text: Ryan's claim that "he has abandoned Rand for Aquinas" is preposterous.  He has maintained over the years that his political career was inspired by Ayn Rand and that his political ideas, philosophy and policies are rooted in her thinking.  Rand's politics are conspicuously rooted in the atheistic materialism of Ayn Rand, as we see in the latest version of his effort to take health care away from many Americans in order to transfer money (in the form of tax breaks) to the wealthiest Americans. Ryan's attempt to cloak this despicable policy in the mantle of Catholic social teaching or to cite Aquinas to defend it is simply dishonest.
  Here are two questions for Ryan: Can you name one policy position you have abandoned, changed or adopted as a result of your putative conversion from Rand to Aquinas?  Can you trace the evolution of that "conversion"?