So I'm talking with my friend Ellen the other night and she says, "Somebody should make a playlist of all the songs Republicans have stolen for their campaigns."
I told her Walt Hickey already compiled the list for fivethirtyeight.com.
"Yeah, but has anybody ever actually made the mix?"
As near as I can tell, the answer is no. So, naturally, I did.
Hickey's list may not be definitive, but it's pretty darn close, and it reveals some surprising data points.
First, John McCain may be a war hero, but he ran the song-stealingest campaign of all time, getting nine unauthorized use complaints in the 2008 season.
All-time complainer award goes to John Mellancamp, with four complaints over three different songs in three campaigns.
There were two instances of writers asking Democrats to stop using their songs: Sting told Al Gore to stop using "Brand New Day" in 2000 (he had to tell George Bush the same) and Sam Moore of Sam and Dave objected to Barack Obama's use of "Hold On I'm Coming."
The rest are all GOP lifts, and the playlist turns out to be pretty rocking. Not too surprising, when you think of the types that would be GOP campaign aides--Ivy League fratters in birthday cars with awesome sound systems and their parents' record collection.
So it should come as no surprise that Republicans can freaking rock.
Even if they can't govern.
If the embed doesn't work, try this link to the playlist.