Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican best known for sparring with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at last week’s Benghazi hearings, says the United States is currently living out the plot of the Ayn Rand novel Atlas Shrugged. In an interview with the Rand-inspired Atlas Society, Johnson said he “absolutely” sees parallels between the American economy today and the novel in which government regulations drive prominent businessmen to retreat into a secluded gulch in protest.
Johnson isn’t the only Wisconsin Republican to lavish praise on Rand. Rep. Paul Ryan once called her “required reading” (also at a speech at the Atlas Society) before later backtracking.
*This post originally misstated the name of Johnson’s company.