When Aerosmith’s Joe Perry (who I have now dubbed “Joe the Guitarist”) offered his endorsement this morning of John McCain for President, the self-described “hard core Republican” had me cheering. Like “Joe the Plumber”, this “Joe” gets it.
Perry said that issues like national security and anguish over the economy prompted him to split from the rest of the entertainment world and throw his support behind McCain. “The Guitarist”, a man of humble beginnings who still lives in New Hampshire, talked about how his parents drilled it into him at a young age that hard work leads to success and that having people like Schwarzenegger and Giuliani on board definitely encouraged him to “raise his hand” to support McCain.
I had the chance to meet Perry and Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler in the 1990’s and what I loved about Joe the Guitarist’s statement was that he wasn’t afraid to stand up – even as all looks lost and 90% of his industry took the fashionable, politically correct route through concert venues to give a shout for the “re-distributor” candidate Barak Obama.
I can totally relate to Joe. In my youth, I dreamed of being a rocker. I love music. Ronnie James Dio of Black Sabbath hailed from my home town of Cortland, New York. I’ve paid my hard-earned money over 25 years to see the great rockers – Springsteen, Van Halen, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Joe Perry, U2, AC/DC, The Who, The Rolling Stones, and the Grateful Dead – to name a few.
This month, I saw Carlos Santana for the first time. I couldn’t wait for those illuminating guitar riffs. My heart was beating like a drum. But, when Carlos took the mike to do his 5 minute diatribe against McCain in support of Obama, there was a chorus of boos along with the applause, and you can probably guess which side I was on.
The “rock gods” have forgotten that concerts cost money. They’ve forgotten that people go to concerts to be entertained. They’ve gotten older, partied in Hollywood, and have forgotten that half their crowd is going to vote for the other presidential ticket. They’ve forgotten what it took to get that first platinum record and that first record deal. They’ve forgotten that hard work matters. They’ve forgotten that their fans are real people with real jobs – every day people whose higher tax and regulatory burden takes away a piece of their American dream each and every day. They’ve forgotten who gets them that platinum record and Grammy fame.
The weekend before the election always brings out the most elite of the rock gods, so enjoy the show but remember your earplugs when they start talking rather than singing.
Twenty-some years ago, “The Who” proclaimed that they wouldn’t get fooled again with the catchy lyric – “the party on the left is now the party on the right”.
At a time when Republican philosophy and credibility are in doubt, a guy like Joe Perry might just remind people that it’s not all about the prettiest face and the most eloquent phrase – it’s about real people with real jobs and real worries about putting food on the table. It’s about people who want to decide how to spend their hard-earned dollars, not have government bureaucrats decide for them. It’s about people like Joe Perry and Joe the Plumber – just a couple of Joe’s.