Paul Ryan's Got a Great Big Problem With Progressivism
John Nichols on August 13, 2012 - 1:46 AM ET
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What Ryan did not mention was the political philosophy that underpins what is universally recognized as "the Wisconsin Idea." The vice presidential candidates's thinking was shaped by Atlas Shrugged author Ayn Rand and Austrian economists, not by the progressive political ideals of the first Wisconsinite to lead a national political ticket into serious competition for the White House: governor, senator and 1924 presidential candidate Robert M. La Follette.
In fact, the House Budget Committee chairman is expressly at odds with his home-state's progressive tradition.
In 2010, Ryan told conservative commentator Glenn Beck: "What I’ve been trying to do is indict the entire vision of progressivism because I see progressivism as the source, the intellectual source for the big government problems that are plaguing us today. And so to me it’s really important to flush progressives out into the field of open debate—so people can actually see what this ideology means and where it’s going to lead us and how it attacks the American idea."
"I love you!" gushed Beck.
Beck referred to progressivism as "a cancer."
more:
http://www.thenation.com/blog/169357/paul-ryans-got-great-big-problem-progressivism#