Lib Rag Pushes Pop Star Over Working Pol

Like that's a surprise, right? Still, the headline made me snigger: "Indiana Dems Need Populist Mellencamp, Not Blue Dog Ellsworth."

Hey, look, Brad Ellsworth is a fairly standard-issue Blue Dog Dem; the Bradys loathe him and NRA gives him an "A." He looks to be something of a social conservative; he put in 23 years in an Indiana Sheriff's department, finally winning the top job, and he has been a career politician ever since. There are certainly issues on which he and I are far apart and I'd rather see a Libertarian in his Congressional seat, or a Goldwateresque Republican -- but he's not an idiot; he works at his job and we could do worse (Andre Carson, I'm lookin' at you).

On the other hand, John "Cougar" Mellencamp's road nickname was "the little bastard;" he's worked hard at his job, too, but it wasn't exactly law enforcement or politickin' -- it was making music that would get played on the radio and MTV. Cute, but not really a survival skill. And while nobody has ever called him stupid* -- not to his face, at least -- he's not the guy you'd go to for help with your homework.

So, you tell me, you're trapped in a pit with rabid lobbyists and ravenous Grande Dames from the League of Women Voters; you can pick one (1) politician to help you from the two listed above. It's gonna take one speech and two math problems to get out. Which would you pick?

See, that's why you are never gonna be Editor at The Nation. Saved, from a fate far, far worse than death.

Seriously, is there something in the water there? Do they serve paint chips in the snack bar?

Update: Constitutional scholar Mellencamp on that pesky ol' First Amendment and horrawful meanies like you an' me...

“I don’t think people fought and gave their lives so that some guy can sit in his bedroom and be mean. I don’t think that’s what freedom of speech is,” he continued. "Freedom of speech is really about assembly — for us to collectively have an idea. We want to get our point of view out so we can assemble and I can appoint you to be the spokesman. That’s freedom of speech — to be able to collectively speak for a sector of people. But somehow it’s turned into ‘I can be an a****** whenever I feel like, say whatever I like, be disrespectful to people and not be courteous.’ It’s not good for our society. Not being courteous is not really freedom of speech."

Unh. I'm feelin' queasy. Well, thanks to Newsbusters anyhow.
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* Oops! Freepers have done so already. Possibly from their bedrooms, meanly.