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LOVE IS EXCEPTION MAKING 243
Concern,” Rand attacked both Brandens. Rand’s statement was rambling
and vague, accusing Nathan of fi nancial misdeeds, unspecifi ed deception
and manipulation, and failing to live up to Objectivist principles. Her
overarching message, however, was clear: “I have permanently broken
all personal, professional and business associations with [Nathaniel and
Barbara Branden]. . . . I repudiate both of them, totally and permanently,
as spokesmen for me or Objectivism.” 66 The letter was signed by Leonard
Peikoff, Alan Greenspan, Allan Blumenthal, and Mary Ann Sures.
His name was mud where before he had been an admired leader,
Nathan fought back with “In Answer to Ayn Rand,” a letter sent to
all Objectivist subscribers, appended with a postscript from Barbara.
Nathan’s letter refuted Rand’s allegations point by point, detailed his
dedication to Objectivism, and quoted from earlier statements she had
made praising both Brandens. He concluded with a fi nal, breathtaking
paragraph in which he explained the true reason for their break:
“[I attempted] to make clear to her why I felt that an age distance
between us of twenty-fi ve years constituted an insuperable barrier, for
me, to a romantic relationship.” 67 Even at the end, his Objectivist career
ruined and his separation from Rand complete, Nathan skirted the
issue, hinting that sexual jealously played a role in the break but failing
to acknowledge the full extent of his actions or the relations between
him and Rand. Sent out in tandem with Barbara’s statement, his letter
suggested that it was Rand alone who had acted inappropriately.
The scandal did much to tarnish Rand’s reputation. George Walsh,
then a professor at Hobart College, was organizing an Ayn Rand Caucus
within the American Philosophical Association when the breach happened.
He explained, “The people that I was gathering together to form
the discussion group all fell away. They simply disappeared! They didn’t
answer my further letters or they explained that this was too much for
them, that it seemed to be something other than it appeared to be, and
that personal matters were apparently mixed up in it and they didn’t want
to touch it with a 10 foot pole.” 68 To Rand’s critics the dramatic collapse
of NBI vindicated all they had been saying over the years: her philosophy
was fundamentally fl awed and morally corrupt. Her longtime antagonists
on left and right were delighted. In National Review William F. Buckley
crowed, “Remember, these were the people who were telling the rest of
the world how to reach nirvana. By being like them.” 69
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