Rights and minorities: Why the Tea Party Needs Ayn Rand

"Individual rights are not subject to a public vote; a majority has no right to vote away the rights of a minority; the political function of rights is precisely to protect minorities from oppression by majorities." Ayn Rand

The statists in the Tea Party movement were screaming yesterday that the rights of gay people should be decided by the majority of the public. These are the same people who pretend to adore Rand. They pretend even more to read her books. And, a few of them, even pretend they understand her books. Clearly they not.

Meanwhile the Religious Left is mounting a campaign, along with bigoted fundamentalists like Chuck Colson, to attack Rand for not believing in the Sky Man with Magic Powers. They say Rand would have a "bad" influence on the morons in the Tea Party. But, certainly, when it comes to issues like subjecting the rights of minorities to a public vote, would the world be more civilized if they ACTUALLY PAID ATTENTION to Rand.

The Tea Party movement goes bad because it allows the "Bible-based" policies to take precedent over any of the little Rand they read, that the much less of Rand that they understand. Certainly when it comes to social freedoms the more Rand the Tea Party followed, the better.