If they’d paid any attention to the lyrics, they might have noticed Springsteen had instead written an attack on Reaganomics and its complete disregard for Vietnam veterans. Acting on a tip from clueless conservative columnist George Will, Reagan’s 1984 re-election team began using “Born in the U.S.A.” on the campaign trail, mistaking it for a patriotic anthem. In any case, for more on the incredible story that is the Ramones, check out the exceptional rockumentary “ End of the Century.”Ģ) " Born In the U.S.A." - Bruce Springsteen (1984): Quite possibly the most misinterpreted political song in history, Bruce Springsteen’s scathing critique of America’s indifference to its veterans is probably soundtracking a monster truck rally at this very moment. The unpopularity of the visit wasn’t helped by Reagan’s insistence that the SS dead " were victims, just as surely as the victims in the concentration camps." Joey Ramone accused the president of “sort of shit on everybody,” and asked, “How can you forget six million people being gassed and roasted?”įun Fact: Though it’s easy to imagine the song pitting Joey against Johnny and/or Dee Dee - the former an avowed conservative and the both purportedly avid collectors of Nazi memorabilia - Joey’s brother claims the song was actually Dee Dee’s idea. (And while you’re at it, have a look at this list of things about President Reagan that conservatives would rather you forget.) Here are 21 political songs to help you get through the coming Republican Congressional era.ġ) " My Brain is Hanging Upside Down (Bonzo Goes To Bitburg)" - The Ramones (1985): Written in protest of President “Bonzo” Reagan’s 1985 stop at Bitburg Cemetery in Germany, where roughly 50 of the 2,000 interred are Nazi soldiers. Take solace in the protest music of the Reagan era, which spoke out against the hero of nearly all of today’s most insane conservative politicians. If the recent elections taught us anything, it’s that we’re not only going to need a bigger asylum, we’re going to need much, much better drugs.
Then came the 2014 midterms - an election which swept more extremist Republican ideologues into Congress than even pollsters saw coming - and suddenly, the image of a bunch of rafter-swinging, WB-cartoon-style lunatics taking over the party started to seem almost quaint.
This article originally appeared on AlterNet.įor perhaps the last decade or so, the metaphor of the inmates running the asylum has seemed to fit the GOP perfectly, what with so many conservatives saying and doing so many batshit insane things.
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