CT's wrestling lady won the GOP nom, forcing me to consider voting for a cipher for the US Senate. We should probably just leave the seat open, or try out a "college of coaches" approach. Mix things up a bit.

but really, why win the senate? to do what?what's the GOP's goal?

jerseyhoya wrote:Make sure old people die hungry and other things the GOP favors

won't there be any sort of tempest in the tea party pot when they "discover" Ryan's abiding love for the beliefs of a deceased atheist abortion-monger? It's weird to me that the guy's a teabagger hero. As I understand it, he was prattling on about his sophomoric yen for Rand in public as late as 2009.

pacino wrote:but really, why win the senate? to do what?what's the GOP's goal?

I imagine repealing Obamacare and tax reform would be at the top of the list. You can repeal most of Obamacare through reconciliation, and hopefully they can come up with some sort of a bipartisan broaden the base, eliminate deductions, lower rates reform that can pass both houses. I'm not optimistic about Romney getting anything like changing the tax code through a Dem led Senate (especially if dbag Reid is still Majority Leader) even if it has bipartisan support.

drsmooth wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:Make sure old people die hungry and other things the GOP favors

won't there be any sort of tempest in the tea party pot when they "discover" Ryan's abiding love for the beliefs of a deceased atheist abortion-monger? It's weird to me that the guy's a teabagger hero. As I understand it, he was prattling on about his sophomoric yen for Rand in public as late as 2009.

Brit Hume, FOX News: What is your view of Ayn Rand? Are you an Ayn Rand disciple?

Rep. Paul Ryan: No. I really enjoyed her novels, Atlas Shrugged in particular. It triggered my interest in economics. That's where I got into studying economics. That's why I wanted to study the whole field of economics.

I later in life learned about what her philosophy was, it's called Objectivism. It's something that I completely disagree with. It's an atheistic philosophy. But I think what she's done is she's showed -- she came from communism. She showed how the pitfalls of socialism can hurt the economy, can hurt people, families and individuals and that to me was very compelling novels. Which says freedom, free enterprise, liberty is so much better than totalitarianism and socialism. Those novels, I thought were interesting. But her philosophy, which is different, is something I just don't agree with.

They'll be devastated

jerseyhoya wrote:

pacino wrote:but really, why win the senate? to do what?what's the GOP's goal?

I imagine repealing Obamacare and tax reform would be at the top of the list. You can repeal most of Obamacare through reconciliation, and hopefully they can come up with some sort of a bipartisan broaden the base, eliminate deductions, lower rates reform that can pass both houses. I'm not optimistic about Romney getting anything like changing the tax code through a Dem led Senate (especially if dbag Reid is still Majority Leader) even if it has bipartisan support.

so, lots of illogical things then. ok.

jerseyhoya wrote:

Brit Hume, FOX News: What is your view of Ayn Rand? Are you an Ayn Rand disciple?

Rep. Paul Ryan: No. I really enjoyed her novels, Atlas Shrugged in particular. It triggered my interest in economics. That's where I got into studying economics. That's why I wanted to study the whole field of economics.

I later in life learned about what her philosophy was, it's called Objectivism. It's something that I completely disagree with. It's an atheistic philosophy. But I think what she's done is she's showed -- she came from communism. She showed how the pitfalls of socialism can hurt the economy, can hurt people, families and individuals and that to me was very compelling novels. Which says freedom, free enterprise, liberty is so much better than totalitarianism and socialism. Those novels, I thought were interesting. But her philosophy, which is different, is something I just don't agree with.

They'll be devastated

Good. Now post what Ryan said about Ayn Rand in 2009 and in 2005 at an Atlas Society meeting.

What did he say?

pacino wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:

pacino wrote:but really, why win the senate? to do what?what's the GOP's goal?

I imagine repealing Obamacare and tax reform would be at the top of the list. You can repeal most of Obamacare through reconciliation, and hopefully they can come up with some sort of a bipartisan broaden the base, eliminate deductions, lower rates reform that can pass both houses. I'm not optimistic about Romney getting anything like changing the tax code through a Dem led Senate (especially if dbag Reid is still Majority Leader) even if it has bipartisan support.

so, lots of illogical things then. ok.

Tax reform would be illogical because the current code is sooo good as is.

jerseyhoya wrote:What did he say?

This is from a speech he made to an Atlas Society crowd:

I just want to speak to you a little bit about Ayn Rand and what she meant to me in my life and [in] the fight we’re engaged here in Congress. I grew up on Ayn Rand, that’s what I tell people..you know everybody does their soul-searching, and trying to find out who they are and what they believe, and you learn about yourself.

I grew up reading Ayn Rand and it taught me quite a bit about who I am and what my value systems are, and what my beliefs are. It’s inspired me so much that it’s required reading in my office for all my interns and my staff. We start with Atlas Shrugged. People tell me I need to start with The Fountainhead then go to Atlas Shrugged [laughter]. There’s a big debate about that. We go to Fountainhead, but then we move on, and we require Mises and Hayek as well.

But 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. And the fight we are in here, make no mistake about it, is a fight of individualism versus collectivism.

In almost every fight we are involved in here, on Capitol Hill, whether it’s an amendment vote that I’ll take later on this afternoon, or a big piece of policy we’re putting through our Ways and Means Committee, it is a fight that usually comes down to one conflict: individualism vs. collectivism.

And so when you take a look at where we are today, ah, some would say we’re on offense, some would say we’re on defense, I’d say it’s a little bit of both. And when you look at the twentieth-century experiment with collectivism—that Ayn Rand, more than anybody else, did such a good job of articulating the pitfalls of statism and collectivism—you can’t find another thinker or writer who did a better job of describing and laying out the moral case for capitalism than Ayn Rand.

It’s so important that we go back to our roots to look at Ayn Rand’s vision, her writings, to see what our girding, under-grounding [sic] principles are. I always go back to, you know, Francisco d’Anconia’s speech (at Bill Taggart’s wedding) on money when I think about monetary policy. And then I go to the 64-page John Galt speech, you know, on the radio at the end, and go back to a lot of other things that she did, to try and make sure that I can check my premises so that I know that what I’m believing and doing and advancing are square with the key principles of individualism…

Is this an easy fight? Absolutely not…But if we’re going to actually win this we need to make sure that we’re solid on premises, that our principles are well-defended, and if we want to go and articulately defend these principles and what they mean to our society, what they mean for the trends that we set internationally, we have to go back to Ayn Rand. Because there is no better place to find the moral case for capitalism and individualism than through Ayn Rand’s writings and works.

That seems pretty great

And it's missing a ringing endorsement of atheism so I think we're all OK

jerseyhoya wrote:

pacino wrote:but really, why win the senate? to do what?what's the GOP's goal?

I imagine repealing Obamacare and tax reform would be at the top of the list. You can repeal most of Obamacare through reconciliation, and hopefully they can come up with some sort of a bipartisan broaden the base, eliminate deductions, lower rates reform that can pass both houses. I'm not optimistic about Romney getting anything like changing the tax code through a Dem led Senate (especially if dbag Reid is still Majority Leader) even if it has bipartisan support.

What a winning platform that would be.

jerseyhoya wrote:What did he say?

basically that he believed all the stuff he told powderpuff Hume he had repudiated "later in life".

so he's essentially been an ardent Randian his entire adult life until about 3 years ago.

But lots of adults in their late 30s undergo fundamental philosophical transitions. Particularly politicians.

Happily the matter should generate lots of confusing talk.

drsmooth wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:What did he say?

basically that he believed all the stuff he told powderpuff Hume he had repudiated "later in life".

so he's essentially been an ardent Randian his entire adult life until about 3 years ago.

But lots of adults in their late 30s undergo fundamental philosophical transitions. Particularly politicians.

Happily the matter should generate lots of confusing talk.

Actually, Ryan denounced Ayn Rand this year when the Catholic church called him out.

jerseyhoya wrote:That seems pretty great

so you didn't actually read any of it, then

Doll Is Mine wrote:

drsmooth wrote:

jerseyhoya wrote:What did he say?

basically that he believed all the stuff he told powderpuff Hume he had repudiated "later in life".

so he's essentially been an ardent Randian his entire adult life until about 3 years ago.

But lots of adults in their late 30s undergo fundamental philosophical transitions. Particularly politicians.

Happily the matter should generate lots of confusing talk.

Actually, Ryan denounced Ayn Rand this year when the Catholic church called him out.

Actually he will probably have to repeat that sort of repudiation, since he probably hasn't spent much public time doing so between 2009 and now, and that repudiating could get kind of confusing what with all the necessary contextual explanation that Rand is/was an atheist and what these days is labeled a pro-lifer and a rather randy (pun intended) russian wench into the bargain.

In other words, Paulie's as confusing, as different a chap as the guy atop the ticket.

For at least 11 years as a congressman (that we know of), Paul Ryan's inspiration came from a Russian atheist.

While Joe Biden's role model is Forrest Gump

Either I'm unaware of how radioactive Rand is among swing voters, or this really isn't a thing

jerseyhoya wrote:While Joe Biden's role model is Forrest Gump

Either I'm unaware of how radioactive Rand is among swing voters, or this really isn't a thing

Give it time. He's only been VP for 4 days.

Actually, what I think will do more damage is the bills Ryan tried to get passed in Congress on Personhood and Intravaginal ultrasounds.