Matthews: Tea Party Treats Ayn Rand's 'Atlas Shrugged' 'Like It's the Little Red Book of Mao'

NewsBusters ^ | July 11, 2014 | Matthew Balan

[skinkinthegrass]

R.S.R., is more riveting thoughtout, like the latter parts of A.S.

[skinkinthegrass]

"Do they think we are so stupid?"well..look @ the hosts of DNC's MSNBC
(America's Wacko network)

[skinkinthegrass]

for me; it was a interesting book, it appealed
to my budding conservatism. (age 20/now 59)

[MasterGunner01]

It sounds to me that prissy Chrissy is projecting again. TEA Party people are usually quite informed, unlike Matthews. Matthews has an IQ below that of a rock.

[CommieCutter]

And if you start reading it in this day and age it will do nothing else but make you angry—because that world is here now.

[CommieCutter]

I would bet that the "average" Tea Partier has never heard of Atlas Shrugged or Ayn Rand.

It's funny that he's comparing that book to a communist book when she is the product of escaping the Bolshevik Revolution. Looks like Matthews just discovered her as well.

Let's talk about Rules for Radical, Mr. Hissy fit.

[Flick Lives]

It is a loooooooong and windy book.

Rand's "Anthem" is a shorter book covering many of the same concepts as "Atlas Shrugged" of a dystopian future where individualism has been wiped out by collectivists. Actually, "Anthem" would make a good movie, but I suppose Hollywood would rather make "Transformers 42" instead. Don't want to make any movies that criticize the Regime, even tangentially; look at what happened to Dinesh D'Souza. Make a movie criticizing the Regime, get prosecuted by the Regime.

[skinkinthegrass]

never read “1984“; watched the movie w/John Hurt. scary stuff...

[skinkinthegrass]

A rock, can probably carry-on a more intelligent conversation than w/Crissy Mathews.

[nfldgirl]

Much better listening on tape.

[Neidermeyer]

The Little Red Book is where we get “politically correct speech” ,, if you speak incorrectly you go to a re-education camp or are shot...

Matthews knows the “Little Red Book” as the “stylebook” used by his network.

[HotHunt]

I attended the very first Tea Party rally/protest in Arizona at the State Capitol on April 15th, 2009. I carried a sign that said “Going Galt” which got lots of comments and high-fives. I am still a Tea Party, Don’t Tread On Me type of guy. I’ve read Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged three times. I will admit I breezed through the Galt speech so as not to get bogged down and I don’t necessarily agree with Rand’s objectivism theory, but the rest of the book is very engrossing and tracks what is going on in this country right now. I no longer have a copy, having given my last one away to a friend to read.

Atlas Shrugged turned me into a conservative. The first time I read it was in college in the 60’s for a course assignment and I didn’t understand most of it. Not enough real life experiences yet to grasp what was being said. I didn’t understand the difference between a conservative and a liberal back then. The second time I read it, was when I was finishing up my tour in the Air Force and I enjoyed the book. I realized I was a conservative (or at least a smaller government libertarian). The last time I read it was during Obama’s first term and I could see exact parallels with Rand’s novel and Obama’s reign of terror as a radical left president.

I don’t consider Atlas Shrugged as a bible for my politics but it convinced me that liberalism was full of holes and unintended consequences of not-so-well-thought-out- policies. Do I like the novel? Yes. Do I subscribe to Rand’s ideology 100%? No. I don’t think it is necessary to denigrate completely everything one does not like parts of. Take the good and ignore the negatives. But as with most things in life, AS has its value and contributes its part in explaining the differences between the moochers and the producers. America’s problem now is how to reduce the moochers and enhance the producers.

[A_perfect_lady]

Ayn Rand is who won me over too. I actually think The Fountainhead was enough, but I went ahead and read Atlas Shrugged too, and to me it was indeed a page-turner I couldn’t put down. I wouldn’t want to slog through Galt’s speech again now that I’m already converted, but I re-read Francisco d’Anconia’s “Money Speech” pretty regularly.

[HotHunt]

I read the 20th Century Motor Company chapter every so often and get re-introduced to the way the liberals completely screw up a good thing once they get their hands on something and try to change if for the better. They end up either making things worse or completely destroying it. The chapter is a classic example of unintended consequences of not-so-well-thought-out plans by the socialist left. Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged was way ahead of its time but timeless in its history lesson. Links to audio book on 20th Century Motor Company: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCmJUobwKQk&feature=related https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEJrgsooLc0&feature=related https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFhlqQ1dUUM

[GeronL]

He is getting the TEA Party confused with libertarians or something. They just make stuff up.

[wku man]

It took me about four days (the first time). It is definitely a "can't put it down page turner".

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!

[Darksheare]

I burned through RSR in a little less than 21 hours.
I was bored that weekend, and had nothing going!

[BillyBoy]

>> Mao’s Red Book was an instruction manual
Again...
Atlas Shrugged - Cautionary Tale, not an instruction Manual. <<

If its "not an instruction manual", then how come so many Ayn Rand cultists announce that they are "going Galt" like how the book showed them to? Apparently they haven't gotten this memo that the book is fantasy and not a blueprint for what to do.

[BillyBoy]

>> Rand's "Anthem" is a shorter book covering many of the same concepts as "Atlas Shrugged" of a dystopian future where individualism has been wiped out by collectivists. Actually, "Anthem" would make a good movie <<

I was forced to read "Anthem" in H.S. and it sucked. George Orwell told the same story 10X better in "1984". Perhaps that's his book is a household name today and Rand's is not.

[Flick Lives]

Actually, there's an excellent dramatic reading of "Anthem" narrated by Paul Meier available on Audible.