Posted on 11/20/2007 6:33:56 AM PST by Zakeet
Democrats angered at the image of country and western as Right-wing “redneck music” are planning a tour of Middle America during the 2008 election campaign by Nashville artists opposed to the Iraq war.
An alliance called the Music Row Democrats is poised to re-launch itself early next year in an attempt to seize back country music from the Republican camp and spread their message that President George W. Bush’s party does not care about ordinary people.
Slowly but surely, more country singers are performing songs critical of the Bush administration. Merle Haggard, who once sang the anti-hippie anthem “Okie from Muskogee” for President Richard Nixon at the White House has even penned a tribute to Hillary Clinton.
In his “Hillary", dedicated to the Democratic front runner, Haggard sings: “This country needs to be honest/ Changes need to be large/ Something like a big switch of gender/ Let's put a woman in charge."
Pro-war songs like Toby Keith's "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" and “American Solider”, and Darryl Worley's "Have You Forgotten (About Bin Laden)?" still dominate country music stations.
But some country stars such as Tim McGraw – who has said he may run for Tennessee governor – have “come out” as Democrats.
“Republican Blues”, by the bluegrass artist Tim O’Brien, dealt with issues ranging from domestic spying by the US government to the Hurricane Katrina disaster.
Music Row Democrats was first formed in 2004, after the Dixie Chicks were boycotted and banned from country radio stations when their lead singer Natalie Maines said just before the Iraq invasion that she was ashamed Mr Bush was from her native Texas.
It now boasts more than 1,300 members in Nashville, the home of country music.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
That picture implies that those are the artists involved... until I looked closer and recognized a lot of dead people.
(Apologies to anyone offended by me calling Elvis dead.)
I'll see you, and raise you one...Bring me Condi Rice for President.
“Class warfare you can tap you foot to.”
Yes, all that working class hero stuff, and the boss lives in one of the biggest mansions in New Jersey.
Well, I’m a Country music fan and I’ve never heard of any of these Turkeys either.
GOOD one!!! LOL
Very good.
The only name I recognize here is Nanci Griffith, and she’s more of a folk singer than country singer.
Dems/Libs are always trying to reclaim what they never owned. First they tried to reclaim religion, now it is country music...their ideas don’t work, so they just glom onto whatever they can hoping that some of the positives of those reclaimed ideas stick to them
What are they going to sing about? Every One Should Hate America? Damn with the family? my dog was republican so I shot him? Who need troops when we have the UN? Tax us to the Maxus? It’s Good to be Gay? My Mother the Lesbian and poud of it? Islam is just another name for love? Yeah, that will go over well with Country music lovers.
You all have to see this song, it’s perfect!
To me, this partly reflects the disconnect between Nashville “country” (a/k/a overproduced pop music with guitars) and real country music, which by and large you do not hear on the radio. Next year, when the war is nearly won and more of our troops are on the way home, I believe an overt “anti-war” stance is not going to win over too many fans or sell many records.
Could be better headlined, “Sinners, Thieves, Liars and Traitors Seek New Identity!”
I was looking at campaign donation records recently. Some of the biggest country performers of recent times, like George Strait, Reba McIntire and Dwight Yoakam, have given exclusively to Republican candidates.
I can tell you some big-name artists who seem to lean left in country music:
Dolly Parton
Rodney Crowell (Johnny Cash’s former son-in-law)
Tim McGraw
Faith Hill (McGraw’s wife)
Trisha Yearwood
Garth Brooks (Trisha’s husband)
Not all of them are screaming leftists. I don’t think Garth shoves it down your throat. McGraw can be pretty left wing, though. I quit buying his music when I heard him blaming Bush for Katrina.
Right wing or left wing, country still sucks
As did I.
Many threads about Democrats working to get votes from different groups. Meanwhile Republicans still staying only in the south. Why?????
Its one or two ‘name performers’ and thats it. The rest are hoping for that ‘big break’....which is kinda funny when you consider they are on the same glide path as the Ditzy Chicks have been on since 2003.
As for Tim McGraw, I can’t think of anything that would be a quicker career killer than for him to fall into this trap with CW listeners, especially when things are going much better in Iraq these days. Given his wife has yet to recover from her glaring meltdown at last years CMA’s when she lost in a catagory....well, arrogance will kill you with this particular fan base quicker than any other you can name.
What a title for an article. What a farce!
Oh please. There is more talent in country music then all the crap put together that is out there today.
Most of the artist are no names except for The Mavericks who are basically washed up anyway.
By reclaiming country, as if it ever owned country, the Dems must mean turn it into anti American hippie music.
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