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| FromAlbum4 |
While the political press had a good laugh aboutEtch-a=Sketches, Paul Ryan doubled down on his screw the poor vision of our country.
But it’s one thing to say to hell with ’em, and quite another to pretend it’s “for their own good.”
I know that some conservatives with the best will in the world have concluded that smaller government, lower and more regressive taxation, and in general a world where private forces exert more power produce a better society for everybody. I don’t agree, but I can respect their position. But when they befoul it with this sanctimonious claptrap about concern for the “moral fiber” of lesser breeds, it makes me crazy…
You know, much as I dislike theviral adolescent-intoxicating legacy of Ayn Rand—you know, the author ofAtlas Shrugged, the book Paul Ryan used to (or for all I know, still does)require his staff to read—at least she had the honesty to disclaim any pity for the poor. Indeed, she called altruism the one great moral abomination, as bad as “looting.” I’d have a lot more respect for Paul Ryan if he loudly and proudly embraced the “virtue of selfishness” himself, and didn’t pretend he wanted to cut food stamps in order to improve the lives of the working poor through some character-building hunger.