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Politics : The Trump Presidency -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Alex MG who wrote (3053)	12/21/2016 10:10:13 PM
From: combjelly	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 362064

You forgot Rand Paul and his dad.

To: Alex MG who wrote (3053)	12/21/2016 10:19:06 PM
From: Alex MG	Respond to of 362064

Ayn Rand’s “philosophy” is nearly perfect in its immorality, which makes the size of her audience all the more ominous and symptomatic as we enter a curious new phase in our society....To justify and extol human greed and egotism is to my mind not only immoral, but evil.— Gore Vidal, 1961 "...Only rarely in U.S. history do writers transform us to become a more caring or less caring nation. In the 1850s, Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) was a strong force in making the United States a more humane nation, one that would abolish slavery of African Americans. A century later, Ayn Rand (1905-1982) helped make the United States into one of the most uncaring nations in the industrialized world, a neo-Dickensian society where healthcare is only for those who can afford it, and where young people are coerced into huge student-loan debt that cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. Rand’s impact has been widespread and deep. At the iceberg’s visible tip is the influence she’s had over major political figures who have shaped American society. In the 1950s, Ayn Rand read aloud drafts of what was later to become Atlas Shrugged to her “Collective,” Rand’s ironic nickname for her inner circle of young individualists, which included Alan Greenspan, who would serve as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board from 1987 to 2006. In 1966, Ronald Reagan wrote in a personal letter, “Am an admirer of Ayn Rand.” Today, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) credits Rand for inspiring him to go into politics, and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) calls Atlas Shrugged his “foundation book.” Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) says Ayn Rand had a major influence on him, and his son Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is an even bigger fan. A short list of other Rand fans includes Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas; Christopher Cox, chairman of the Security and Exchange Commission in George W. Bush’s second administration; and former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford. But Rand’s impact on U.S. society and culture goes even deeper..." alternet.org

To: Alex MG who wrote (3053)	12/22/2016 7:55:08 AM
From: Lane3	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 362064

Sorry, but there's nothing there I can work with. AFAIK, Reagan was not a fan of Rand. (I know she had issues with him.) Paul has libertarian leanings wrt business and international affairs but either is socially conservative or has to pay homage to it as a Republican. Going to school off an atheist doesn't mesh well with the R platform and opposing choice doesn't mess well with Objectivism. Rand would not have approved of him any more than Reagan. There's a clear connection between Greenspan and Rand. They were tight personally as well as philosophically so that relationship may have factored into his thinking as an economist but it's hard to tease it out. At least I'm unable to do so. In any event, he's an economist, not a politician, so outside the scope of our discussion. As for evaluating macro economic policy, that's way beyond my skill set.