This choice quote appeared in today’s Washington Times, drawn from Brian Doherty’s recent subscribers-only article on Ayn Rand and the right in the Wall Street Journal:
[Ayn] Rand was, despite her exile from the conservative movement, a fan of Barry Goldwater, the modern Right’s first serious presidential candidate. She told him, ‘I regard you as the only hope of the anti-collectivist side on today’s political scene, and I have defended your position at every opportunity.’ For his part, Goldwater said that ‘I have enjoyed very few books in my life as much as ‘Atlas Shrugged.’
Why does she matter to modern politics? It’s not like she is around for conservatives to seek her endorsement. But it is worthwhile for political activists to remember that Ayn Rand was utterly uncompromising on how government needed to respect the inalienable right of Americans to live their own lives, and of American business to grow, thrive, innovate and improve our lives without niggling interference.