RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE Guitarist Pens Op-Ed On PAUL RYAN

August 20, 2012

According to The Pulse Of Radio, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE guitarist Tom Morello has penned an op-ed piece for Rolling Stone on Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, who was tapped last week to run for vice president on the Republican ticket alongside presumptive presidential nominee Mitt Romney. In a New York Times profile, Ryan — who is known for his far-right positions on both economics and social issues — claimed that he enjoyed the music of the ultra-leftist rap-rock quartet.

Morello has responded to that, writing, "Paul Ryan's love of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE is amusing, because he is the embodiment of the machine that our music has been raging against for two decades. Charles Manson loved THE BEATLES but didn't understand them. Governor Chris Christie loves Bruce Springsteen but doesn't understand him. And Paul Ryan is clueless about his favorite band, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE."

He continued, "Ryan claims that he likes RAGE's sound, but not the lyrics. Well, I don't care for Paul Ryan's sound or his lyrics. He can like whatever bands he wants, but his guiding vision of shifting revenue more radically to the one percent is antithetical to the message of RAGE."

Morello also wrote, "Don't mistake me, I clearly see that Ryan has a whole lotta 'rage' in him: 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. Basically the only thing he's not raging against is the privileged elite he's groveling in front of for campaign contributions."

The guitarist concludes, "My hope is that maybe Paul Ryan is a mole. Maybe RAGE did plant some sensible ideas in this extreme fringe right wing nut job . . . That's one possibility. But I'm not betting on it."

Ryan has not issued any comment or reaction to Morello's piece.

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