Three years ago today, March 10, 2003, during the run-up to the war in Iraq, Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks caused a political firestorm when she stated from the stage in London that, as native Texans, she and her bandmates were “ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas.” The repercussions of her statement back in the States led to a boycott of Dixie Chicks on country radio and radio station stunts like running over a pile of Dixie Chicks CDs with a bulldozer.
In fact, it was the Dixie Chicks incident that emboldened the rightwing to set up its new paradigm of pure political thought:
Criticizing Bush = Hating America
Now a pair of huge stars in the country music firmament, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, have gone on record criticizing President Bush — not on the war, but on his disastrous response to Hurricane Katrina:
Faith Hill and Tim McGraw — two stars who usually stay out of politics — blasted the Hurricane Katrina cleanup effort, with Hill calling the slow progress in Louisiana and Mississippi “embarrassing” and “humiliating.”
The country music artists — who are natives of the storm-ravaged states — were at times close to tears, and clearly angry when the subject of Katrina came up during a news conference today. They had met with reporters in Nashville to promote their upcoming Soul2Soul II Tour, but when asked about the hurricane cleanup, the stars pulled no punches.
“To me, there’s a lot of politics being played and a lot of people trying to put people in bad positions in order to further their agendas,” McGraw, a 38-year-old native of Delhi, La., said after ABC News Radio’s Dan Gordon asked about Katrina.
“When you have people dying because they’re poor and black or poor and white, or because of whatever they are — if that’s a number on a political scale — then that is the most wrong thing. That erases everything that’s great about our country.”
McGraw specifically criticized President Bush. “There’s no reason why someone can’t go down there who’s supposed to be the leader of the free world … and say, ‘I’m giving you a job to do and I’m not leaving here until it’s done. And you’re held accountable, and you’re held accountable, and you’re held accountable.
“‘This is what I’ve given you to do, and if it’s not done by the time I get back on my plane, then you’re fired and someone else will be in your place…’”
Hill, who grew up in Jackson, Miss., echoed those sentiments. So overwhelmed, she uncharacteristically unleashed an epithet, calling the situation, “Bull[shit].”
“It is a huge, huge problem and it’s embarrassing,” she said.
“I fear for our country if we can’t handle our people [during] a natural disaster. And I can’t stand to see it. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out point A to point B. . . . And they can’t even skip from point A to point B. “It’s just screwed up.”
It will be interesting to see if the Bush worshippers in the Nashville music establishment treat the unofficial king and queen of country the same way they treated the Dixie Chicks.
I AM SO PROUD OF BOTH OF THEM FOR SPEAKING OUT ON THE SITUATION. I WAS A FAN BEFORE BUT I WILL GO TO THERE CONCERTS AND BUY THERE MUSIC WITH A BIG SMILE ON MY FACE. THANK YOU TIM AND FAITH FOR THE STRENGH AND COURAGE. YOU TWO ARE TRUE AMERICAN PATRIOT !! LOVE YOU BOTH !!!
PEOPLE NEED TO GO BACK AND APOLOGIZE TO THE DIXIE CHICKS ALSO! FOR THEY WERE DEFINATELY RIGHT IN THEIR LINE OF THINKING! BUSH is SHIT that needs to be SHOVELED UP and THROWN OUT! TO DUBUI
Bravo to Tim McGraw and Faith Hill!!
Of course Faith Hill and Tim McGraw won’t get “Dixie Chicked.” They didn’t criticize Bush’s conduct of an illegal invasion and occupation of a country that was of no danger to the United States at the time. They just critcized Bush’s and FEMA’s lack of response to Katrina. After all, ‘Mericans died, not a bunch of over-the-horizone-Allah-worshipping towelheads. And Wal-Mart, a retail outlet that I am sure sells its fair share of Faith Hill and Tim McGraw CDs, reacted with celerity to the crisis, trucking water, food and blankets to storm victims, in the best tradition of ‘Merican “free market” capitalism. Faith and Tim’s little rant is nothing more than conservitive frustration a la Bruce Bartlett.
Learning is wonderful but it can also be painful, when one’s illusions and fantasies are dashed. Most people who voted for Bush (sometimes twice) are beginning to wake up to the fraud that the Bush Machine foisted on us. “W” was never Presidential material. He was put in power by the forces mustered by his father (who was a real leader). Junior was never able to control those forces, his Administration was led by Cheney and Rumsfeld, with Perle, Wolfowitz, et al. given free rein on foreign policy, and K Street (epitomized by Abramoff) and ChrINOs given free rein on domestic policy. (ChrINO = Christian In Name Only — e.g., Mr. Ralph “Gambling” Reed.)
The economy is running on borrowed money, in classic Keynesian fashion — but our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren will pay the price. Debts must be paid, sometime. The dollar is weak, the budget and trade deficits are at record highs, the housing boom has cooled, and interest rates must rise further to attract investors.
Country and western music fans are loyal Americans, it takes a lot for us to be critical of the President. But when he screws up this badly, our anger is deep and long-lasting.
Country and western music fans are loyal Americans, it takes a lot for us to be critical of the President.
Unless the President is a Democrat and then country music fans criticize him and his wife for every tiny thing he does.
Puh-leeze!
It is about tinme the country stars see what is going on. The Dixie Chicks should get an an appology from all the stars who crashed them.Glad Tim and Faith taking astand.
Big deal! Let’s be cool and speak out when the screw-up is close to home and it’s their friends and neighbors who are suffering. Where were they when????
Joey the Scab went after them last night:
“But for these two—I mean, I get paid to give my opinion on political matters. For these two country music superstars, they have to have seen that the Dixie Chicks’ career just completely withered after they made this very public statement at a concert in London.”
Of course, contrary to all his lies, they had a record breaking tour and the album went muti-platinum.
Suprize surprize surprize, Sargent! Scarborough is a flaming idiot.
I need to make up a bumper sticker that pays tribute to them now! One that goes along with “My Dixie Chick can beat up your chicken hawk”. I’m very pleased that more people like Tim and Faith are speaking out!
Billy @ ucanadas.com
I applaud both Faith and Tim for taking a stand against Bush. He’s fouled this up big-time, and the fact that so much still remains to be done and is tied up in conflicting agencies is just another illustration of his version of Big No Bid Contract Government. Also, I never turned on the Dixie Chicks, so I hope those that did realize their error.
Tim and Faith are the king and queen of country music,
and even before Katrina, the country music set was
getting on to Bush. I read their message boards last
night on CMT..and there was only one negative comment.
on each. One said of Faith…Oh, horrors , I just found
out that Faith is a democrat. One said of Tim, ooooh
he just spent a day with Bill Clinton…isn’;t he worried that Clinton will hit on his wife?…Things they
are a’changin!
Shirley
I’d like my bumper sticker to say,..”My Dixie Chicks,’ can beat up those chicken hawks anyday.” Love” the Chicks” and now want to welcome the the McGraw’s onboard. I may, just go out an buy their music now. { I didn’t buy before, because of Tim’s Proud connection to the Bush-Wackers !— Hey, those things do effect my buying habits}. Thanks for the listening.
What gets me is that it took 6 years for this country..including
these Pop stars…to wake up to the whole Bushco plan. And people thought the people speaking out this hole time were unpatriotic nut jobs?
…Wal-Mart, a retail outlet that I am sure sells its fair share of Faith Hill and Tim McGraw CDs, reacted with celerity to the crisis, trucking water, food and blankets to storm victims, in the best tradition of ‘Merican “free market” capitalism…
woohoo and that fixd’m up real good. Way to go. FUcker.
Your fuckin’ el presidente give retards a bad reputation.
I’m not not going to go see Tim McGraw and Faith Hill in concert anymore. And always went.
Pardon me for this” Canuck ” intervention.
Its great to see our freinds in the U.S. finally waking up to what the ” Shrub ” crime family has been up to. We have been watching with great fear and trepadation from the north before and during this administration’s assault on the world and its fine citizens. Bravo!!!!!!!!! my freinds and keep digging. You will not get what you need from the major media outlets down there so try digging deeper. You will find that you have been getting lied to and cheated by these war mongers much longer than you think. Good luck and god bless all of you. As for Faith and Tim. At least they now have one eye open, just imagine how ” pissed ‘ they will be when they open the other one and take out they’re ear plugs.
Big deal, just because they can sing does that make their voices more powerful than anyother person? You never read J. Doe called boy george a asshole. 99.9% of the american people don’t know or don’t want to know the truth. This country was established and is run by the wealthest criminals known to the world. Bush is an idiot with powerful evil backing. Iraq today, China tomorrow. When you want to be out of debt, get rid of the person or country you owe. Debt gone! If Tim & Faith only knew the whole truth, what would they say.
Personally, I’d be more impressed if Faith and Tim actually did something. They’re raising money for the victims. Big deal. So are countless other stars and thousands upon thousands of individuals through the country. There are people in the disaster area getting their hands dirty everyday. That’s far more productive than a couple of songbirds calling the situation embarrassing. I’m not saying they shouldn’t speak out. I’m not even saying I don’t agree with them. I would just find it more newsworthy and impressive if they were taking action. If the article had been about them announcing they will not be touring this year and will instead be working in the disaster area, I’d post the link everywhere and mail copies of the article to all my friends and relatives.
Amazing! What will you idiots do when there is a new President? Hating Bush has become an obsession for you people. Maybe a few hours in one of Saddam’s rape rooms or a few years under a Taliban veil would go a long way toward enlightening you. By the way, your icon that predator of women Bill Clinton deployed the military more than Bush and Reagen combined. He also dropped more bombs by tonnage on Iraq than George W Bush has in three years. Clinton also bombed an aspirin factory in the Sudan and a village in Afghanistan. Where was Hollywood? Silent. This is a logic based argument, I am sure you venemous Bush haters could never understand. I have to tell you, I am ashamed you live in the same country I do. Please do us all a favor and go live in Iran!
It’s Bush-worshippers like you, Casey, that are the real danger to American democracy. You put your adoration of George Bush above your love of country and common sense.
George Bush is not Jesus. Not hardly. You are delusional. Seek help.
Iraq was not a terrorist threat to the United States until your Dear Leader foolishly took us in there.
Why did he do it? Answer these three questions honestly (if you can — I know that people under the sway of cults have trouble discerning fiction from reality):
1. Yes or No: If the number one export of Iraq were olive oil, instead of petroleum oil, would we be there today?
2. Did we go there to establish a foothold for democracy among the Arabs? Yes? Then wouldn’t it have been less costly in blood and treasure simply to convince the Kuwaitis to hold elections? After all, we literally saved their asses from Saddam in 1992. Becoming a beacon for democracy in the Middle East would seem to be the very least they could do in return.
3. In the run-up to the war, did Bush and his team lie when they said Saddam had weapons of mass destruction?
No? Well, then the only other option is that they screwed up – and did so, as the vice president might say, big time.
In fact, this outrageously incompetent miscalculation has led to over 100,000 casualities, including almost 3,000 valiant U.S. service members and the fatalities of tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis. It will likely cost us upwards of a trillion dollars – and we’re not even halfway done yet. The Bush misadventure in Iraq will undoubtedly go down as the most monumentally inept war effort ever undertaken. (If they were Democrats the Bush team would be pursued by the media and the GOP for gross and homicidal official negligence.)
So, which is it, Casey, did they lie or were they merely criminally incompetent?
We await your answer.
(Just kidding! We know that Bush worshippers can’t abide the sunlight of reality, so you’ll change the topic to another pre-packaged screed you heard on the Limbaugh show. We understand that you are intellectually unable to answer these three simple questions. Again — seek help.)
I’m sick and tired of hearing people beat up on the President and FEMA! Personally, I’m not a fan of the President either but I definitely think McGraw and Hill were way out of line. I don’t see them volunteering to go down and help or work to get things back in order; they still go home to their nice clean bed to sleep at night. Don’t complain about the actions of others if you aren’t willing to help in the situation yourself!
to madison….was Iraq a terrosit threat to the U.S.?? um…ok it doesnt matter who did it, that whole part of the country attacked OUR country, and for what? no reason whatsoever!
ok on tim and faith, they didnt critisize Bush…so why would they be bashed? its true…the way that Bush handled things was crappy…i voted for him i’ll be honest…but come on…he could have done things better…everyone is entitled to their opinion no matter if they are a STAR or not…regular people dont get boycotted for speaking their opinion to others that have a different view…people need to get a grip!
This is in response to “madison”
I am sick and tired of being the butt of every snide comment, back-handed insult, and condescending mannerism that you and and others like you dole out.
People like you are the reason that this country is going to Hell in a handbasket. You sit and preach your gospel of tolerance and progressive thought, call anyone with any Christian moral foundation a fundamentalist fanatic, and accuse “right-wingers” of being the racistbigothomophobicintolerant hypocrites in the world. How dare you! You preach tolerance and yet, if anyone disagrees with you on any topic you divert to the base, vitriolic name-calling and personal attacks that liberals just love to accuse others of.
Why is it you leftists have one set of rules for yourself, and a totally different set for everyone else?
I want to see if you can defend your ideas against a well-informed, educated “right wing fanatic”
Jamie, the fact that you’re tired of being the butt of insults is a promising sign. Recognizing that there is a problem is the first step in any recovery.
It’s understandable that you’re tired. Your Dear Leader, Son of God Himself, whom you worshipped above all else, turned out to be a hollow, shallow failure.
It isn’t surprising that you are angry, but instead of directing your rage at those of us who saw through his tinhorn act from the getgo — or, worse, at yourself — why not hold the hollow man himself responsible for his failings?
Republicans insist that we liberals must be responsible for our actions, up to and including extramarital blowjobs — but it’s okay if their own leaders get away with murder.
This hypocrisy is a by-product of your delusions.
Madison,
Your response was exactly as I expected. You cannot offer one coherent defense of your hatred for all who disagree with you. Instead, you immediately turn to false assumptions and hateful rhetoric. I will be one of the first to voice my dissent with the Republican party, its leadership, and the current administration. I have done so on many occasions. Loudly.
First of all, I worship Jesus Christ and Him alone. He is the Son of God. I do not now, nor will I ever, worship any man. I wonder if you would be so quick to use religious metaphors had I indicated that I was a Muslim. Secondly, I am not angry. I was attempting to open the lines of open debate and dialogue. I now realize that was a poor decision on my part. I wish you the best in life and hope that all remains well with you.
I used to love Tim and Faith but now after what they have said I will never look at them the same way. What they said wasn’t as bad as the Dixie Chicks but if it was I wouldn’t listen to them anymore just like I did the Chicks. If people want to dog Bush then they should do it where nobody can here but themselves because without him our country would be in a lot of trouble.
containable?regimented?celebrate furrow!commuters blackberry professionally?
Being from the South, I have always adored both Tim and Faith;however, my adoration has come to an abrupt halt after their comments and political alignment. I am continuosly amazed, however, at the democratic losers who cannot or will not realize that Bill Clinton is responsible for the mess Bush is having to deal with now. 9/11 would never have happened if he would have done more than “write letters” reprimanding BinLaden. His idea of dealing with an issue was to DO NOTHING…it’s hard not to please the dem lovers when all you do is nothing! After all, that’s all they understand.
AS far as Katrina, I went through it, and I can tell you in a situation like that, all you can do is heed the warnings you are given when you are told a cat 4 hurricane is coming your way and you need to get out. Those who refused are responsible for their own fates.
People pay money for artists records and concerts to hear them perform. When I go to a concert, I go to be entertained with music. Not hear politics!! If Tim and Faith want to stick their neck out with their political beliefs, prepare to loose fans that love their music that don’t agree with their views on politics. If Tim and Faith feel they need to do it, so be it.
I’m from California and went to their concert at the Saavic Arena in St. Louis, MO while visiting my sister. I love loud music, but not loud distorted music. The sound mixer should be shot! I thought I was at a heavy metal concert. Although, the sound of their voices was nice and clear. Just the sound from both of their bands was just awful.
They have a concert coming up at the Staple Center here in Los Angeles, but I’ll sit home and crank up the volume of my stereo and enjoy better quality without the annoying distortion.
Joel Embick
Burbank, CA
Joel,
I agree with you 100%. On eof the greatest things about this country is our right to free speech. I am continually amazed at how conservatives are expected to just sit back and listen to every differing viewpoint and never offer a rebuttal. Yes, Tim and Faith have every right to their own opinions. They also have every right to voice their opinions in the forum of their choosing. However, just as they have a right, so do others. They have the right not purchase their music, attend their shows, watch them on TV, or listen to them on the radio.
I wouldn’t be one of those people because my musical preference is determined by wether I like the music, lyrics, and singing voice of a particular artist or group. I like Tim. I like Faith. I especially love to hear them sing together. If someone takes offense at their politics, though, that individual has as much right to voice an opposition as Tim and Faith had to speak their minds
Regarding Katrina, Tim & Faith are part of the problem in this country….. we are supposed to teach our children PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY, not reliance on others. People of New Orleans had 3-5 full days to evac. If that were me & I had no way to get to those busses that were available, I would have started WALKING……… NOT sitting on my butt waiting for OTHERS to take responsibility for my decision making. I find it hard to use the word VICTIM for those who CHOSE to stay behind and LOOT, RAPE & KILL. As for the sick & elderly, the workers & families of those people were responsible…… again, not Bush.
Thank you Jamie! I was hoping there was someone on this thing with some common sense! If Tim & Faith want to blame someone for the Katrina fiasco-fine, but blame the correct people. LA’s local govt. are to blame, not the President. The local govt. was warned REPEATEDLY. The White House called and begged for NO’s mayor to institute a mandatory evacuation, but he refused and the fact that they re-elected the idiot speaks volumes about the mentality in NO and surrounding areas. Blame the local govt who voted to use the money slated to upgrade their levees to bring in casinos instead. You can lead a horse to water… Don’t blame the President for the shortcomings of the local govt. You don’t have to love or even like GWB, but lay blame where it belongs and before you start accusing others of not doing enough ask yourself “What have I done and what can I do to help?” I recently visited NO and it is bouncing back slowly. Sad thing is many of these people had no insurance. What do you think would happen if my house was hit by a tornado? Do you think FEMA would swoop in and build me a new house? I think not, and I would not expect them to. Fact is the trailers and apartments some of these people are living in now are better than the homes they were living in in to begin with. Do I feel bad for them-yes. Do I want to help-yes. But why is it GWB’s fault that they don’t all have nice new homes, and parks, jobs, and a big screen TV ?
It’s not–plain and simple.
This is what I dont get. When people critisized Clinton, they were just being Americans excersizing their rights. However, when we critisize GWB, we are being un-American.
Where is the logic in that?
i think that what they said was right but y should the dixie chicks have to go through it and not them natalie maines was right clearly but they were such a big band too and i feel that its unfair to them to have that happen and when someone else says something nothin happens and i feel that tim and faith arnt brave for sayin it at all cause they knew now that they were in the safe zone and they couldnt get hurt but the dixie chicks are brave and they speak their minds no matter what so yeah speak up now how brave
I don’t see them staying down there until it’s all cleaned up and it’s supposedly their hometowns. I have really enjoyed their music over the years, but this is ridiculous. Everyone wants someone else to take responsibility for them. Well, if there was a flood where I live do you think I’d be yelling for someone to bail me out if I CHOSE not to have the proper insurances needed? I am so tired of our tax dollars having to go to take care of people who should have taken care of themselves. If it’s people that truly can’t take care of themself that’s one thing. For instance, all the people that chose to stay home when an evacuation order was given. Then whine because it took so long to get them out. HELLO!!! I LOVE AMERICA but too many people want to blame everyone else for their situations.