campaign:
For those unable to watch the video, the earnest Ryan says, among other things:
“What’s unique about what’s happening today in government and in the world and America is that it’s as if we are living in an Ayn Rand novel right now. … I think Ayn Rand did more than anybody to build a moral case for capitalism, the morality of individualism, and this to me is what matters most.”
Again, Ryan’s voluntary, unprovoked and clearly heartfelt profession of Randian philosophy came in 2009, just three years ago, and it is just one in a long string of public expressions by Ryan of his loyalty to and faith in Rand’s philosophy.
More recently, of course, Ryan has attempted to pretend that none of that has occurred, proclaiming it “urban legend” that he had been influenced by Rand and claiming to “reject her philosophy.” However, if that’s true, this sudden change of heart has not been accompanied by any matching change in Ryan’s political outlook. It remains today what it was when he was still willing to publicly celebrate Rand’s claim to moral authority.
Why is this relevant? Well, Randian philosophy — “objectivism” they call it — is to my mind soft-headed, romantic claptrap that attempts vainly to masquerade as hard-headed, pragmatic economic theory. Its appeal is emotional, not intellectual. And while for individual persons, particularly young people, Rand’s work may be effective as a “self-help philosophy” and motivational tool, as the basis of a society or economic system it would be profoundly impractical and even cruel.
That shouldn’t be a surprise, of course, given that Rand rejected the existence of society in the first place. In fact, she treated the very notion of social responsibility as a conspiracy by which the weak parasites of the world attempt to seize the products of the strong and virile creators. In the video above, Ryan clearly buys into that world view, arguing that Randian individualism represents “the moral foundation of America.”
On that count, I personally find the witness of Thomas Jefferson more convincing, given that he helped to lay the foundation in question. Even back in Jefferson’s day, “self-interest, or rather self-love, or egoism” was being proposed by some as the basis of morality, but the drafter of the Declaration of Independence was having none of it.
Self-love, Jefferson warned, “is no part of morality. Indeed it is exactly its counterpart. It is the sole antagonist of virtue, leading us constantly by our propensities to self-gratification in violation of our moral duties to others…. Take from man his selfish propensities, and he can have nothing to seduce him from the practice of virtue.”
Ryan’s background also plays into the problem. Like his running mate, he is a child born into relative wealth and privilege. That does not make either Ryan or Mitt Romney evil, wrong, foolish or misguided. To the contrary, their shared background says nothing at all about their personal character or leadership abilities.
It must, however, affect their perspective, just as being born into poverty or struggle affects the perspective of those who experience the world from that end of things.
Knowing that you have been born into that rarified world, with all the advantage that it confers, ought to make you a little humble about lecturing others about lifting themselves up by their bootstraps. It ought to make you a little less arrogant about your own success, and a little more sympathetic toward those to whom raw luck has been a little less kind. It should make you acknowledge, to yourself if no one else, that you stand where you stand in part because of factors over which you have had no control, and to understand that others stand where they stand in part because of factors over which they too have had no control.
However, in Ryan’s political rhetoric and policy pronouncements there is little evidence of the leavening power of humility. The philosophy of Rand has served to inoculate him and others against such dark thoughts, whispering in their ears the reassurance that that their success is testament only to their own merit, and freeing them of any obligation to assist others.
I don’t accept that argument. It is antithetical to human nature and to thousands of years of human history in which the individual has had responsibilities to the group, and the group has had responsibilities to the individual. The genius of the American system in particular has been its ability to create a workable, ethical balance between those competing responsibilities.
The “morality” that Ryan proposes would toss that balance aside, creating a system the likes of which has never been seen, and which would meet no definition of the word “moral” that I, or Jefferson, would accept.
– Jay Bookman
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1,118 comments Add your comment
Towncrier
August 15th, 2012
5:51 pm
“…or did I lie about the part in which Ryan claims it is urban myth that he is a Rand acolyte and states that he “rejects Rand’s philosophy”?”
I would say you have not proven Ryan is a “Rand acolyte” (at least to my satisfaction) – I mean, you are basically claiming Ryan is a religious devotee of Rand. That sets a high bar for proof.
JamVet
August 15th, 2012
5:51 pm
Paul, hysterical.
This topic certainly has the GOP faithful shook up, huh?
The reaction is what I would expect from non-Republicans if Jefferson’s philosophy was repudiated.
With Willard’s selection of this new nobody running from his own shadows, I would say it is official.
This is the weakest, sorriest Republican duo to run for the White House in my lifetime.
They make McCain/Palin look like FDR/Truman…
Omawumi
August 15th, 2012
5:51 pm
VP-to-be Paul Ryan is all the better man for his adherence to Randian philosophy. Another Rand protege, the maestro Alan Greasepan, did pretty well for himself and the rest of us.
Sipping this new Jack Daniels Tennessee Honey even as we speak. Omawumi highly recommends it for unleashing the creative juices!
The Fresh Prince of Bill Ayers
August 15th, 2012
5:52 pm
getalife
August 15th, 2012
5:50 pm
princess ,
No.
Better jump to the wingfield blog if that is the best you can do…
PJ
August 15th, 2012
5:52 pm
Peter @5:43 pm
“That would be Piss on you Economics.”
Love the phrasing. And so true.
getalife
August 15th, 2012
5:52 pm
princess,
Deflection.
There is no robme budget plan or any details to his bs.
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
August 15th, 2012
5:52 pm
Oh goody, princess is here.
Rumor has it princess, that the AJC blogs will be getting a register system to comment here. Is your IP spoofer thingie gonna defeat that?
If not, which of your sock-puppets will you decide on?
zeke
August 15th, 2012
5:53 pm
fresh piece …..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuOT1bRYdK8
if you need someone to spell it out for you to can do that a little later as dinner calls
The Fresh Prince of Bill Ayers
August 15th, 2012
5:53 pm
With Willard’s selection of this new nobody running from his own shadows, I would say it is official.
This is the weakest, sorriest Republican duo to run for the White House in my lifetime.
You really want to watch Biden and Ryan debate? Biden will supply the chains. Bwwwwwwwwwwaaaaaaaaahhhhhh
getalife
August 15th, 2012
5:54 pm
“Better jump to the wingfield blog if that is the best you can do…”
I read drudgey and saw it.
I will no longer help Kyle for hits.
Joe Hussein Mama
August 15th, 2012
5:54 pm
G. Three Shoes — ““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.”
To be accurate, Congressman Ryan, it’s a philosophy developed *by* an atheist, but there’s nothing about it that prevents theists from adopting it. After all, *you* certainly seemed to have embraced it wholeheartedly at one time.
I’m out. All be well and drive safely.
getalife
August 15th, 2012
5:55 pm
The robme campaign is a joke.
No detailed plans just lies and slinging poo princess.
Go back to Kyle’s he need the hits.
Peter
August 15th, 2012
5:56 pm
Yes PJ…. I have been calling that Reagan Policy that name for years !
It is so fitting……. the Rich have gotten super Rich, the poor greater in numbers…..all the while Business leaders / CEOs are “Scarred” of the economy… HA HA HA HA HA HA … that is a serious JOKE !
Joseph
August 15th, 2012
5:57 pm
This is really not gonna help your cause Jay considering who Obama’s mentors are. Rev. Wright, Frank Marshall Jones, Bill Ayers… LOL… You better stick to the issue’s Bookman. That way even the lemmings who follow you will have a little fodder….
Dave
August 15th, 2012
5:58 pm
“[P]articularly young people.” I loved Atlas Shrugged, Fountainhead and the others. I was a late bloomer and thought objectivism was wonderful into my mid twenties. Anyone that loves it past that point, needs to get out more. The short take is that it works in a storybook world that Rand created. It doesn’t work in the real world. Representative Ryan, if he really bought the silliness until three years ago needs some therapy.
zeke
August 15th, 2012
5:58 pm
towncrier, with all the youtuble clips of ryan discussing his devotion to rand you must be oblivious
Peter
August 15th, 2012
5:58 pm
PJ ……I also brought up that Reagan raised taxes……. Gee what a concept after he ballooned the deficit….. but the Republican’s didn’t want to hear about that !
The Fresh Prince of Bill Ayers
August 15th, 2012
5:59 pm
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
August 15th, 2012
5:52 pm
Oh goody, princess is here.
Rumor has it princess, that the AJC blogs will be getting a register system to comment here. Is your IP spoofer thingie gonna defeat that?
If not, which of your sock-puppets will you decide on?
Bud, you’re out of your arena here. Ip spoofers work great, I’ve tested them. But right now all I have to do is take my laptop to any public location and I skate right through. You obtain a new I.P. address from any public location when you log on to their network. In case you didn’t know…. Which tells me they like the engagement, it makes for entertaining reading for their I.T. guys who are probably high I.Q. AND Conservative.
Peter
August 15th, 2012
6:00 pm
Joseph.. well who is it then.. is Ryan a religious guy in a wolf’s cloak, or an Atheist at heart as he speaks ?
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
August 15th, 2012
6:00 pm
towncrier, with all the youtuble clips of ryan discussing his devotion to rand you must be oblivious
There are none so blind, etc…etc…etc….
getalife
August 15th, 2012
6:00 pm
princess,
So you admit you are a name changer and beating the ban on you??
Joseph
August 15th, 2012
6:01 pm
Rev. Wright, Barry Obama and the issue of sanity….
Joseph
August 15th, 2012
6:02 pm
Frank Marshall Davis, Barry Obama and the issue of communism….
They BOTH suck
August 15th, 2012
6:02 pm
When you have to buy an IP spoofer and then run around from place to place so you can stay on a blog, how sad you must be…………….
just saying
JamVet
August 15th, 2012
6:04 pm
Ryan would be a great debate.
Against himself. If he could even understand what he is saying, which might be a stretch.
He shares that trait with Willard. And most of the other gutless weather vane cons in Washington.
They were both for it before they were against it before they were for it. (Or is it the other way around?)
So go ahead and pin your desperate hopes on the upcoming
debatesparallel interviews, Bill.They are just a corproate sponsored exercise in circle-jerkery for TV addicts and other such dolts
Your spineless Republican duo are gonna join the McCain/Palin club soon…
Joseph
August 15th, 2012
6:04 pm
Obama’s hero and spiritual adviser…..
http://youtu.be/406rbJ73CZ8
getalife
August 15th, 2012
6:04 pm
Both,
Very sad indeed.
I think the cons are proving RW right on a registration system.
JamVet
August 15th, 2012
6:05 pm
Joseph, didn’t you get the word?!
You namesake, Joseph McCarthy is dead!
And his demented witch hunts for “communists, Marxists, socialist and pinkos” (oh my!) died a hideous death. Along with his legacy!
And America celebrated!
Except apparently for in a bizarre little element in the GOP, where it still survives like some Klannish anachronism…
josef
August 15th, 2012
6:05 pm
@ 5:42
Whee…. S-gi-na is here!
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
August 15th, 2012
6:06 pm
Condi Rice, George Bush and the issue of the smoking gun is the mushroom cloud.
They BOTH suck
August 15th, 2012
6:06 pm
getalife
Not only do it, but say you are doing it.
bwhahahahahahahah
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
August 15th, 2012
6:07 pm
Dick Cheney, George Bush and the issue of yellow cake uranium.
getalife
August 15th, 2012
6:09 pm
Both,
And claim to be intelligent?
Their minds should be studied.
Something ain’t right.
Paul
August 15th, 2012
6:09 pm
JamVet
“They make McCain/Palin look like FDR/Truman…”
Just when you think there’s no way they can outdo themselves…
josef 6:05
trying to behave…. trying…. trying…..
Bernie
August 15th, 2012
6:10 pm
“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Matthew 6:24
Tom Middleton
August 15th, 2012
6:10 pm
But didn’t Jesus say: “What benefit will it be to you if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul”? (Mark 8:36)
Jay, maybe this is why there are so many SOULLESS Republicans around these days, those willing to do and say anything for political power and wealth. They keep trying to live Ayn Rand instead of the Jesus they claim!
Donovan
August 15th, 2012
6:10 pm
You preach morality as a liberal Democrat? Does Bill Clinton, Elliot Spitzer, and Barney Frank ring a bell with you? These immoral cheese balls were way up there in their political positions.
This low character hit piece is typical of the Democrat Party and it’s minions attempting to sway voter appeal. It suspiciously reeks of a college thesis that never got published by a frustrated liberal journalist. Dusted off from an attic box in the Bookman household. No sale here. You are only preaching to the choir.
Your conclusions are all wrong, Dr. Bookman. You are out of your league, just like Obama, in your psychoanalysis of Paul Ryan. Liberals are automatically disqualified from any critique of Ayn Rand, based on their core beliefs. Ayn Rand is the anti-Christ of your liberal world. Stay out of something you don’t comprehend.
Ayn Rand’s novels have best sellers for over five decades. Obviously, she has a very wide following and your comments are foolishly irrelevant, based on the popularity of Ayn’s writing. You might say that your voice is comparatively irrelevant, as well.
Stick to what you all know. I am sure that all you progressives have copies of Karl Marx’s Manifesto and Vladimir Lenin’s preachings on your bookshelves for inspiration and reference. Your blog writings and your political tactics explain my accusations.
Coincidentally, this election year shapes up to be a showdown of principles and ideas of two diametric philosophies. Pragmatic conservatism versus liberal lunacy. Higher virtues versus lower values (look at your campaign). Personal character versus gutter character (look at Biden’s “back in chains” speech).
Read Atlas Shrugged. Read The Fountainhead. Paul Ryan is not the problem. He is the solution and you are the LOOTERS.
Thulsa Doom
August 15th, 2012
6:11 pm
“I do give you high marks on the pomposity scale, however”
Of course the record is still held by Doom with Dave R, WOW and the name-changing Nothing is Free all close behind.- keep up
Well hell. I didn’t realize the others had closed the gap on me. I better up my game and put some distance between me and them other small timers.
getalife
August 15th, 2012
6:11 pm
don.
Are you against corporate welfare?
Brosephus™ - 2012 Winner of the Firm Grasp of the Obvious Award©
August 15th, 2012
6:12 pm
When you have to buy an IP spoofer and then run around from place to place so you can stay on a blog, how sad you must be…………….
Yuuuuuuuuuppppppppp!!!!!!
getalife
August 15th, 2012
6:12 pm
doomy,
Yes, the competition are using ip spoofers to get past bans.
Way behind.
PJ
August 15th, 2012
6:13 pm
Peter…keep up the good work. Although facts get in the way of this current crop of Cons. Deficits, raising taxes, starting unnecessary wars, unfunded mandates and the like only matter when the Dems are in charge. They hate the sinner not the sin.
They BOTH suck
August 15th, 2012
6:14 pm
Bro @ 6:12
There is nothing normal about that. Nothing at all.
Like the moniker
Brosephus™ - 2012 Winner of the Firm Grasp of the Obvious Award©
August 15th, 2012
6:15 pm
Well hell. I didn’t realize the others had closed the gap on me. I better up my game and put some distance between me and them other small timers.
Doom
Did you happen to catch this today?
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/basketball/ncaa/08/15/Alabama-NCAA-violations.ap/index.html
Thulsa Doom
August 15th, 2012
6:16 pm
But didn’t Jesus say: “What benefit will it be to you if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul”? (Mark 8:36)
Jay, maybe this is why there are so many SOULLESS Republicans around these days….
Tom Middleton,
Yep. And I believe Jesus also said something about judging lest you be judged. Since you’re quoting Jesus and all its a pretty good scripture for you to learn given your judgement of Repubs as “SOULLESS”.
Bernie
August 15th, 2012
6:16 pm
Donovan @ 6:10 pm – So said, The Wolf to the SHEEP!
getalife
August 15th, 2012
6:18 pm
I was thinking what our economy would look like without any corporate welfare or loop holes in laws.
Perhaps don would like to opine on the looters.
PJ
August 15th, 2012
6:19 pm
Donovan @6:10 pm
Again…put it in a Hallmark Card. When you only care to send the very best.
F. Sinkwich
August 15th, 2012
6:21 pm
While Jay ignores O’bozo’s mentors (Wright, Ayers, Marxist parents, the vile comrades he “sought out” as friends in college, etc.), he also ignores O’bozo’s new catchphrase: Shared Prosperity.
Even the leftie dupes on this blog understand that Shared Properity = Equality of Outcomes. Like the term “Social Justice,” both are euphemisms for Marxism — from each according to their abilities, to each according to their needs.
There is no other explanation.
While you looney tune lib ilks here worry about Ayn, you might want to think about life in the Soviet Union and eastern Europe during the cold war which is the ultimate goal of O’bozo for the USA.
Scary.
getalife
August 15th, 2012
6:21 pm
“FROM AP: Boehner to House GOP: Play offense on Medicare… ”
Flip the house dem.
Jeffrey
August 15th, 2012
6:22 pm
I know a lot of stupid rich kids that love rand, no surprise two of them end up on the same crappy GOP ticket
Brosephus™ - 2012 Winner of the Firm Grasp of the Obvious Award©
August 15th, 2012
6:22 pm
They BOTH
Thanks. Even though I thought I was stating the obvious earlier, I found out I won that award today. If other’s can brag about themselves here, I guess I can too.
Paul
August 15th, 2012
6:24 pm
Bernie
“We have ISREAL …preparing For WAR, as we speak!”
So maybe this is history repeating itself, like with the Assyrians, the Persians and the Romans?
Can’t stand in the way of the tides of history, don’tcha’ know?
kayaker 71
August 15th, 2012
6:24 pm
Just as Ayn Rand may have influenced Ryan, there is no doubt that Bozo had numerous people who influenced him in his quest to mold this country into his own image. His upbringing, his surroundings, his Muslim faith in the early years, his family….. all contributed to the person we see today in the WH. We are all products of where we have been and who we have known. Ryan is no exception. Neither is Bozo.
Thulsa Doom
August 15th, 2012
6:24 pm
Brocephus,
Yep. I saw that plastered all over the AJC. Michael Carvell is about as obsessed and consumed with Nick Saban as keep up is with me.
The 27 secondary violations is nothing and is basically meaningless. All programs routinely commit numerous secondary violations throughout the year and report them to the NCAA. They are for the most part unintentional, accidental and rather small things. The NCAA just responds with a please do a better job response.
I think Ohio State was reporting an average of over 30 a year for 5 years and it was no big deal. They reported 46 last year and in this report from the Big 10 it states that member institutions routinely report 15-30 per year on average. A big ta do about nada.
http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/50699/some-context-on-b1g-secondary-violations
getalife
August 15th, 2012
6:24 pm
Bro,
Self report like self deport
What is Bama ranked again?
zeke
August 15th, 2012
6:25 pm
Donvan,
seems something amiss with ryan’s approach to catholic bishops and nuns (i trust them more)
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=14247
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/07/02/paul-ryan-vs-catholic-nuns-on-a-bus/
Tom
August 15th, 2012
6:25 pm
Here’s a good test of Rand’s “philosophy”: in any sentence using the name “Ayn Rand,” substitute the name “L. Ron Hubbard.” As you’ll see, they’re 100% interchangeable: sub-literary hacks scribbling out turgid potboilers and “non-fiction” works which are adopted as world-historical philosophical systems of the most profound significance by their tiny class of pathetic acolytes and as ludicrous garbage by absolutely everyone else. Donovan’s 6:10 contribution above is a perfect example.
Bernie
August 15th, 2012
6:26 pm
This………. ATHEIST! Look at THE GOLD PIN she is wearing!
All the GOD FEARING, FREEDOM LOVING REPUBLICANS, just dropped a HUGE LOAD in their pearly white UNDIES!
I can hear Mitts new Campaign theme song now!
” PIMPS don’t CRY! ”
Mitt & PAUL…….see you when you return in 2016!
Its OVER!
Tom Middleton
August 15th, 2012
6:27 pm
Thulsa
Oh Thulsa, you’re so igonorant. The “judgment” of Jesus implies punishment, as in sitting in JUDGMENT of others and handing down the punishment.
It has nothing to do with not being able to recognize good and evil in ourselves and others, and, of course, not telling the truth. Been to church lately?
Thulsa Doom
August 15th, 2012
6:27 pm
getalife,
After Bama beats the living hell out of Michigan we move to no.1. If folks new Tyrann Mathieu was going to be gone for the year that would have nudged Bama past LSU in the first poll. Not that rankings matter. As LSU found out last year the only ranking that matters is the final one. Fear Saban.
zeke
August 15th, 2012
6:27 pm
but what about tom cruise and vinnie barbarino?
Paul
August 15th, 2012
6:28 pm
Sinkwich
“Shared Properity = Equality of Outcomes”
Shared equals Equal?
Really?
So if your tell your son to share his popcorn with his sister, you tell him he has to give her half?
And BTW, can you please point me to those videos Pres Obama made where he said Ayres, Wright et al formed the basis of his political beliefs and are the reason he ran for office?
JamVet
August 15th, 2012
6:28 pm
Sandwich and Don,
Read my to 6:05 Joseph.
You nutjobs are stuck in 1956 stupid…
Goody Three Shoes
August 15th, 2012
6:29 pm
Romney Sees No Immediate Bounce From Ryan V.P. Pick
Support at 46% before naming Ryan, 47% after
by Jeffrey M. Jones
PRINCETON, NJ — Mitt Romney’s standing in the presidential election campaign has not changed materially in the immediate days after his announcement of Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan as his vice-presidential running mate. The first four days of Gallup Daily tracking after Romney’s announcement show 47% of registered voters saying they would vote for Romney and 45% for Barack Obama if the election were held today. The four days prior showed Romney at 46% and Obama at 45%.
Dave
August 15th, 2012
6:29 pm
“Ayn Rand’s novels have best sellers for over five decades. Obviously, she has a very wide following and your comments are foolishly irrelevant, based on the popularity of Ayn’s writing.”
Donovan, by the same metric all of the writings of Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism and various other religions and philosophies, having wide following for much longer than Rand have the same or more relevancy than than Rand.
If you want to convince people you are right, it’s probably not a good idea to tell them they are stupid from the get go.
stands for decibels
August 15th, 2012
6:30 pm
“If Paul Ryan wins, you can bet some things will get named after Ayn Rand, probably the stadium where they hold the Hunger Games.”
classic.
Thulsa Doom
August 15th, 2012
6:31 pm
Tom Middleton,
Nope. The moral of the story is that hypocrites like yourself shouldn’t sit in such arrogant judgement of other people. Who are you Tom? God??? Your foolishness precedes you sir.
josef
August 15th, 2012
6:31 pm
PAUL
L-rd, knows, I’m trying
But, as S-GI-NA says
“We have ISREAL …preparing For WAR, as we speak!
We has to keep it REAL!
getalife
August 15th, 2012
6:33 pm
doomy,
I think Bama should self report losing bowl eligibility this year
stands for decibels
August 15th, 2012
6:33 pm
All those great things that life has to give
they wanna have money and live
But me, I just don’t care at all
yep, whenever I’m feeling down, I just slap on that old “Berlin” disk and I feel 97 again.
Everyman
August 15th, 2012
6:33 pm
Atlas Shrugged Part 2 will be in theaters October 12th, 2012.
Paul
August 15th, 2012
6:34 pm
josef
Well…. maybe he means the figurative House of Israel and ‘war’ in the figurative sense used in the NT.
But I wouldn’t bet on it….
F. Sinkwich
August 15th, 2012
6:34 pm
“Sandwich and Don,
Read my to 6:05 Joseph.”
No thanks. I’ve seen your drivel too often as it is.
F. Sinkwich
August 15th, 2012
6:37 pm
Paul, take off your blinders. O’bozo is not who you think he is.
He wants to diminish our country.
Don’t believe me?
Think about his words, and his deeds.
southern white boy
August 15th, 2012
6:38 pm
all the ayn rand loving moralists might want to check out how ayn lived her life to see if she was the kind of role model they really want to endorse.
great column jay. the hypocrisy of mr ryan and the mean-spirited nature of his budget needs to be exposed. it is ironic that the region that will be hurt the most by his budget is the region that is most republican, voting against its own interest time after time. think where the South would be without the investments of the federal government over the past 70+ years.
Thulsa Doom
August 15th, 2012
6:38 pm
getalife,
Bama is going to have to self report to PETA after we inflict pain, cruelty, and misery on tigers, bulldogs, razorbacks, etc this year. Heck we’ve got 3 different sets of tigers that we will be abusing- LSU, Missouri, and Auburn tigers and possibly as many as 2 different sets of Bulldogs Mississippi St and Georgia. Either that or we’ll be abusing some chickens in the sec title game.
getalife
August 15th, 2012
6:38 pm
filky,
Deflect to lies and sling poo is getting old.
cons all write the same drivel.
You libs
August 15th, 2012
6:38 pm
I just noticed the bling in Ayn’s mug shot.
Does that say it all or what?
Mammon, baby.
Doggone/GA
August 15th, 2012
6:38 pm
Getting here really, really late! Upthread someone said Romney and Ryan are arrogant. I think it’s MUCH worse than that. I think they are smug. Arrogance is pretty easy to topple. Smugness, not so much.
JamVet
August 15th, 2012
6:40 pm
Probably best, Frank.
It would require that you take your head out of certain body cavity!
F. Sinkwich
August 15th, 2012
6:40 pm
“The first four days of Gallup Daily tracking after Romney’s announcement show 47% of registered voters saying they would vote for Romney and 45% for Barack Obama if the election were held today.”
Wow. O’bozo is behind with “registered” voters? He must be really behind with those who actually vote.
Brosephus™ - 2012 Winner of the Firm Grasp of the Obvious Award©
August 15th, 2012
6:41 pm
Self report like self deport
What is Bama ranked again?
Nobody has ever won a race simply by starting it in first place. It’s where you end up that really matters.
—————
Doom
Yeah, I know. I got teased about it a bit at work today. I replied that, if that’s the worst anybody can get on Bama, the NCAA may as well start engraving the championship trophies now for 2012-2013 sports.
They BOTH suck
August 15th, 2012
6:41 pm
For those who love Rasmussen……….
http://www.nationalpolls.com/stories/2012/0810-obama-284.html
Uh oh
getalife
August 15th, 2012
6:42 pm
doomy,
Our schedule is pretty weak this year.
Our biggest game is at home on 11/03 vs Bama.
Tom Middleton
August 15th, 2012
6:43 pm
Thulsa
As usual you’re wrong, Thusa. If I am wrong in what I said, then why were we given the Golden Rule if we can’t tell good from evil? Kind of a no-brainer, don’t you think?
Maybe you should try to understand Jesus through inclusive thinking, prayer, and meditation, instead of trying to find his meaning in the bottoms of endless bottles of beer! LOL
Thulsa Doom
August 15th, 2012
6:43 pm
“I think they are smug.”
Naw. Smug is when you loosely throw around slavery references in tasteless and ridiculous fashion as if you know what the hell you are talking about. Or smug would be a community organizer with no meaningful private sector experience and very little national political experience thinking he’s qualified to run the most powerful nation in the world. Sad would be when a lot of people agree with him.
stands for decibels
August 15th, 2012
6:44 pm
Not until recently, were they made aware of MITT’s penchant for BAPTIZING THE DEAD! Something, they themselves have never heard of such a practice before and certainly would not DO or Believe In!
I really hope the comments page updates include a clown filter.
josef
August 15th, 2012
6:44 pm
DOGGONE
I had been casting around for the right adjective. I think you nailed it.
Erwin's cat
August 15th, 2012
6:45 pm
I’m not sure who’s obsessed with Rand more
stands for decibels
August 15th, 2012
6:45 pm
Atlas Shrugged Part 2 will be in theaters October 12th, 2012.
Dozens, perhaps scores, will pay money to see it.
Thulsa Doom
August 15th, 2012
6:46 pm
Tomfoolery Middleton,
Tom as I nice gesture I would offer you a beer next time you take to reading your Bible scriptures. Of course that probably wouldn’t be the right thing to do. Though I suspect you imbibe a lot anyway when you read Bible verses. Either hard liquor or a lot of kook left koolaid I suspect.
F. Sinkwich
August 15th, 2012
6:47 pm
“It would require that you take your head out of certain body cavity!”
Jammie is soooo funny!
It’s well known that a primary defense mechanism of intellectually deficient individuals is to lash out at their betters with sophomoric scatological references.
Seek help, dude.
JamVet
August 15th, 2012
6:47 pm
Doomy, do you know what the line is on that opener?
Doggone/GA
August 15th, 2012
6:47 pm
“I had been casting around for the right adjective. I think you nailed it”
Thanks! To me arrogance is turned outwards: “You are inferior to me”, but smugness is turned inwareds: “I am better than you”
I think Ryan comes closer to arrogance than Romney, but he still seems to me to be on the “right side” of smugness. For now anyway.
josef
August 15th, 2012
6:48 pm
THULSA
“Naw. Smug is when you loosely throw around slavery references in tasteless and ridiculous fashion as if you know what the hell you are talking about.”
That swipe at Copy Me Plugs is just plumb silly. For the love of G-d, Mec, the Court Jester makes enough real gaffes to keep you busy for a week without stretching credulity to this point.
Ahem
August 15th, 2012
6:49 pm
Should we be expecting a piece soon on Obama’a influences and those he was influenced by and is still enamored with? Alinsky; Ayers; Wright; Davis; Dorn; Obama. Sr.; …? Not here of course.
Jay is little more than a democrat operative and could be reasonably tagged as a lackey or shill.
Thulsa Doom
August 15th, 2012
6:49 pm
“I’m not sure who’s obsessed with Rand more”
Are you kidding? When Jay feeds them the Ayn Rand stuff its like raw meat to some of the far left kooks. They eat it up and bark even more vociferously. They do love they Ayn Rand obsession they do.
getalife
August 15th, 2012
6:49 pm
corporate media is doing a good job for robme.
His plans have no details but they give him a free pass.
Thank God football is back.
Erwin's cat
August 15th, 2012
6:50 pm
It’s well known that a primary defense mechanism of intellectually deficient individuals is to lash out at their betters with sophomoric scatological references.
nice parody