U.S. Senator: Gee, things are starting to look like 'Atlas Shrugged' around here

Going Galt:

Sen. Ron Johnson said there were “absolutely” parallels between the novel “Atlas Shrugged” and America today in an interview published Monday with a group that promotes the work of libertarian philosopher Ayn Rand, the book’s author.

“Absolutely,” the Wisconsin Republican said when asked by an interviewer from the Atlas Society if “Atlas Shrugged” resembled modern-day America.

In the 1957 novel, society’s most productive and wealthy citizens go on strike to protest increased government taxes and regulation. Millions of copies have sold since the book’s release, and tens of thousands of copies are still sold each year.

“I’m not sure there are too many differences,” Johnson said later when asked what the differences between his philosophy and Rand’s were. “I guess when you take a look at the book Atlas Shrugged, I think most people always like to identify with the main character — that would be John Galt. I guess I identify with Hank Rearden, the fellow that just refused until the very end to give up. And I guess I’d like to think of myself more as a Hank Rearden — I’m not going to give up. America is something far, far too precious in the span of human history. I’ll never give up hope on America. I hope everybody that’s watching this will never give up hope.”