Actor Rob Lowe Defends Ayn Rand In Wake Of Paul Ryan’s Admiration For The Philosopher

Following presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney‘s announcement that Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) would be his running-mate, many on the left dug up the congressman’s noted admiration of Objectivist philosopher Ayn Rand as a point of concern, given her espousal of a philosophy that sneered at altruism and championed the individual above collective society.

In response to all the hubbub over the free-market philosopher, a surprising defender came out of the woods: actor Rob Lowe. On Saturday, he took to Twitter to bemoan the fact that Rand’s name is often met with “vitriol”:

Can someone explain the vitriol whenever Ayn Rand comes up? “Atlas” is the greatest motivator for the individual that I can imagine.

— Rob Lowe (@RobLowe) August 11, 2012

Lowe was once well-known for his liberal views, campaigning for Michael Dukakis during the 1988 presidential campaign, and donating to several other Democratic campaigns over the years. But in recent years, the famed actor has become a self-described “centrist.”

This is not the first time Lowe has defended the late Rand from her detractors. Several years ago, he said (in a forthright manner, reminiscent of his Parks and Recreation character Chris Traeger?) “Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand is a stupendous achievement and I just adore it.”

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