John Mellencamp for Senate? People Are Talking
(h/t Heather.)
I wonder what it would be like to have a real honest-to-god working-class progressive populist in the Senate. A girl can dream, can't she?
For the past quarter century, he has been penning and performing smart, often very political songs -- focusing on the farm crisis, economic hard times and race relations. He's been a key organizer of Farm Aid and other fund-raising events for good causes, and he's been a steady presence on the campaign trail in recent years, appearing at the side of numerous Democratic presidential candidates, including Barack Obama.
So, could Mellencamp perform in the U.S. Senate?
Could he be the right replacement for retiring Senator Evan Bayh, D-Indiana?
Forget the blah-blah-blah about celebrities in politics. We crossed that bridge decades ago.
The question is whether this celebrity makes the right connections with this state.
Mellencamp certainly has the home-state credibility. Few rockers have been so closely associated with a state as Mellencamp with Indiana.
Mellencamp has a history of issue-oriented political engagement that is the rival of any of the Democratic politicians who are being considered as possible Bayh replacements.
And Mellencamp has something else. He has a record of standing up for disenfranchised and disenchanted working-class families in places like his hometown of Seymour, Indiana.
In other words, he's worthy of the consideration that has led to talk of a "Draft John Mellencamp" movement. In fact, he might be just enough of an outlier to energize base votes and to make independent voters look again at the Democratic column.
I'd sure love to work for the man who wrote this:
And the face of the nation
Keeps changin' and changin'
The face of the nation
I don't recognize it no more
The face of the nation
The face of the nation
So many lonely people
Damn those broken dreams.
WHY NOT?
I swear that I'll drive over to Indiana and work like hell for this guy. An honest humble native son. Mellencamp will be like Alan Grayson with a singing voice.
We need progressive, compassionate, politically engaged voices from the music community (Zack de la Rocha comes to mind). The Conservative's answer is Ted Nugent: A man who would opt to kill you with an arrow or a bullet because he doesn't agree with your politics. He might as well register with Stormfront.
would stay in their mid-western home state like JCM has? Never mind write and sing about the working class like he has.
Anecdotal only but a friend of mine from Fort Wayne met him a few times in the '80s when he was arguably more of a star than now (also younger hence more apt to be big on himself) and said he was truly down-to-earth and real as hell.
I hope he runs.
This is NEW
Republicans go bonkers for Dick Cheney, urge him to run for president!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VscrOIU4lKk
what T F !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The left-controlled media smeared this good man non-stop for eight years.
Some days, I really think we are doomed...
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
looney-tunes these folks are, the only task at hand is to find the right way to further discredit them and get that message through the many barriers in the MSM.
republicanism/conservatism is a mental illness!
Sounds like a great idea, but it'll never happen. He's too smart to waste his time with the Senate.
Democracy is the road to socialism. ~ Karl Marx
who used to pour concrete for a living probly gets my vote.
.
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
Unless he buried Hoffa or worked for Bechtel. Pouring concrete, whether in 35-degree or boiling 90 degree/90% humidity, should be good endurance training. Blistered hands, silicosis from breathing the stuff, and back injuries from working a float or tearing out old construction, oughta create a little sympathy for health care reform.
Ahhh, The Authority Song...Fornicate Indiana. Send that little devil down to Georgia. We'll run him here and run him ragged.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crk_S44RxaQ
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
how can they be afraid of someone who hasnt even announced?
btw, the plane crash today was indeed domestic terrorism
wonder if we should start locking up everyone who is pissed at the irs?
.
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
a pilot's license who owes the IRS more than four bucks and change needs to be thooooroughly investigated!
There is no evidence that the "professional" politicians going through the motions of running the government, are any better suited or qualified. Congress was designed to be composed of local and state representatives, for and by the people of their respective area. "Mr. Smith" and "Davy Crockett" types have always been the most effective and honorable senators and congresspeople. Hooray and the absolute best of luck to Mellencamp, should he decide to run. I think he would be an outstanding senator. But he will need equals.
There's plenty of proof that the professional politicians are craven and despicable. Contrast Al Franken with any number of sleazy career senators (Joe Lieberman) and you'll see why the Democrats need more outsiders in the mix.
I was in the front row in the center for a concert in Erie on his Scarecrow tour. The man sure can put on a show. Brought my cousin on stage with him to sing Jack and Diane. He'd have my vote.
is intended to be a factual statement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dOsbsuhYGQ
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
i thought there were deadlines
That's only in hospital emergency waiting rooms.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
received enough signatures to be put on the ballot for the primary election. So the DNC gets to pick the candidate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsEwK69LXjQ
which means he's a contender and a threat to their agenda.
doing what the "people" want by "appointing" a true progressive like Mellencamp to be their Democratic candidate to run against the Republican in November are so bad that if they DO appoint him I will smash my laptop into a million pieces and eat it.
That's how absolutely positive I am that it will NEVER happen.
The Democratic Party NEVER listens to the people.
"The US has an army of 90,000 soldiers in Afghanistan and is spending $100bn a year, but has still been unable to defeat 20,000-25,000 Taliban who receive no pay at all." - Patrick Cockburn
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyfcOriVKBM
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
I did that once. Fry it first.
I lived there and I know exactly what you write about.
No party listens to the people. That's why George Washington warned against parties.
Al Franken could spot Joe Scarborough fifty IQ points and still trounce him in any policy debate, hands down.
ain't that the truth. "The comedian" would take Scar to the mat faster than Barney Frank did that racist teabagger at the town hall meeting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYlZiWK2Iy8
and is a true democrat, that's all I care. Didn't listen to his music much, but he comes across as a real compassionate man.
only corporations could run now. Won't someone PLEASE think of the corporations!!??!
coming? I'm now unemployed and am looking for an all-expense paid new career...
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
So, we pass the hat for the filing fees and form a LLC called "Progressive/Revolutionary Enterprises". RU in?
Is people are talking anything like some people say?
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
People are ALWAYS talking.
...no one wants a dressing down from Mother Superior.
Rahm and Obama will put the kabosh on this right away because Mellencamp wouldn't be beholden to either of them, and worst of all, he might actually be a true progressive if he gets in.
That would piss Rahm, Obama, and the Republicans (who are the top priority of Obama and Rahm) off. That's a big no-no in Obama's White House.
if it'll put an end to his music career i'm all for it!
He sucks.
What is your conceptual, continuity?
I have always gotten a poser vibe off the dude. I really couldn't stand it when he made a big deal about putting 'Cougar' in his name. he was always 'Booger' to me after that
me-oww!
starting with Scarecrow, he's tolerable. He's no Dylan or Springsteen, but he's OK. Gotta think he'd make a better pol than musician, sort of like Bono (not Sonny).
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
but apparently the Cougar name under which he was marketed was the idea of the music execs who didn't think the Mellencamp at all marketable. He transitioned to a hyphenated name and then just left it at Mellencamp. I've listened to a few interviews and he really seemed to have his head screwed on right and to be quite articulate.
Hasa Diga Eebowai
and his stuff made me sneer mightily. when I heard what he was saying about the spirituality behind the choice, it was gag-making. It was him bragging about what a spiritual guy he was. It doesn't surprise me it was phony, based on your telling of what it really was.
He could be super cool and shit, I just don't appreciate his musical style. I've had that crapfest 'Jack and Diane' earworming me since this thread went up.
me-oww!
Some of his music got old very fast.
But I like his politics.
He'll never go for it.
An Al Franken he's not. But he is a scrapper.
What is your conceptual, continuity?
of his music either. I saw him on Colbert and CBC's The Hour and he seemed reasonably informed and..sonofabitch..I've got this Jack and Diane earworm playing in my head. Thanks a lot!
Hasa Diga Eebowai
It was the music execs who named him that.
He told them straight up to get rid of it.
I like the guy.
What is your conceptual, continuity?
1976-1990. He finally ditched it.
me-oww!
into my memory banks.
I think he dropped it in the early 80's.
Reagan was Prez at the time.
What is your conceptual, continuity?
I don't remember which decade though...
"Parachutes are allowed in checked or carry-on baggage, but may not be worn in flight."
---Southwest Airlines
he went by Cougar Mellencamp until 1990. started with cougar in 76, put Mellencamp on in 1983
me-oww!
He dropped it in 85.:)
What is your conceptual, continuity?
The John Cougar Years (1976–1982)
The John Cougar Mellencamp Years (1983–1990)
me-oww!
It was in 85 that I heard on the radio he didn't like the name and wanted to get rid of it. KMET.Or was it KLOS? either one works.
I should know better than to lock horns with you.:)
What is your conceptual, continuity?
"I don't like it," and kept it 5 more years.
me-oww!
Actually, he never liked the name.
What is your conceptual, continuity?
who was legally obligated to stop using his own name, because he lost a contract dispute. A lot of people had fun mocking him while that was going on, but the dirty secret of the music biz. is that Prince was David fighting Goliath (Sony), and he was in the right.
Musicians, especially young ones, are still regularly exploited by music company execs, and it's not hard to believe that Mellencamp's record companies at the time would NOT want him to drop or change his stage name after he'd achieved some success with it. Can you say for certain he wasn't contractually obliged to retain the name, "Cougar?"
At any rate, why not note the personal growth that led him to reclaim his birth name, rather than mock the choices of a guy who did what he thought was necessary when he was young & down on his luck?
Declan Patrick McManus=Elvis Costello
Vincent Damon Furnier=Alice Cooper
John Dorschendorff=John Denver
Reginald Kenneth Dwight=Elton John
John Lennon=Sans Cynthia and Julian
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
Dream Celebrity Administration from President on down:
Could Lisa Germano please have a position on his staff?
God I hate Mika.
Forget it John , why F up your life ... unless you like repeatedly running into brick walls , accomplishing nothing and playing the game ?
John would be a senator like Dennis kucinich is a congressman and the republicans know it. That is why they are already attacking him on clusterfox. Katrina is right when she says don't laugh. John will get mountians of support if he runs. John will win against any republican.
This is why I refuse to watch Joe Scarborough. The guy is a total jerk. He's rude, interrupts, and reeks of contempt. Katrina is right on all counts, and the pundit elite idiots, whether they be on the right or left just don't get it. I don't necessarily applaud Bayh 's departure, but at the same time I certainly question his loyalty to the people he's supposed to represent, Republican or Democrat. He's a corporatist, not a centrist. That's what most of these guys in Congress are, and perhaps that's what we should be focusing on. I noticed Scarborough took a jab a Al Franken, who's a Harvard graduate and in fact quite intelligent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AzEY6ZqkuE
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
bruce springsteen without a band
How can a republican scold anyone over a deficit? Joe is just stupid!
I think the best thing we could do is to never listen to these lying assholes.
republicanism/conservatism is a mental illness!
I hope so. He would win. But does he want to run? And how do we convince him to run? How does he convince other Democrats he is serious in so short a time? Franken carefully planned his candidacy. Mellencamp has a much shorter timeframe.
And I don't know how Katrina has the patience to appear with those clueless douchebags on Morning Joe but I am glad she does it.
The whole segment points out that the netroots and the grassroots have to find real progressive candidates who are not beholden to corporate interests. Both parties have sold out to corporations...it's only a difference of degree.
You may want to check with him before you draft him.
I made a mistake. I saw Katrinas face and clicked on the video. I did not know it was going to be the morning cup of shit show. Joe the idiot halprin, and that other little twerp, who the hell is he? Another corporate lying sack of shit. No offense to shit.
Man messed up my whole morning. I won't be able to clear all the ignorance out of my ears after hearing this over sized rack of stupid give more of the ideas that made him the idiot he is today.
If you want to be misinformed or just plain lied to keep watching the tv news shows. They have plenty of bullshit and lies to bury you in them.
republicanism/conservatism is a mental illness!
Indeed. Anyone is better than Bayh the quitter. What an insult to the American people. We give him one of the greatest jobs our country has to offer, allow him to raise and keep 13 million dollars of campaign funds, fly him anywhere he wants to go and give him Cadillac healthcare for life and he says it's 'toooo haaaard'. Good riddance.
Senator Mellencamp.
I'm all for having someone in that spot that's not a republican and not a blue dog but I just hate the idea that celebrity now seems to be the only requirement to be a senator. Al Franken was different. He demonstrated his ability to debate and his grasp of the issues on his radios show, with his books, etc. But John Mellencamp?
Scarred-burough is a fool. One year ago today he was calling the stimulus the worst thing this nation has ever faced. He constantly was bashing Obama day in and day out. And they say MSNBC is librul!
I worked for Mellencamp. One of the biggest jerks I've ever known. Fired the monitor mixer for nothing. Just to show he was boss. He was the only entertainer, other than Barry Manilow, who demanded his walkway to the stage be curtained off, so he wouldn't have to look at the crew. Spent $20,000.00 on an opening curtain, and trashed it before the show started the tour. Great fiscal responsibility.
Republicans throwing mud at the guy who sings "This is My Country" as the backdrop to flags flying and Chevy trucks!
and his wife and talked to them both briefly on numerous occasions during boxing events in Indiana.
His kid, Hud, is a Junior fighter and won his 132 pound division in the Golden Gloves last year.
Every time I have seen him, he has always hung right in the middle of the crowd, talking, shaking hands, giving autographs, and being as normal as I could expect considering his fame.
He brings a small entourage, mostly family and one or two guys who may be there to watch his safety, but nothing obnoxious and no announcements about his arrival or anything.
I am not sure about any credentials he may have other than notoriety, but considering who we have in the halls of Congress today, he seems just as qualified to talk about and vote on policy as most others.
I would be surprised if he accepted any DNC nomination and ran, but if he did, I would vote for him over any rethug.
he'd have to quit smoking.
I'm not a huge Mellencamp fan. I DO have a huge amount of respect for him though. I really don't think there is any way he could tolerate what it takes to work with hacks like boner, bond, cornyn, leiberman, any of the crackers from the south or the corporate douches that the dems have like nelson, lincoln or landrieu.
back in the late 80's after a concert in Saint Louis and he seemed like a decent guy. When McCain was using his music for his campaign I was astounded since the lyrics clearly aren't conservatard. I hope he runs and I don't care if he wins because of celebrity. We need progressives and most of our career politicans don't have the guts to stand up for anything. I'd take a Mellencamp over a corporate whore like Bayh anyday.
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