Contrary to popular belief, 'Paul Ryan is not Freddy Kruger'. Mainstream media outlets wasted little time in their attempt to discredit the newly appointed vice presidential candidate, while practically ignoring every new gaffe committed by the current one. The constant and vicious attacks of his conservative views and budget proposals mirror the ordeal Sarah Palin endured, but the career congressman has dealt with it all before.
Seemingly everyone has an unfavorable opinion that they're anxious to share, including musicians like Rage Against the Machine lead guitarist Tom Morello. In one of his many op-eds for Rolling Stone, the Nightwatchman called Ryan "the embodiment of the machine our music has been raging against for two decades."
The inspiration for the rant was in response to a paragraph in a New York Times article that seemingly exposed some kind of philosophical contradiction. Ryan named Rage Against the Machine specifically as one of his favorite bands, despite their anti-corporate themed songs and public support of the Occupy Wall Street movement. He later clarified that he's always liked the way they sound.
This made Morello mad. How could some "fringe right wing nut job" be so complimentary of his life's work? "Charles Manson loved the Beatles, but didn't understand them," he wrote. "Chris Christie loves Bruce Springsteen, but doesn't understand him. And Paul Ryan is clueless about his favorite band, Rage Against the Machine."
Despite the dire state of affairs that have persisted in this country for several years now, Morello clearly thinks a change in leadership would make things a lot worse than they already are. Reiterating Obama's re-election campaign rhetoric, he warned women, immigrants, workers, gays and the poor of impending doom if they don't vote for the incumbent. The environment would deteriorate faster too apparently.
While Morello has clearly had plenty of his own financial success, he still passed judgment on the 'privileged elite' for allowing "millions of children in the U.S. to go to bed hungry every night." He likes to think he and his anarchist band mates have done a lot of good in the world by changing the hearts and minds of the people who actually listen to their songs.
He humorously added in all seriousness, "Many activists around the world, including organizers of the global occupy movement, were radicalized by Rage Against the Machine and now work tirelessly for a more humane and just planet."
