Ted Cruz is such a music lover

Toby Keith-"Courtesy Of The Red, White, And Blue (The Angry American)"

If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever. 

George Orwell

Now that serial self-aggrandizer and possessor of the most punchable face since Pauly Shore, Ted Cruz, has declared himself glorious leader on the quest to "clean up the rot and deviancy" of having an African-American in the White House we will be enduring a pander fest that likely will put all previous GOP contenders to shame. VH1 may have simply concluded that Cruz has "lame taste in music" after the Texas senator's appearance on CBS This Morning but there are deeper and darker forces at work in the Texas doughboy's statements on country artists.

Google defines to pander as to "gratify or indulge (an immoral or distasteful desire, need, or habit or a person with such a desire, etc.)." Cruz' comments are exactly what we would expect from a social dominator personality type, i.e. to inform his real audience that he is "one of them" and their natural leader. Social dominators will say anything to get into power, according to Bob Altemeyer (whose work I have referenced often here) so those of us who are not authoritarian followers should be suspicious of everything they say.

Ted was "disappointed in how the rock community responded to 9/11.  As a result, he’s now a die-hard country fan." Keep it as vague as possible to play to your real audience's prejudices. Obviously New York City is full of liberals and devoid of "real Americans" so the one or two random rock stars who call NYC home were offering the terrorists therapy and whatever other ridiculous things the tea bag set likes to pretend happened after 9/11. Disappointed how? And who did these disappointing things and had these disappointing thoughts that did not involve putting boots where the sun don't shine? I doubt anyone will ever ask Teddy Shithead that. VH1 writer Jordan Runtagh can claim that Cruz has alienated rock and roll fans but really, none of them were going to vote for Cruz anyway. And furthermore, for the right wing fascists at the Republican base, no other consideration is going to make them sway from the ideology of hate and domination, even if they enjoy the occasional Eagles record. No, "coming out" for country swill is just another sound bite to endlessly play on right wing media.

I admit, rock and roll has suffered quite a bit from changes in the industry. It seems the only people who can get on the radio these days are the guy who won that talent show or the gal who won on the rival show. Technology has opened unprecedented doorways for musicians to get their work out there, past major label A&R, past large venues, and into the hands of their fans through social media but those big businesses have basically given up. Once upon a time record companies had to go out and find talent, or at least select from talent that existed. The labels had to spend money on A&R, it took effort. Now the entertainment can make money from the process with all of these reality shows, so they really do not have to care if one of the fresh faces flops. And they sure as hell will not defend an artist who tries to make an anti-fascist statement.

Rock and roll used to be the music of rebellion, now it seems as neutered as the youth spirit of resistance that once defined American reform. So maybe Cruz wasn't pandering at all. Country music may be vile but there is some energy there.