• • The Tea Party will fail—unless it fully embraces individualism as a moral ideal 
Tom Bowden, Christian Science Monitor Atlas Shrugged  |Egoism  |Individualism  |Ron Johnson  |Objectivist author  | For the first time, a resistance movement is looking for answers in Ayn Rand’s writings. From the original public rant that inspired the tea party idea (when CNBC reporter Rick Santelli said “at the end of the day, I’m an Ayn Rander”) to last fall’s US Senate victory by Wisconsin Republican Ron Johnson (who calls “Atlas Shrugged” his “foundational book”), Rand’s uncompromising defense of individualism has become a part of the tea-party mix. Can the tea party deliver on its promise to cut back big government? Yes it can, but not unless its supporters awaken to the need for moral intransigency in pursuing individual liberty.   Published: 2011-01-21