Paul Ryan has previously cited Rage Against the Machine as his favorite band, but the group's guitarist isn't returning the niceties. In a blistering op-ed published Thursday night on Rolling Stone's website, Tom Morello blasts Mitt Romney's new VP choice as "the embodiment of the machine our music rages against."

In painting Ryan as antithetical to progress, Morello compares the Congressman's appreciation of RATM to Charles Manson's love for The Beatles and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's liking for Bruce Springsteen.

At the heart of Morello's distaste for Ryan is "his guiding vision of shifting revenue more radically to the one percent." He goes on to say Ryan has plenty of "rage," but claims its "A rage against women, a rage against immigrants, a rage against workers, a rage against gays, a rage against the poor, a rage against the environment."

Yes, Paul Ryan is exactly who these folks rage against. How ironic.

He and Serj Tankian founded the Axis of Justice. You can listen via webstream to their radio program - Axis of Justice - on KPFK on Fridays at 7:00PM (Pacific time zone).

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE LYRICS

He told limpo off too...

Rage Against the Machine to Rush Limbaugh: 'Stop Using Our Music in Your Right-Wing Clown Show'

and here is the Rolling Stone story that has a bit more info...

Big RATM fan here, but I really don't see how anyone could ignore, or even minimize their lyrics with some "but I like the music by itself" BS. It's not like the singing is so incredibly rhythmic or melodious that you can't understand them, it's not even really as complex as rap, almost spoken word really.

Maybe he is just too delusional about how he appears to others. He threw out there that he loves RATM just to appear hip and cool.

Really, Frank? I don't see him as the condescending type, nor do I see you that way.

He said he likes the band. So he likes the band; that's worthy of looking for ulterior motives, like he must be lying about liking some band that plays songs with lyrics that seem at odds with other parts of what we know about him? Do you really care?

PS I am not accusing anyone or any candidate of agreeing with that type of music. I am just making an extreme example.

His views and politics, derived in large measure (according to Ryan himself) from studying Ayn Rand in Econ 101 in College is indeed an ideology of condescension.

Our economy is in a horrible place that is causing immense pain and suffering for many people who have lost their jobs, their homes, their way of life and in some cases their families or their lives. Many things went into the Bush bubble and Bust that sent the financial institutions in a tail spin and deflated our homes and assets in a heartbeat...yet Ryan want to make those who suffered the most continue to bear the burden of tough economic times.
Yes end the "welfare State" as Ryan & Rand would have it, while giving tax breaks to the wealthy, those who have not suffered any hardship whatsoever
That is condescension codified.

"I am sorry for the two posts in a row, but I thought of a better example. My friend used to listen to a guy named David Allan Coe. Some of the music was a little catchy, but then I heard it become racist. I then knew that I would never listen to him again."

I understand. And you're right, that is a little extreme as an example. How about this? I'm very much against ingesting drugs (including alcohol), but I still enjoy music that is all about getting high.

On the other side, do you think that a pro-life, anti-gay marriage candidate would come out and talk about their love for Lady Gaga.

Those examples would be similar to the Ryan / RATM lunacy in my opinion.

RATMs lyrics are of themselves particularly political ... They're Noam Chomsky set to music. There's no social casualness to the lyrics ... this is comparable to Rachel Maddow announcing she is a huge fan of a band whose songs are all about Keynesian economics, flat taxes, school privatization and US imperialism.

Why do you happen to think Ryan said it elvis? You're sort of confusing ... first you seemed to suggest that Ryan was too bright not to have had some sort of specific reason for mentioning this, but then you told another poster that looking for alterior motives was fruitless ... which is it?

BTW, do I really care, well, yeah, I'd like to make sense of even someone I feel pretty sure is my political opposition. There's always the chance that I don't truly understand them ...

The music is very political - Ryan would have to have been drunk out of his mind not have noticed the radical politics of the group.

Rage Against The Machine... not so much.

Personally, I think the lyrics go right over the heads of most of these political asshats.

For the liberals who view celebrities' words as gospel, this is music to their ears!

Much ado about nothing, I say.

;)

Tick tock...

I missed the election?

Since most artists, musicians, actors, writers, directors, producers are liberal, that pretty much leaves you Righties with Kelsey Grammer and Ted Nugent. You should be so proud. Nugent is the most vile man on the planet.

Hardly!

Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan 2012
The lyrics aren't important!

Seriously like this one.

Ted doesn't have that oxycodone express as an excuse for his insanity... at least Rush has that.