My friend Russ forwarded an e-mail he received today from the band Wilco. They’re offering a free song download in exchange for a simple promise — that you will vote on Nov. 4. They don’t say who you should vote for, but I have my suspicions about who the guys in the band support.
Here’s the skinny:
Greetings all,
Such tumultuous times. And in the spirit of giveaways that seem to be sweeping the nation, we’ve got something free for you. No it’s not a pile of cash (sorry) but rather an audio postcard of sorts from a summer’s night in Oregon with our friends the Fleet Foxes & a lovely Bob Dylan tune. All we ask is you go to
http://wilcoworld.net/vote/
and click the “I pledge to vote in the 2008 Election” button. If you can spare it, we also encourage you to consider a donation to
Feeding America http://www.feedingamerica.org/
.
Happy listening (and please feel free to pass this offer along to friends, family members, etc.).
The Wilco HQ Distribution Dept. –
Wilco World
backstage at a Wilco concert
This article appears in Our Fire, Our Fight.
I coulda sworn that was illegal.
What? Giving away a song? Encouraging young people to vote?
I know the Repubs would just as soon less people voted, at least less of the people who disagree with their reckless policies. They used voter suppression techniques in the last election and I’m sure they’ll do so again.
BTW, the song they’re giving away is “I Shall Be Released,” by Bob Dylan. Here’s the last verse:
Standing next to me in this lonely crowd,
Is a man who swears he’s not to blame.
All day long I hear him shout so loud,
Crying out that he was framed.
I see my light come shining
From the west unto the east.
Any day now, any day now,
I shall be released.
And would not the democrats not like less republicans to vote? Bob, get over the us and them thang.
Have not the democrats in this country been accused of false voter registration, illegal immigrant registration, and multiple voting….. voter fraud is not the specialty of one party. The parties are corrupted by power and money, voter fraud knows no political party only greed.
Neil wrote in Farmers Song:
In the struggle for parity
Not one man’s voice can sound
Cause the foundation
of the conglomerate
Is firmly in the ground.
Yeah, they want to feed the world
But for power and for greed
Then they’ll cut off the supply
Until they get what they need.
“Have not the democrats in this country been accused of false voter registration…”
Unanonymous may be on a first-name basis with Neil Young, but he’s in no position to be offering Bob unsolicited advice.
cpr, uh this is a blog, you don’t want my opinion, block comments you dilrod.
p.s., your quote of mine was not advice, it was a rhetorical question, sorry about the missing punctuation, I know it can be confusing.
unanonymous says:
“uh this is a blog…”
Bob says, good point — try to keep that in mind — this is a blog, not a newspaper.
Gee, thanks for clearing up that up, Unanonymous. Your question was fatuous, but if you want to characterize it as “rhetorical,” then knock yourself out.
It would be fatuous if you only want to see one side of the equation. Recent reports of Democratic vote fraud back me up.
I would also suggest bob read up on the blurred ties between blogs and journalism
http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2008/02/digging_deeperdistinction_betw.html
Recent reports of Democratic vote fraud?
you’re right, the right has been bitching about this for decades, here’s a recent one:
Monday, September 15, 2008
Democratic Voter Fraud in Michigan [Mark Hemingway]
Detroit Free Press:
Several municipal clerks across the state are reporting fraudulent and duplicate voter registration applications, most of them from a nationwide community activist group working to help low- and moderate-income families.
The majority of the problem applications are coming from the group ACORN, Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, which has a large voter registration program among its many social service programs. ACORN’s Michigan branch, based in Detroit, has enrolled 200,000 voters statewide in recent months, mostly with the use of paid, part-time employees.
before you accuse me of being a foxnews chump read post 3. Of course the fox website does have a good report of about 5000 dead people registered recently to vote in New Jersey. Both parties are in it is my take.
I heard a report on ACORN Sunday on the NPR news. What you point out is true only to a certain extent. The other day you asked, “Have not the democrats in this country been accused of false voter registration…” Of course they’ve been accused — by Republicans. As the NPR story put it:
“Republicans are ratcheting up their attacks against voter registration drives run by Acorn, a nonprofit group that represents low-income and minority voters. Republicans say it’s a “threat to public safety,” while the group says it’s being unfairly attacked.”
As it says in the Freep story, ACORN pays people to register voters — apparently the pay is tied to how many people are enrolled. The result is that some unscrupulous workers filled out multiple forms, some in the 100s, basically so they’d get paid more. The clerks find the false registrations and purge them.
According to a Seattle paper reporting on the case of five Washington state ACORN workers sentenced to jail time. King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg said the misconduct was done “as an easy way to get paid [by ACORN], not as an attempt to influence the outcome of elections.”
It’s a big leap to say that this is some Democratic Party plan aimed at producing false votes. What the Repubs don’t like is the idea that more low-income and minority voters might vote — and it’s looking like it might happen. ACORN has registered over a million people around the country. Of course elections would be much simpler if we went back to the old days when only land-owning white males had the right to vote.
Voter fraud has been a Republican canard for many years. They trot it out every two years.
When the B-1 “Bob” Dornan lost his house seat to Loretta Sanchez in 1996, Republicans claimed that “illegal aliens” had been recruited to vote for her. They lost their case, but served the greater purpose of creating a lasting impression of voter fraud for a gullible, ignorant public.
Mission accomplished.
You are both right, but I think you play down the culpability of both parties. It is correct to say the Democratic Party might not endorse the actual fraud other than fund the operatives with their corporate money. I would say a similar thing about Republicans. What is true is that operatives from BOTH parties have convictions for election fraud. Something you don’t hear about on CNN or Fox unless it supports their bias. I would hope an “alt” news weekly would try to cut through that bs and inform the public of all the shenanigans.
CPR, 9 people have plead guilty to felony voter fraud charges in Orange Co. this year alone. While it is true the repubs run out the vote fraud thang every year to rev up the base it is also true that Dems cry voter suppression any time the justice dept. tries to investigate fraud.
The voting participation rate in this country is pathetic. I support getting as many people to vote in our elections as possible, and I do think that would benefit the liberals by including more minorities and low-income voters. However, I am a law and order type of person (read middle aged, family, mortgage if you like), the ends do not justify the means.
finally, Bob Dornan was/is the type of mouth frothing, intolerant politician that I think typifies the current US political malaise. Both sides have them. Witness Barney Frank and Pelosi. The intolerance of opposing opinion in government is, I think, a result of the power and greed of those that hold power. Meanwhile we all suffer from inaction and graft in congress.
Unanonymous has little grasp of “voting fraud.’ The investigation of Alberto Gonzales may shed more light on the subject.
Equating the denunciations issued by Speaker Pelosi and Representative Frank with the hyperventilating nastiness of Republicans is willfully ignorant.
Some samples from B-1 Bob:
“…disloyal, betraying little Jew…”
‘”Every lesbian spear chucker in this country is hoping I get defeated.”
“Don’t use the word ‘gay’ unless it’s an acronym for Got Aids Yet?“
You again ignore the crimes of the party you appear to be campaigning for. Why are there democrats in jail for voter fraud? gee, I don’t know. It must be a conservative conspiracy. I cannot change your partisan mind with facts.
I agree though, Alberto Gonzales should already be in jail and the investigation will bring light to the corrupt Bush presidency.
as for nasty invective it’s tough to beat Dornan, but I think you ignore facts again, democrats have plenty:
“You cannot go to a 7-11 or Dunkin Donuts unless you have a slight Indian Accent.” -Senator Joe Biden 2008
“Is you their black-haired answer-mammy who be smart? Does they like how you shine their shoes, Condoleezza? Or the way you wash and park the whitey’s cars?” — Left-wing radio host Neil Rogers
“You f*cking Jew b@stard.” — Hillary Clinton to political operative Paul Fray. This was revealed in “State of a Union: Inside the Complex Marriage of Bill and Hillary Clinton” and has been verified by Paul Fray and three witnesses.
racism is an American problem, not a partisan one. But I am sure you disagree because democrats can do no wrong it appears in your world.
First I’m going to ask politely that both of you, unanon and CPR, knock off the gotcha game of dueling nasty quotes.
re: your assertion that I believe “democrats can do no wrong.”
I think you have me confused with some other imaginary enemy. I’m no died-in-the-wool Dem — I have a healthy distrust of politicians of all stripes, particularly dishonest ones. My guess is we’re not that different. Like you I’m middle-aged (and middle class) with a family, and I used to have a mortgage (it’s now paid off). I’m probably less in the Law and Order camp (but I used to watch the show when it was good) and I may be less cynical, although I have my moments.
The only point I was making about ACORN is that the Repubs insistence that it shows some sort of vast conspiracy to steal the election by fraud or that it’s a “crime of the party” is basically bullshit. Some low-level piecework scammers got busted for working the system. What they did is nothing compared to what millionaires (of both parties) are pulling off on a daily basis. And don’t get me started on Karl Rove’s sculdugery. Are Dems guilty of dirty tricks? Sure. But don’t forget who wrote the book.
Do I support Obama over McCain? Sure I do, but that wasn’t really the point of the original post here: it was to show people a grassroots campaign tactic I thought was cool. Obviously the guys in Wilco want to see Obama get elected, although I doubt that it’s as simple as the fact that he’s a Democrat, because they are not all that political by nature. They’re a Chicago band supporting a hometown boy by encouraging their fanbase to get to the polls. Pretty scary huh?
my assertion was to cpr. the book was written together, don’t fool your self. Believe it or not I am more for Obama than McCain but I don’t think a 30 year vetean of the congress reflects change.