An urban legend on the left is that Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan is a big fan of Ayn Rand, and requires his staff to read Atlas Shrugged. It's not true. I confirmed this with a Ryan staff member a year ago. But the story fits so well with the leftwing narrative that it refuses to die. Brian Bolduc dismantles the charge well in National Review Online.

In reality, Ryan is a Catholic who understands his work in light of Catholic Social Teaching. Of course, this is a prudential judgment on which Catholics may agree or disagree. But in any case, the "Ryan is a Randian" meme should be challenged wherever it crops up.