Jon Stewart & The Celebrity Ball

Wow. How the hell did that happen?

How did Jon Stewart become the only liberal who can get the national media’s attention?

For years we Lefties have decried how the media ignores liberals, liberal rallies, liberal messages. Hundreds of thousands of people protest the Iraq War and the media can barely bother to mention it. The national news media descends on Nashville’s Tea Party convention -- one reporter for every three conventioneers -- and reports dominate the news cycle for over a week. But Netroots Nation draw twice as many attendees? Crickets. Glenn Beck’s D.C. rally gets covered ad nauseum, while the One Nation rally a few weeks later is barely noticed. There’s wall-to-wall coverage of the CPAC convention every year, but liberal conferences are ignored.

Heck, even CNN has cut away from President Obama’s events, though they covered every campaign appearance by President Bush.

With this in mind it’s been really interesting to see the mainstream media’s embrace of Jon Stewart. Obama’s appearance on The Daily Show dominates the news this morning -- even getting covered on my local news stations. The Stewart/Colbert rally has been covered in the national newspapers for days. What all this tells me is that, at least in the eyes of the national news media and punditry, liberals have a leader and his name is Jon Stewart.

As an observer of our politics and media I have to say I find this fascinating. How did a New York comedian get elevated to “influencer” status -- beyond even the President of the United States, or past presidents like Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter? Is it because Stewart is an entertainer, like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck? Does our media pay more attention to entertainers than they do policy makers and politicians? It would appear so.

I mean, thank God. Thank God the Left finally has someone who can get the attention of the corporate media because, as I’ve said often enough, it seems like most of the time we’re shouting into the wind. And unlike Limbaugh and Beck, whose unyielding defense of all things conservative often requires them to stretch into absurd ideological contortions, Stewart calls bullshit on the Democrats as often as he criticizes the right.

I just find this fascinating. If I were ever to interview Jon Stewart I would want to ask him if he’s even aware of his influencer status, how the hell he thinks this happened, and what he plans to do with this responsibility.

I also don’t get liberal talkers such as Bill Press who have criticized Stewart and Stephen Colbert for holding their rally right before the election, as if everyone who is going to be on the National Mall could instead spend the weekend knocking on doors and phone banking. That just misses the point, doesn’t it? The point is the very last thing the folks attending this rally would do is spend their weekend campaigning. They’d be attending kids’ soccer games and watching college football.

No, this rally is garnering national media attention -- finally we get some fucking attention! Thank you, Jon Stewart, for accomplishing what actual door knockers/phone bankers and other activist-types have failed to achieve. You're getting the word out. And this can only be a good thing.

This tells me something important. I guess what we Lefties have missed is that, basically, this is how it works these days. If you want the media’s attention you have to be an entertainer. You have to dress up in funny costumes, say crazy things, and basically put on a show. I don't mean a street theater show, which liberal groups like Code Pink have been doing forever. I mean a real show.

So now that we know this, I expect every liberal gathering, press conference, rally, policy conference, legislative battle, candidates' forum, etc. to be an entertainment extravaganza. This should be easy for us, we apparently specialize in all things Hollywood after all. Think about it: the Tea Party has Pat Boone and Ted Nugent. We've got pretty much everyone else. This should be a no-brainer.

So come on, Liberals. It's show time. Want cap-and-trade legislation? A public option in your healthcare bill? Net neutrality, Wall Street reform, and an end to the endless wars? Then get the best writers you have in a room and storyboard it. Write the theme song. Cast it as you would a blockbuster movie. Roll it out with all of the promotion of a new Bruce Springsteen or Madonna album. Do it like they did in "Wag The Dog.”

I mean, apparently this is the secret. This is what it takes. We can do this.

The Very Model Of A Modern U.S. President

Via Balloon Juice:

Republican Woman

Okay, this is currently going viral, and it's well done so I thought I'd share it. But for the record, I'm not entirely comfortable with the message. Being a proud liberal woman let me remind everyone: the problem with these candidates is not their gender, but the fact that they are barking mad and not anything close to being fit for office. And there are plenty of Republican men who can join them in the nuthouse as far as I'm concerned.

Still, it's a riff on a classic song from 1970, so I'm not gonna get my thong in a twist about it. No harm, no foul. Enjoy:

They Ain’t Gonna Play Sun City

Cypress Hill joins the ever-growing boycott of Arizona. And they’ve written a song about it:



Yes indeed, it’s time to party like it’s 1985, people. I've said it before and I'll say it again: the arts can change the world. Who else is on board? Crosby, Stills & Nash? Chicago and the Doobie Brothers? Robert Plant? Carrie Underwood? Joe Nichols? You all have Arizona dates coming up. What about the artists on this list? Or this one?

Time to step up, people.

(h/t, Crooks & Liars)

Jackasses

Apparently right-wingers have called for the fainting couches because President Obama allegedly used the term “tea bagger” in reference to the Tea Party. At least, so claims Grover Norquist to the right-wing (and for-sale) Washington Times.

Yeah, how's that for some reliable sources for you?

Norquist supposedly got the information from an advance proof of Jonathan Alter’s new book which comes out later this month. Also, according to Norquist, “tea bagger” is now the equivalent of “the n word.” Seriously.

I have no idea whether Obama really used the term, and frankly I don’t give a damn. I just think it’s so interesting that we have a newspaper that’s for sale and a book that’s for sale and along comes someone manufacturing a controversy over something the president may or may not have said. Cozy.

The right wing loves to manufacture controversies, especially over things the President has said, the condiments he puts on his burgers, the clothing worn by his children. The left does this too, though I don’t think to the same degree, but then I’m biased.

All of which reminded me of last September’s “OMG he said jackass!” fauxtroversy, and this most excellent response. In other words, when you raise a fuss over stupid shit, you make the entire country look foolish.

From will.i.am:

Time To Party Like It's 1985

Once upon a time popular music artists were able to change the world and become a powerful voice for justice. That was 25 years ago, and while many of you whippersnappers are too young to remember the Artists United Against Apartheid campaign, let me say, it was a big, big deal.

So fast forward 25 years and here we are. How ironic that there is, in fact, a Sun City in Arizona. Might be time for some of the big names in music to rethink their summer tour stops.

Frankly, I was surprised that Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed that horrid immigration law yesterday, but I don’t live in Arizona and I don’t know Brewer. Yes, immigration reform is needed and there are some issues at play which make this situation different from the apartheid law musicians protested 25 years ago.

But come on, folks. It all comes from the same place. And if we’re not vigilant and nip this crap in the bud, we just need to look back to 1985 to see exactly where it leads.

Obama: The Musical

Well this is bound to set the right wingers off:

Barack Obama Musical to Kick off in Frankfurt

By Jess Smee

Barack Obama and his dramatic ascent to power has inspired a raft of books and articles. Now a German musical is set to pay an all-singing, all-dancing tribute to the world's most powerful man. Hope! will soon premiere in Frankfurt.

Wearing a knitted cardigan and crooning into his microphone, Barack Obama paces around the stage, wooing Michelle with a love song. In another number, now clad in a suit, Jimmie Wilson who plays Obama, struts up and down, clasping his mike and leading a euphoric gospel chorus of "Yes We Can."

These two scenes are part of an unusual new musical called "Hope!" which is to premiere in Frankfurt on Jan. 17. The production, the biggest of its kind, is an all-singing and all-dancing take on the US president's victorious campaign in 2008.

OMG. Wonder if it will come to TPAC? I’m thinking .... not. But this is my favorite part:

Sarah Palin also has her own solo, surrounded by a troop of scantily clad dancers.

Aboslutely hilarious!!! The story goes on to say that most of the musical is in English, with the script taken from political speeches and public statements.

Man, if you thought the hysteria over President Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize was bad, imagine what they’re going to say when they hear about this! Can't wait for the tour, though!

(h/t, Marcellina)

It's Happening Again

Who says they don't write good protest songs anymore? This one is from Ohio singer/songwriter Griffin House:

No Pink Houses For John McCain

John Mellencamp wants John McCain to stop using his songs:

At some recent John McCain campaign rallies, John Mellencamp’s “Our Country” and “Pink Houses” have been booming out over the speakers. Uplifting heartland rock must have seemed like a smart pick, but there’s just one problem: Mellencamp is an ardent Democrat. And, until recently, he supported John Edwards – who had been playing “Our Country” and “Small Town” at his rallies. Mellencamp hasn’t yet made a public response, but his reps are quietly reaching out to McCain and asking him to stop playing his tunes. (McCain’s press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)

Not to mention that the far-right types whose votes McCain is seeking won’t love the mildly progressive lyrics to “Our Country,” which call on the government to “help the poor and common man” and suggest that “there’s room enough here for science to live/ And there’s room enough here for religion to forgive.” And does McCain really want to associate himself with those “Pink Houses” lines about the “simple man” paying for the “the thrills, the bills and the pills that kill”?

I always thought it was hilarious that Sean Hannity uses Gretchen Peters’ “Independence Day” for his theme song. A song about an abusive husband, written by a lefty liberal who said she just uses her Hannity roylaties to make bigger donations to the ACLU. Heh.

Country Music: It’s Not Just For Republicans Anymore

Well, knock me over with a feather. We tried to tell The Tennessean this--I mean, that was the whole point of the Music Row Democrats, right? But regardless, our daily fishwrap has uncovered the shocking news that country artists support Democratic candidates as well as Republican ones.

They even compiled a list of the major Nashville entertainers who make political contributions. There are few surprises here (save that somebody, somewhere, considers Bonnie Raitt a Nashville entertainer). Merle Haggard, Randy Travis, Trisha Yearwood, the Dixie Chicks, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw are among the bigger names donating to the Democratic Party. Gretchen Wilson, John Rich, Sara Evans, Ronnie Dunn, and Amy Grant donate to Republicans. No shockers there.

I had always known Amy Grant was a Republican, but still had a lot of respect for her nontheless. In all of my dealings with her she always struck me as a thoughtful, genuine person, who did a lot of good works behind the scenes, with little or no fanfare. But a couple years ago I found out she gave $2,000 to re-elect George W. Bush, even after the Iraq War lies and everything else. My opinion of her slipped dramatically. I understand people who supported Bush-Cheney in 2000, no one thought this administration could be this bad back then. But we certainly knew enough of their lies, misdeeds and questionable activities by the 2004 election. So it’s really hard for me to respect any otherwise intelligent person who supported Bush-Cheney’04. It’s a huge character flaw in my book.

But that’s Christian music for you. Most folks I know in Christian music are Republican. One of the many reasons I stopped working in that business--aside from the revolting marriage of religion and consumerism that nobody involved in it seems to have a problem with--was how the industry had increasingly come to represent the entertainment wing of the Republican Party. I daresay it was hard to distinguish the 2004 Gospel Music Week from the 2004 Republican National Convention.

Country music has always been more politically diverse than that, but the coordinated attack on the Dixie Chicks really did intimidate a lot of people into silence about their non-Bush loving viewpoints. Which, of course, was the entire point. We missed the big picture in that whole, sleazy affair, which is that a big-monied corporate-controlled industry shut down an artist for voicing a politically unpopular opinion. In so doing they sent a warning to everyone else that they'd better shut up too--or else. Even at a time when we hold up those who spoke out against the McCarthy-era blacklists as heroes, we let a new version of the Hollywood blacklist take over Nashville’s music industry. For shame.

I wonder, have any lessons been learned? Will artists and industry leaders alike buck up their courage and stand behind the next artist to get “Dixie Chicked,” or will they leave that artist out in the cold, too?

Maybe something good came out of that affair--besides the best-ever “You are so Nashville if ...” contest winner, that is.

(By the way, the Tennessean got its information from opensecrets.org, however, I’ve found Newsmeat sometimes offers more thorough information.)