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Musicians Rocking the Vote

As the elections get closer, more musicians are stepping up to the political plate, donating their time, energy and music to getting out the vote. Here's a wrap-up of rockers and singers for both sides. Look how smart the Bush partisans are:

The Republicans also boast support from Jessica Simpson, who, upon meeting Interior Secretary Gale Norton, told her "You've done a nice job decorating the White House," and Britney Spears, quoted in Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" saying, "Honestly, I think we should just trust our president in every decision that he makes."

Bush's favorite music is country, and it seems to like him, too. Although Toby Keith is a registered Democrat, he took the Bush-Cheney line with the post-9/11 rallying cry, "We'll put a boot in your a**, it's the American way."

On the other side, for the Democrats, here's Bruce:

These questions are at the heart of this election: who we are, what we stand for, why we fight. Personally, for the last 25 years, I have always stayed one step away from partisan politics. Instead, I have been partisan about a set of ideals: economic justice, civil rights, a humane foreign policy, freedom and a decent life for all of our citizens. This year, however, for many of us the stakes have risen too high to sit this election out."

If you're wondering why you're not hearing your favorite protest songs on the radio, it's because of the corporate takeover of the airwaves by conservative Clear Channel. As Don Henley explains here,

"I'm glad to see that some of the younger groups are starting to write 'political songs,' but I fear that corporate radio will not play them today. The owners of the corporate radio conglomerates are, by and large, on the opposite side of the political aisle from most musicians (with the exception, of course, of many country artists and a few aging, novelty acts like Alice Cooper who will say anything just for effect - that is, when they're not putting on the ninth hole)."

Henley, Glenn Frey, Timothy B. Schmidt and others will be playing at a fundraiser for Colorado Democratic senatorial candidate Ken Salzar Tuesday in Denver. Don't expect a lot of political rhetoric, just music:

I really don't believe that the content of any of my songs or anything that I might say on a microphone in a public forum is going to influence anybody to vote one way or another," Henley wrote. "It seems that the most effective way to make a difference is to do what we are now doing - and have done for many years - which is to simply show up and play at a political fundraiser.

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