The Guardian looks at which musicians are endorsing which Presidential candidates today, and delivers the shocking news that the lines of support aren’t as cut and dried as R & B singers breaking for Obama and powerful women in music going to Hillary Clinton’s side of the fence. Shocking! Perhaps almost as mind-bending as the fact that the piece’s information on which musicians are stumping for Republican candidates is pretty thin, although the Guardian does share the somewhat dejecting news complete misinformation that former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic is supporting Ron Paul. More digging didn’t reveal much else, though; the MySpace page Musicians for Ron Paul has Serj Tankian in its top 8 (he doesn’t return the favor), and I came across a musicians for Huckabee blog hasn’t been updated since August. At least he has the Nuge on his side. Anyway, a partial list of musicians who have made their Presidential preferences known is after the jump. Feel free to add your own in comments!
REPUBLICANS
Mike Huckabee: Ted Nugent
John McCain: Burt Bacharach
Ron Paul: Krist Novoselic, Arlo Guthrie
Mitt Romney: Pat Boone, Donny Osmond, Marie Osmond
DEMOCRATS
Hillary Clinton: Madonna, Carly Simon, Tony Bennett, Jon Bon Jovi, Melissa Etheridge, Carole King, Janet Jackson, Quincy Jones, 50 Cent, Mya, Timbaland, Barbra Streisand, Merle Haggard
Barack Obama: Babyface, the Goo Goo Dolls, Macy Gray, Ne-Yo, Will Smith, Usher, Stevie Wonder, Harry Connick Jr., Pete Wentz, Win Butler, will.i.am/the Black Eyed Peas, the Grateful Dead, Jeff Tweedy, Conor Oberst, Joanna Newsom, the Cool Kids, Stephan Jenkins, OK Go, Shudder to Think, Dave Matthews, Pearl Jam
Who are American musicians supporting on Super Tuesday? [Guardian]
Presidential Election ‘08: Pete Wentz Backs Barack Obama [Spin]
[Pic: CultPunk via WFMU's Beware of the Blog; HT EJ Friedman]
The Krist Novoselic thing shouldn’t freak people out as much as it seems to be doing. Krist, though he is known for Nirvana and JAMPAC, has always seemed to have a very old-fashioned sensibility about him when it comes to his politics and believes in taking a very grassroots approach. It’s easy, then, to see his affinity for Ron Paul who embodies both of these qualities and, though is running as a Republican, is most certainly a Libertarian candidate at his core.
@Ned Raggett: Yeah, I had no idea. Another not-very-Libertarian aspect of his candidacy.
lol @ Mormons
@djp: Whatcha wanta bet Gladys Knight is supporting Romney too?
Ben Harper –> Obama
[www.arabisto.com]
I’m just excited that my vote means I am not on Merle Haggard’s fighting side.
Novoselic actually endorsed Obama, not Ron Paul:
[www.seattleweekly.com]
I guess Kim Thayil went over to Krist’s place and learned him a lesson or two!
Forget Bon Jovi. Who is Sambora endorsing? I have less than 2 hours to vote — I NEED this crucial information so I can make an enlightened decision.
If The Guardian was willing to acknowledge American (mainstream, not alt) country music as a viable art form, they’d be able to cite plenty of musicians backing Republican candidates. For example, I know Trace Adkins has expressed support for Mike Huckabee, and John Rich was behind Fred Thompson. But seeing how this article labels Pat Boone a “country singer,” that ignorance should not be surprising.
I really wish I’d known about that Goo Goo Dolls thing before I voted this morning.
@Diglett: Or the Black-Eyed Peas.
What the world needs now
Are bombs
Sweet Bombs…
Arlo Guthrie is still alive?
That Krist Novoselic news is RIDICULOUS — not least because the one time I saw Nirvana they were headlining the original Rock for Choice benefit. Perhaps Krist’s views have ‘evolved,’ in Romneyesque fashion.
@Ned Raggett: perhaps he just loves the gold standard
@extracrispy: Glad to know I’m not the only person who had this thought.
@Ned Raggett: Well, Ron Paul is pro-choice, I’d suspect, as he’s a Libertarian, though his immigration views are a little more Boortz than Reason Magazine. It’s that creepy newsletter from the 80s that freaks me out about him.
The real question is who DWood is voting for. Anyone know? My vote depends on it.
@Lucas Jensen: Well, Ron Paul is pro-choice, I’d suspect
Uh, DUDE:
[www.ronpaul2008.com]
When in doubt, double-check directly.
More Canadians should throw their weight behind American Presidential nominees. What’s Snow doing these days?
Hasn’t anyone asked Prince? I am actually curious who Gail Zappa is backing though…
Weird about Novoselic. He was about to run for Lt. Governor of WA as a Democrat a few years ago. It never panned out.
Blame Flipper?
Interesting to read endorsements, but variety just goes to show how meaningless they are. People should read about issues and think for themselves, make their own decisions. Well known musicians
(1) have a conflict of interest called “I wanna sell my records”, and
(2) have no qualifications for knowing any more about candidates than you do, the average American voter.
(3) do no have your interests at heart as the average American voter, who makes much less money, and works 9-5 M-F, or 2/3 jobs, or is outta work, or is trying to figure out how they’ll afford to go to college these days.
Read for yourself and think! You are smarter than you know!