Paul Ryan Seeks to Rewrite History on Ayn Rand

 One of the more curious political phenomenon we've seen in recent days is the furious attempt by Paul Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, to rewrite history and claim that he isn't actually an Ayn Rand acolyte.

His denials are simply false, and are contradicted by statements he made at a gathering of Randians in 2005, a recording of which was released on Tuesday by the Atlas Society.

Why would be make such a ridiculous claim? I explore the reasons in a piece for Fortune.com, out today. It can be accessed here.

As I point out in my Fortune piece, Ryan is following in the footsteps of another notable Rand admirer, Alan Greenspan, whose dissembling is laid out in full in Ayn Rand Nation.

© 2012 Gary Weiss. All rights reserved.
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AYN RAND NATION: The Hidden Struggle for America's Soul, was published by St. Martin's Press on Feb. 28, 2012. Click here to order the book from Amazon.com, and here to order from Barnes & Noble. Follow me on Twitter @gary_weiss.