An examination of Paul Ryan’s political philosophies

The Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, promotes questionable values as a flaring necessity for humanistic policies looms overhead. But still, it's not the inclinations of our prospective leader that must be looked at; it's the man that stands behind him, Paul Ryan.

Ryan is a representative from Wisconsin who has passed legislation aimed at privatizing Medicare.

In a Fox News interview, he claimed that the current implications of Obamacare have downsized Medicaid and Medicare while hacking into all its resources. In reality, Obamacare has expanded aspects of medicine to all levels of society. It's a tangible step into the utilitarian world of socialized health that not only eliminates overpriced prescriptions but forces insurers to justify rate hikes, provides preventative care to women and accepts all applicants regardless of preexisting conditions.

Ryan's idea of freedom reeks of a fiscally responsible stench that would not only deny women of life-saving health services; it would essentially deny them their own rights. He positions himself on the idea that all abortions, even in cases of rape and incest, should be outlawed. And although he is not running for president, such illegitimate standards make the majority cringe. According to Bloomberg, Ryan has co-sponsored 38 measures in the U.S. Congress that restrict abortion.

“Women, the poor, and minorities who are Republican or vote Republican confound me, and in my opinion are part of a party that is against their interests. I can't fathom being a woman and being a part of the party that wants to set women's rights back to that of the ‘50s,” said online activist Jackie Perrino.

Another shocking aspect of candidate Ryan is the way he aligns his economic goals with policies similar to the ones written in “Atlas Shrugged.” Written by Ayn Rand in 1957, the outdated, self-centered novel focuses on the morality of capitalism and emphasizes the individual. Ryan may deny her harsh, atheistic tendencies stemming from the philosophical stance of objectivism, but he believes that an enlightened sense of socialism could bruise the frail economy. If his outlook reigns true, any sense of altruism is a counterproductive action that denies one person of his privilege to sustain.

If Ryan's outrageous ideological beliefs are not enough to make one want to ‘vote or die,’ he claims that one of his favorite bands is Rage Against the Machine. Maybe he only listens to instrumental tracks, because if he is actually elected many believe “those naked and wageless,” as Thomas Morello refers to in the song “Mic Check” will actually end up screaming in cages. In an editorial written for Rolling Stone, Morello stated, "Paul Ryan's love of Rage Against the Machine is amusing, because he is the embodiment of the machine that our music has been raging against for two decades."