Today ends my series of debate questions for the Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates. On the hot seat is Paul Ryan. Here's my question:
You cite Ayn Rand as your inspiration for getting involved in politics. You even gave copies of her novel Atlas Shrugged as Christmas gifts to your staff. Among other philosophies, Atlas Shrugged endorses the belief that a society's best hope rests on adopting a system of pure laissez-faire government. Philosophically, you would seem opposed to government economic intrusions, yet you voted in favor of both the TARP bank bailout and the auto industry bailout. How do you reconcile your claim to be a fiscal conservative with your pro-regulatory Congressional votes on these two key federal bailouts?Tomorrow I'll wrap up this series by discussing the posts of my fellow blawgers: Dan Schwartz, Eric Meyer, Robin Shea, and Donna Ballman.