Top 5 conservative holidays

Commemorating a day to call attention to a political cause has long been a tactic of liberals and those further out on the left. For instance, there's Labor Day, Martin Luther King Day, Earth Day, Gay Pride Day, May Day, and so on. Conservatives, by contrast, have largely stuck to fighting battles over the "true meaning" of traditional holidays observed by people of all political stripes, such as Christmas, Memorial Day, and the Fourth of July.

Still, conservatives have tried to come up with holidays to tout, with varying degrees of success. Here are our top five:

1. Ayn Rand Day

AP

A pro-choice atheist who opposed the Vietnam War seems an odd choice to become an icon of the political right, but Ayn Rand's uncompromising devotion to laissez-faire capitalism and rational self-interest continues to inspire those who believe that government efforts to redistribute wealth stifle individual achievement.

The author of "Atlas Shrugged" and "The Fountainhead" was born Feb. 2, 1905, in St. Petersburg, Russia. Earlier this year, the Massachusetts legislature considered a bill to commemorate the date as Ayn Rand Day – never mind that it's also Groundhog Day. As any good Objectivist could have predicted, the bill went nowhere.

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