Some fans don't want musicians to play politics
The grumbling began as soon as the Boss said he would, for the first time, stump for a presidential candidate. "This is a sad day for me," a fan wrote on the Bruce Springsteen Internet newsgroup. "After 25 years as a hardcore Bruce fan, I'm officially done with him."
Why?
Because Springsteen announced last week that he and a like-minded clutch of rock stars -- including Dave Matthews, R.E.M., Bonnie Raitt, John Fogerty, and John Mellencamp -- would hold concerts in nine swing states to support Democratic nominee John Kerry. The Vote for Change tour, set to kick off in October, is the latest news in a campaign marked by unprecedented fund-raising efforts by musicians. And it has roused complaints from an often underappreciated chunk of the listening public: Conservatives.
"I don't want my money going to these causes," says Jeff Raymond, an R.E.M. fan from Worcester. "I have a severe problem going to a concert that's going to be directly funding these things I don't believe in."
Raymond isn't alone. Other Bush supporters pledged not to go to the concerts, some of which include a potential musical dream pairing of R.E.M. and Springsteen.
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty opened his weekly radio show Friday with "Born to Run," but followed by saying he was "heartbroken" that Springsteen had gone partisan.
"I really appreciate his music, but I wish he wouldn't interject his music with politics," said Pawlenty, cochairman of Bush's reelection campaign in Minnesota. He said he was "going to have to miss" the planned Oct. 5 show in St. Paul where Springsteen and R.E.M. are slated to play.
Many listeners who lean to the right have turned music discussion groups on the Internet -- which normally detail unexpected set lists and rumored tour dates -- into arenas of combative political debate.
"I thought Campaign Finance Reform was supposed to fix the problem of big money corrupting our system," one fan wrote on a Dave Matthews newsgroup. "Dave has millions. I don't. I don't like John Kerry. I can't use my money to raise millions to reelect Bush."
There's nothing new about musicians identifying with the Democratic party, and vice versa. Jimmy Carter quoted Bob Dylan when he accepted the Democratic nomination in 1976 and Bill Clinton made Fleetwood Mac's "Don't Stop" his campaign theme song in 1992, which sparked a reunion by the band at his inauguration party.
What's special about this election year isn't merely the support for Kerry. It's the amount of money musicians are raising for the candidate, particularly through the 527 network, groups which can receive largely unregulated contributions to push their causes. America Coming Together and MoveOn, which has put together the tour, are both Kerry-supporting 527 members. Organizers are hoping to raise more than $100 million from the effort.
To do so, they've tapped the growing number of musicians who have been complaining about the war in Iraq and Bush in particular. As early as last year, musicians began to speak out against the president. Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines told a London audience: "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas." Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder impaled a mask of the president on a microphone stand during concerts.
Jose Salem, a Pearl Jam fan who intends to vote for Bush, wasn't pleased.
"I thought it was totally disrespectful, uncalled for," said Salem, who is from Tucson.
Salem became a Pearl Jam fan in 1991 after seeing the band's video for "Alive" on MTV. He has more than 40 of the group's CDs, belongs to their fan club, and has seen them live 10 times over the years. But in the mid-'90s, he became a Republican. He tried to ignore Vedder's views. Under a subject heading, "The End of Pearl Jam?," Salem posted a message on the group's newsgroup late last week slamming the band for signing on to the Vote for Change tour. Salem says he doubts the tour will impact the election. "Most of the fans of Pearl Jam, they can differentiate between the two, the politics and the music," he says. "They're not going to a concert because they care about Eddie's politics. Most of them are going to vote for Kerry anyway, or they're not going to vote."
Republicans also say that there's a chance the tour could backfire if these artists -- who will be seen as supporting Kerry but won't be under the control of campaign handlers -- say anything too controversial.
Last month, at a fund-raising concert in New York City, comedian Whoopi Goldberg used Bush's name for a sexual pun. In addition, other performers called Bush a "thug." Kerry, who called the artists "the heart and soul of America" during the show, distanced himself from some of their views after being criticized about the tone of the comments.
"Kerry's already been burned by the entertainment industry," said Terry Holt, the Bush-Cheney campaign's national spokesman. "It caused a grass-roots reaction that even we were surprised by. We started showing up for events after that and people had made their homemade signs saying `We are the heart and soul of America.' "
"[These musicians] are entering a world in which they're not entirely familiar," says Holt. "They're accustomed to almost universal accolades. In politics, it's a different world."
Walter Yetnikoff, who helped run Springsteen's career as president of CBS Records from 1975 to 1990, said that it's possible the Vote for Change tour could upset some fans. But he expects that artists as popular as Springsteen are unlikely to face any long-term rebellion.
"This country is pretty well divided," Yetnikoff said. "On the other hand, these are very well established artists. And if it does [upset fans], people still have a right to stand up for their political opinions even it is to the detriment of their careers. I don't see any label saying to them you can't express your political opinion."
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report. Geoff Edgers can be reached at gedgers@globe.com
