“Stand With Hillary” Clinton Country Campaign Song is Hilarious
See, this is why politics and music don’t mix.
If you want to know what the rough equivalent is to the worst of mainstream country music in greater popular culture, political advertising would not be a bad choice for an analogous partner. They both are incredibly lacking in self-awareness, they both appeal to the least common denominator, they both assume an unintelligent audience, and they both are the scourge of their respective disciplines. What piety, and pandering to demographics they display. It really is about the worst media one can be exposed to.
Now consider what would happen if you combined these two unfortunate phenomena together. What you get is the new song called “Stand With Hillary” released by the Stand With Hillary organization— a political super PAC that apparently has no affiliation with Hillary Clinton directly, but is really hot to trot to get her elected for an office she’s not even officially running for yet, and using really bad Bro-ish country music to help do it.
“Stand With Hillary” features a scruffy cowboy who can’t decided if he’s a dusty-booted farmer or a construction worker as he lip-syncs poorly to a studio track of hork-inducing political lyrics. Even better, the guy lip-syncing in the video isn’t even the singer, he’s an actor named Jason Tobias who’s also appeared in music videos for Chris Brown and Ariana Grande, once played Jesus, and is currently doing re-enactments for a television series about people who murder their relatives. Mr. Tobias claims to be apolitical, and says the producers chose him because he “looked like a country star” according to The Washington Post.
The actual person who sang the song was someone only known as “T. Wilson,” while it was written by a media consultant named Miguel Orozco who helped start the Stand With Hillary PAC. And this is not the only pandering and culturally-profiling song/ad Orozco has created. In 2008, he released “Viva Obama” and “Obama Reggaetown.”
It only makes sense with the increased popularity of country music that political advertising would start to be specifically catered to the country demographic. And with a fake, fashion-plate singer, manufactured lyrics, an overproduced video, and rampant incidental comedy including Queen “We Will Rock You” interludes, it would fit right in on country radio.
And don’t you reactionary Hillary haters let yourselves off the hook too quickly. You know Republicans have been guilty of his same type of hokey garbage in the past, and they probably have their own videos in the works.
You’re welcome.
Shamon
December 6, 2014 @ 8:49 am
“And don”™t you reactionary Hillary haters let yourselves off the hook too quickly. You know Republicans have been guilty of his same type of hokey garbage in the past, and they probably have their own videos in the works.”
Yeah, in the past. But not right this second. So I’m just going to laugh and shake my head at this giant steamer of a video.
Mike2
December 6, 2014 @ 10:13 am
That made for a good laugh.
Eric C.
December 6, 2014 @ 10:45 am
Believe it or not pandering to rural voters with country/bluegrass songs has worked. Mark Warner did it in very successfully 2001 in Virginia.
Eric
December 6, 2014 @ 3:41 pm
Rick Weiland, the Democratic Senate candidate in South Dakota this year, also tried the same strategy, without much success.
Ben Jones
December 6, 2014 @ 6:46 pm
Eric C.,
County music has been a big part of Southern political campaigns for over a hundred years. A barbecue with a country band was and is a part of campaigning that was not only enjoyed, but expected. Country singer Jimmie Davis, who wrote “You Are My Sunshine”, and a crony of the “Kingfish” Huey Long, was elected Governor of Louisiana. Roy Acuff ran for Governor of Tennessee. Nashville artists have been prominent in many recent national races. Remember that most of the nation is geographically “rural”.
I worked on the Mark Warner campaign in 2001, and believe me, there was no “pandering” involved. In Southwest Virginia, country and bluegrass music is everywhere. The pickers who worked with Warner included Dr. Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys, and a very popular group called The Bluegrass Brothers. These people are the real deal.
The Clinton stuff could indeed be called “pandering” and it is a pathetic and insulting piece of crap. But what Mark Warner and “Mudcat” Saunders put together was great
music and a good time. Warner went on to be a very successful Governor and has been elected twice to the United States Senate.
Ben Jones
Lunchbox
December 6, 2014 @ 9:57 pm
you do anything like this when you ran for congress?
Ben Jones
December 8, 2014 @ 9:57 am
Hey Lunchbox,
I didn’t have any problem convincing anybody that I was a REDNECK, since it was very obvious I was born that way. So we had a lot of fun with all kinds of music.
I even did a gig with James Brown at Stone Mountain Park.
Ben
Eric C.
December 7, 2014 @ 7:23 pm
I’m quite aware of Warner’s campaign success. I am from rural North Carolina, and this sort of thing is quite common. When I referred to ‘pandering’, I wasn’t implying malice – rural voters aren’t stupid, and Sen. Warner must have been fairly sincere in his desire to win them over. My point is that this strategy can and has worked for some Democrats, just at the local or state level.
Ben Jones
December 8, 2014 @ 10:05 am
Eric C.
Agreed. But “pander” has a pejorative connotation, especially in politics. If Miz
Hillary wants to appeal to rural voters, this music video won’t do it. It reveals a sensibility that is clueless about the “heartland”, in my opinion.
If there is a candidate in that race who does have an appeal outside of the urban Democratic base, it is Jim Webb, because he just honestly says what he thinks.
That is a rarity in politics these days. In fact, it is a rarity in just about any setting these days……
Ben
LucyStag
December 10, 2014 @ 6:24 pm
I tried to ignore the one or two mentions of Obama in Ralph Stanley’s book.
Stanley is a national treasure, but I God damned hate politics and politicians.
I would almost rather have “Stand With Hillary” where the bullshit is crystal clear, and the song is Godawful.
Ben Jones
December 11, 2014 @ 12:13 pm
LucyStag,
It looks to me as if the bullshit isn’t crystal clear, but it is crystal clear
that it is bullshit.
Ben J.
Adrian
December 6, 2014 @ 11:33 pm
It is possible for a politician to cultivate a “rural” persona, but they have to work at it. Blue blood George W. Bush cultivated his Texas accent and cowboy image for many years before he ran for office, his Texan persona reminded me a bit of George Strait, whom I thought he was friends with.
Hillary Clinton as a country gal is not plausible at all. She’s from Chicago, she wrote “It Takes a Village”, she represented New York in the Senate, and she was part of the Obama administration. Regardless of how she tries to portray herself, she cannot morph into Sarah Palin or Joni Ernst. She’s too well known, and at this point too old, to change her public identity.
Eric
December 6, 2014 @ 11:58 pm
I think that Bush’s Texas accent was actually authentic. He was from a blue-blood family, but he grew up in small-town West Texas.
As for Hillary Clinton, she lived in Arkansas for more than a decade and spent a significant amount of time with her husband campaigning in the far-flung corners of the state. During the 2008 primary, she also campaigned heavily in rural Appalachia, helping explain how she received such large majorities there. I would not underestimate her appeal to rural voters.
RD
December 7, 2014 @ 8:08 am
Bush The Lesser’s accent and persona are complete bullshit. Listen to his parents speak. Listen to his brothers speak. There is a great track called “Max’s Theorem” on James McMurtry’s Live in Aught Three where he talks about the phony, carpet-bagging Bush family. George Bush is to Texas what Winthrop Rockefeller was to Arkansas.
http://grooveshark.com/#!/s/Max+s+Theorem/JLJZB?src=5
Eric
December 8, 2014 @ 12:25 pm
As any second-generation American can tell you, one’s accent does not necessarily resemble that of his or her parents.
Adrian
December 7, 2014 @ 11:48 am
I think the majorities Hillary won in rural Appalachia in the 2008 primaries reflect anti Obama sentiment in those areas more than pro-Hillary sentiments. I don’t think she would win rural Appalachia in a general election.
Eric
December 8, 2014 @ 12:24 pm
I have thought about that, but if voters were unhappy with both candidates then the turnout would have been low, which was not the case.
RD
December 9, 2014 @ 1:31 pm
Right, but that in no way explains why Bush the Lesser has a preposterous Senator Claghorn accent, while Jeb Bush and Neil Bush speak with perfect, non-regional dialects.
Eric
December 9, 2014 @ 11:15 pm
Out of curiosity, I decided to check out the Bush brothers’ biographies, and I think I have the answer to the accent question.
Apparently, the Bush family relocated from Midland to Houston around 1959. George W., having been born in 1946, therefore spent essentially all of his pre-teen childhood in Midland. However, Jeb Bush (born in 1953) and Neil Bush (born in 1955) spent most of their childhoods in Houston, which was then full of Northern transplants and featured only a weak Southern accent.
Also, Jeb left Texas in 1980 and Neil took jobs that consisted of constant international travel, whereas W. stayed in the state and developed strong roots there.
markf
December 6, 2014 @ 11:57 am
Is the USA running a hereditary system?
Don’t think the world needs another Clinton or Bush anywhere near the Whitehouse.
It’s time to let someone else cash in.
re music video,
I am looking forward to seeing the metal “stand with Hilllary” tune.
as long as it’s by Mastodon, and they get to do the video themselves.
Matt
December 6, 2014 @ 12:11 pm
r/cringeworthy material
Albert
December 6, 2014 @ 1:14 pm
Thank goodness for the ‘lowest common denominator or there’d be NO pop culture to pander to whatsoever .
This looks like it was shot in the 70’s . Didn’t anybody tell the actor that no ‘real’ country stars wear cowboy hats today …let alone make his fake band wear them . And where’s his wallet chain and Kruise Kids T-shirt ?
What, no highly visible ink?….and the workhouses …are there no workhouses ..? (..sorry …got carried away …)
That’s it …I’m voting Republican .
Oops….wait ..I’m Canadian ….can’t do that .
Johnnyboy Gomez
December 6, 2014 @ 9:51 pm
I almost feel bad for Mr. Tobias. Will he ever get the stain of this dreck off his reputation? “Out, out damn spot!”
Jimmy
December 6, 2014 @ 1:17 pm
Dear. God. That was awful. The guys from South Park have done parodies that felt more genuine than this dreck. I’m still waiting for Brad Paisley to offer up that “Shattered Glass” tune off of his last record. I believe he said in an interview that it was inspired by his wife, but the lyrics seemed to indicate it was aimed at a potential Hillary campaign.
Josh
December 6, 2014 @ 1:25 pm
Nope. Not gonna listen to this. I can just imagine how terrible it is without even listening.
Jimmy
December 6, 2014 @ 1:53 pm
The GOP isn’t immune from this crap either. Remember that “Raisin’ McCain” turd from John Rich?
Wrm
December 7, 2014 @ 11:16 am
Oh yes that was bad!
G. Smith
December 6, 2014 @ 2:14 pm
Michael Medved ragged all over this yesterday… w/diahonerable mention to the previous efforts… What I like is how obviously the pick up is a pick up~ front and center to say “Hey, look, a truck like y’all’s” ~ It’s got sort of a Daryl Worely vibe ~ hope he doesn’t get tied to this dreck…
Golddust
December 7, 2014 @ 11:46 pm
Ha! Darryl sure wouldn’t be writing anything for Hilary!
CAH
December 6, 2014 @ 2:15 pm
“Even better, the guy lip-syncing in the video isn”™t even the singer, he”™s an actor named Jason Tobias who”™s also appeared in music videos for Chris Brown and Ariana Grande, once played Jesus, and is currently doing re-enactments for a television series about people who murder their relatives.”
I don’t even know who Chris Brown and Ariane Grande are.
I do know who Jesus is.
And I can’t stand 3rd tier actors like this being used on the terrible shows (e.g. Wives with Knives) that Investigation Discovery is producing.
A good crime story being told through the medium of bad (soap opera rejects) acting does not make for a pleasant or informative show.
Stick with running Dateline (Keith Morrison is the man) and 48 Hours (who doesn’t love Maureen Maher in her leather jackets standing in an empty wearhouse?), interviews and footage.
It was Hillary’s husband who talked about trying to get the “cracker vote” in the Florida panhandle.
I suspect this videa is her way of following his advice.
Reminds me of Dottie West’s “Just a Ray of Blanton Sunshine” from 1974, which was a take-off of her “Just a Ray of Country Sunshine” for the benefit of Ray Blanton, who sold liquor licenses and pardons and ultimately went to prison.
I would like to take a break from politics on the airwaves for a while.
I have politics fatigue right now.
Jack Williams
December 6, 2014 @ 2:41 pm
Rhyming “great lady” with “first lady.” Now that’s songwriting.
Albert
December 6, 2014 @ 9:53 pm
Oh…..that was a song ??
Cobra
December 6, 2014 @ 2:44 pm
Oh Good Lord, I think no matter what your political persuasion, we can all agree that that was just hilariously bad.
I am laughing my ass of at that!
G. Smith
December 6, 2014 @ 3:20 pm
Hillary-lariously bad?
Hawkeye
December 6, 2014 @ 3:06 pm
The only time politics and music mixed that was good was No More Sorrow by Linkin Park
Just wanted to point that out
Sam Jimenez
December 6, 2014 @ 3:16 pm
I must have missed that episode of Saturday Night Live…
Sam Jimenez
December 6, 2014 @ 3:22 pm
“…features a scruffy cowboy who can”™t decided if he”™s a dusty-booted farmer or a construction worker as he…”
Come on. Didn’t you learn anything from the Village People? You don’t have to choose – you can be both!
Eric
December 6, 2014 @ 3:48 pm
This is just silly.
Hillary Clinton’s key points focus right now should be in trying to solidly establish her as a tough economic populist. As such, this Chris Knight song would work much better as a theme:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTChRXPgPYU
“and now they”™re laying ”˜em off down at Kankakee/ and there”™s boards on the windows up and down the street/ and they”™re saying that it”™s gonna get darker before the dawn/ but you can bet your ass I”™ll keep the lights on/ keep my babies fed and throw my dog a bone/ cuz I”™m a bring it on git ”˜er done don”™t run SOB/ times are tough, but they ain”™t got nothin”™ on me”
Adrian
December 6, 2014 @ 4:22 pm
This song is incredibly lacking in self awareness. It’s hilarious because it is so obvious that this isn’t who Hillary is. Whoever recorded this song is trying much too hard to compensate for Hillary’s perceived weaknesses. It reminds me of Michael Dukakis standing on a tank for a photo op during his unsuccessful 1988 campaign.
Eric
December 6, 2014 @ 5:48 pm
That’s actually a song from 2 years ago that I am proposing as a Hillary theme song. Another song that she could use, to demonstrate that she sides with foreclosure victims over bankers, is Lydia Loveless’s “Everything’s Gone” (provided that she can get Lydia to re-record the song without the line about burning down houses).
Eric
December 7, 2014 @ 12:01 am
Trigger has already posted “Everything’s Gone” in the Song of the Year nominees list, but I will link to it again for the sake of this thread:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzHUNNzfHjw
Adrian
December 6, 2014 @ 4:36 pm
I think a more appropriate campaign song for Hillary would be Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman Hear Me Roar”. It’s too old for the younger women voters though.
John Lennon’s “Imagine” would have been a good campaign song for Obama.
Lee Ann Womack performed “I Hope You Dance” at the Republican National Convention in 2004 where George W. Bush was nominated. The song helped to message his theme of “compassionate conservatism”, intended to appeal to the suburban soccer mom demographic (in other words, “I’m a Texan, I’m a Christian, but I’m not a real hard core conservative).
I would have picked Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red White and Blue” for McCain.
It’s really hard to pick a country song for Mitt Romney. He thought “Sweet Home Alabama” was an Alabama song.
Eric
December 6, 2014 @ 5:42 pm
“Imagine” would have been a poor theme song for Obama, since he loves Wall Street too much to imagine “no possessions”.
Adrian
December 6, 2014 @ 11:42 pm
I think Obama does believe in redistributing wealth, though he will work with the establishment to accomplish his social goals. This might mean temporarily working with wealthy Wall Street financiers, health insurance companies, etc. This is similar to the approach advocated in Saul Alinsky’s “Rules For Radicals”.
I think the following lyrics describes Obama’s world view very well. He doesn’t like “American exceptionalism”.
“Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people living life in peace”
Eric
December 7, 2014 @ 12:53 am
Well, given that Democrats lost control of the House after 2 years in power, the “temporary” became “permanent” pretty fast…
Sam Jimenez
December 6, 2014 @ 6:45 pm
Aerosmith did a One size fits all song for all these douchebags, years ago: “Same Old Song and Dance.”
Noah Eaton
December 6, 2014 @ 6:41 pm
…………….well, when country is the #1 most listened to radio format by a wide margin, you gotta do what you gotta do to pander to all demographics just as Clear Channel and Cumulus do, right? 😉
On a more serious note, I wonder if Kacey Musgraves is going to throw a significant showing of public support for a possible Rand Paul candidacy. It has been well-documented that Musgraves admires Ron Paul, and so there’s reason to believe she has a liking for Rand Paul as well. Much has been speculated (and mind you it’s just speculation at this point, this early in the game) that Paul is successfully making some who generally are known to vote for ideologically “progressive” candidates take notice of him due to his stances on foreign policy and civil liberties in particular who have misgivings with Clinton.
Imagine if Kacey Musgraves cut an ad or stumped a few times for Rand Paul. That would be much more significant than this ad ever would be.
Michael
December 6, 2014 @ 10:45 pm
That would be interesting.
Adrian
December 6, 2014 @ 11:19 pm
I could support Rand Paul. But I don’t think an ad or an endorsement by Kacey Musgraves will make much difference in an election. She’s not that famous in the bigger scheme of things, and I’d guess that much of the public might think she’s offbeat. For a celebrity endorsement to have an impact, the endorser must be very famous, she must be seen as mainstream, and a large number of voters must identify with her.
Most political endorsements by entertainment celebrities have minimal impact on the outcome of elections. One that did have a significant impact was Oprah’s endorsement of Obama in 2008.
I suppose if Taylor were to endorse a Republican Presidential candidate it could influence the voting behavior of the 18-24 female demographic. Many young females are not well informed about policy, so they often vote based on identity politics. Many vote Democrat because they want to fit in with their peers and with popular culture. Some of Taylor’s early songs had more culturally conservative lyrics yet girls loved them. But then again I don’t think Taylor is Republican, she also seems to want to fit in with the celebrity elite herself.
Noah Eaton
December 7, 2014 @ 12:01 am
I actually think you’re likely right, and just more expressed this as a “thinking out loud” reflex or “While we’re on the subject…”
At any rate, hypotheticals make for intriguing conversation. The GOP establishment is going to need all the help they can get to appeal to a youthful demographic that is at odds with their platform on countless social issues (it’s on economic policy where they may see more room to grow), while the Democratic establishment is going to need all the help they can get to appeal to rural demographics that distrust them.
I actually think both parties evidently want to fit in with peers and popular culture. Granted the Democratic establishment dominates Hollywood, but then again the GOP idolize, above all else, an actor-turned-politician by the name of Ronald Reagan. Roger Clemens, Clint Eastwood, Lee Greenwood, Sylvester Stallone, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Randy Travis are regularly looked up to for symbolic support and fundraising as well no differently than the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Lady Gaga, Sean Penn, Tom Morello, Leonardo DiCaprio and George Clooney are fawned upon by the Democratic establishment for symbolic support and fundraising.
Adrian
December 7, 2014 @ 12:13 am
You are right, both parties covet the support of popular culture. The GOP wants is piece of the pop culture pie too. It’s interesting that the conservative movement seems to really want to try to like Taylor Swift, if only from a “what if” perspective. I was surprised to see several articles about her on National Review:
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/267786/swift-teens-speak-now-kathryn-jean-lopez
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/387235/beyonc-and-taylor-swift-new-good-girls-maggie-gallagher
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/282837/cnbc-debate-night-kathryn-jean-lopez
Eric
December 7, 2014 @ 12:14 am
In my view, the greatest problem in American politics over the last 4 decades has been the increasing division along lines of social identity (ethnicity, lifestyle, etc.) rather than along economic lines. A Rand Paul vs. Hillary Clinton race in 2016 might help to significantly reverse this trend toward culture war politics. Since Rand Paul is at least as liberal as Hillary Clinton on social issues and foreign policy, the 2016 election can then focus on economic issues that matter in regular people’s lives. If Rand Paul takes away a significant number of social liberals from the Democratic Party, then Democrats will actually have to form a stronger populist agenda to win over a broader share of working-class voters instead of relying on race and gender identity politics (e.g. “War on Women”) to consolidate their demographic base.
Trigger
December 7, 2014 @ 12:34 am
And I was hoping this wouldn’t descend into a political discussion. It took 14 hours though, so that says something. And y’all are keeping it respectful, so sally forth I guess.
CAH
December 7, 2014 @ 11:17 am
I was scanning your post and, when I got to “reflex”, thought it was “reflux”.
The Freudian slip related to the video and not your comments.
Ben Jones
December 8, 2014 @ 10:17 am
I couldn’t help but notice that you said, “Many young females are not very well informed about policy, so they often vote based on identity politics.”
The last time I looked there were millions of voters of all genders, races, religions,
parties, regions, and any other way that people can “identify” themselves who were
also “not very well informed about policy.”
In fact, I would say the same is true for about 250 of our 535 United States Congressman and Senators….
It is unfortunately true that a majority of Americans cannot, if fact, name their Congressperson….
Duhhhh…….
Ben
Dan H
December 7, 2014 @ 3:53 am
Fuck it, I’m movin to Canada.
Amy
December 7, 2014 @ 8:17 am
The image of Hillary towards the end of the video should meet the image of Garth on his new album cover : ) They could have a “I’m older, wrinklier, and fatter, but my picture sure doesn’t look that way” party.
Jaimito
December 7, 2014 @ 10:33 am
No opinion on this that hasn’t already been said here, but I gotta say, I’m pretty proud of my fellow readers, here. Thus far, the conversation has been respectful, and filled with well-thought dialogue. Makes me proud to be a part of this little family…
johndeerediesel
December 7, 2014 @ 10:34 am
At the 3:10 mark about, correct me if I’m wrong but the guy playing guitar to the left of the lead singer is still strumming his guitar when there’s no music playing. Are these guys just acting to be a band?
Oft
December 7, 2014 @ 12:41 pm
Are you sure he’s lip syncing? I watched it several times and I’m pretty sure it’s live. So it’s safe to assume you’ll be revising 2014 song of the year candidates?
JSinclair
December 7, 2014 @ 2:09 pm
I’m not much of a country music person. I was curious how Stand With Hillary went over with people who were. This is the first web page I found for that.
Based on the comments above, I’d say the video bounced off as fake so fast that people didn’t even get annoyed.
Apparently the lameness of this video has united the country.
Anyway, good discussion.
scottinnj
December 7, 2014 @ 2:57 pm
are there any good examples of politics and Music coming together? the last event i can think of is the Fleetwood Mac appearance at the 1992 Democratic convention.
BwareDWare94
December 7, 2014 @ 3:30 pm
I don’t care who our next President is as long as he, she, or it continues the upward trajectory that has developed for this country during Barack Obama’s presidency.
Bill #2
December 7, 2014 @ 7:00 pm
Nixon 2016
Drake O.
December 7, 2014 @ 7:19 pm
Well, I’ll never be able to take Hillary serious ever again.
Camie jo
December 7, 2014 @ 9:32 pm
Alrighty then. Next.
I’m not sure this hit her demographic target….too dumbed down and over the top folk.a.roni oriented.
Although, FGL will get it.
Bkhuna
January 3, 2015 @ 3:12 am
Politics aside, this is one seriously crappy “country” song. Might as well have called it “Brokeback Billary”.