John Mellencamp for SENATE (Indiana) !

In his characteristic reptilian behavior, Senator Evan Bayh (Traitor, Indiana) announced this morning that he will NOT be seeking re-election in Indiana.
While this DOES give me reason to rejoice, his timing was another KNIFE IN THE BACK of the Democratic Party leaving only 4 days for challengers to register for the Primary, essentially GIVING his seat to the Republicans.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4269851

Progressives have considered a primary challenge to be a waste of time and money since Bayh still rides his Daddy's (Birch Bayh) coat tails, and enjoys a HUGE name recognition factor.

There IS a Progressive Indiana resident who DOES have a good chance at this seat.
I have NO idea if he is interested, but wouldn't it be great IF...



John Mellencamp was born in Indiana, and I believe is still a resident.
He is Progressive politically and already has GREAT Name Recognition.

The unfortunate REALITY is that the majority of American Voters DO in fact have an American Idol Mentality.
It is time WE started using that.


There are only 4 days left to get on the primary ballot (if I understand it correctly).
Anybody have his number?


Al Franken did it!
John Mellencamp can too!

And an asshat?

I don't think he is a DINO at all, I believe he has always considered himself independent.


Why call a dude who has done a lot of good a Dino? Really? WHY?

And Bayh IS and WAS a DINO!!!

If he was a real Democrat, he would have announced this earlier to not screw the Democrats in running a replacement like he has now. THAT tells me he WANTS a Republican to win! THAT defines a DINO!!!

I got confuzled!

where did you get that picture and do you have any of the story behind it?

I'm not buying his BS explanation after finding out he was filming ads just last week for his reelection

"Last Thursday, Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Dan Parker said Bayh, whose campaign coffers are loaded with $13 million, was returning to Indiana this week to film commercials for his re-election campaign. The filming was planned for Wednesday and Thursday."

-snip
http://www.courierpress.com/news/2010/feb/15/bayh-says-he-wont-seek-re-election/

so is a scandal brewing?

Either he did indeed do this FOR the Republicans (not unusual for Bayh),
or a Big Skeleton came tumbling out of the closet.

Apparently, there was a very kissy/teary press conference this morning where Bayh withdrew for unspecified reasons.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7719380

Why the hell would you say this here on this board?

I don't expect you to answer, but keerist you should be called out for a friggin blatant lie. Where did you get that false information, and why are you posting it here?

http://www.in.gov/sos/elections/files/CAN-4.pdf

According Indiana Code 3-13-1-3, Senator Bayh's departure creates an "early candidate vacancy," which "shall be filled by the state committee of the political party."

Good job!

...in this thread, you have responded to a question with the wrong answer (DINO question, you seemed to infer that it was about Mellencamp when it was CLEARLY about Bayh) and then you call someone a LIAR for posting information that is on the Internet and is the freaking truth.

Good start to the day....I hope that you are proud of yourself.

it really is today, February 16 at 12pm. Sorry for the reality check. Screwed from the beginning to end by Bayh...wasn't he a Rahm choice?

Now more potent Republican challengers have no time to register, either. Coats was a ringer. They knew they weren't going to beat Bayh. And now Dems can pick whoever they want.

I don't think Bayh's intent was to screw dems.

I spent a lot of time in Small town USA, Fort Wayne, in the late 80's and early 90's...

It's a very conservative area, even the University towns are more moderate than others in the rest of the US...

I think Bayh did us a favor by bowing out when he did because the GOP is going to be stuck with Coats...

The result may not hurt Dems, Bayh probably is relieved that it shouldn't hurt the Dems. Having said that, I don't think this is a plan that has been long coming. He jumped ship. There is more to this story, and it will come out eventually.

If I was in Indiana I would vote for him!

try to find him on Facebook, or start a FB page/club to get awareness drummed up?

Let us know how this movement goes...

you know, we should just start "recruiting" progressives to office that we support, why wait for the DLC/DNC to give US the candidates...there are a few authors, actors, performers etc that would do well in office...wish the 'unknowns' would show up for this stuff too. (and that they/we actually stood a chance in a bought & sold election process)

a Republican named Dan Coats our of the race because Bayh was beating him by 20 points. And I havent seen any notice that Mellencamp is even interested. I wonder what his rendiiton of "Let the Eagle Soar" would sound like?

I'm just tossing this idea out into cyberspace.
Maybe the small spark will ignite a fire...probably not.

Friday is the deadline.

He seems like a good guy

so let's put him in the Senate.

district in NY and Mellencamp is a lot more popular! This is actuaslly not a stupid idea. Farm Aid was very respected in Indiana.And he campigned everywhere for edwards and obama so he is on the map!

He was vocally against the war before just about any elected Democrat and he's a supporter of a lot of progressive issues. Your pithy comment is sadly uninformed. I'm not saying he belongs in the Senate or would want to go, but he'd be the most liberal Senator from Indiana ever, including Birch.

go back under your rock you're much more fun there :-)

Seriously, is there anyone more popular than John Mellencamp in Indiana?

He would be one of the handful of Dems I would work.

Hope he reads DU!

C'mon John, fight authority for us just one more time!

who changes his name ten times



John Mellan Cougar Camp

Mellan John Camp

Camp Cougar Mellan

John Cougar Mellan

Cougar John Camp


or whatever he calls himself these days...

They made him use the fake name because the music asshats didn't think "Mellencamp" would sell. That's the same way they got John "Denver" to abandon "Deuchendorf". After he became popular using the assumed name, he slipped Mellencamp back in, using Cougar as a middle name. Eventually he got the balls to dump the stupid Cougar name entirely.

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Welfare+Queen+farm+subsidies+for+the+filthy+rich-a0133250462

<snip>More intriguing are the namesakes--and likely family members--of singer John Mellencamp, who co-founded the annual Farm Aid benefit concert 20 years ago because (as he recently told The Washington Post) the government was "running the small family farm ... out of business." There are 34 Mellencamps in the Environmental Working Group's database, 12 of whom come from a single 20,000-resident town, Seymour, Indiana, which happens to be John Mellencamp's birthplace.

From 1995 to 2003, Seymour's Mellencamps received a whopping $1,297,247 in subsidies, ranging from the Mellencamp Farm Inc.'s $383,673, to George Mellencamp's $249,590, all the way down to Andrew Mellencamp's paltry $420. As with the rest of Indiana's farmers, the bulk of the Mellencamps' handouts came from growing corn.

At least they're producing something unlike the paper-rustling pencil-pushers on Wall Street.

Caveat: I lived in Seymour when I was 6 years old and happened to live down the street from Johnny's Mom and Dad.

...

Would Patti Page be successful if she kept her real name of Clara Fowler? Lots of other examples. Even Michael Savage is really Michael WEINER.

And started to change it back as soon as his emerging fame would allow.

and had a Colonel Tom Parker type of agent

Craig Becker if he qualifies for residency and dare I say it Larry Flynt. Larry at least has the cash to run. He wouldn't even need contributions. Senator Flynt would really shake up those congressional blue blood dogs even more than Senator Franken.

women are the ones who put these f*cking dems in office and you want to put flynt on the ticket???
A person who objectifies 51% of the population?

You can't think of anyone else?

No wonder I have no party anymore.

print to make money off of the drooling imbeciles who are their readership, are up front in defending women on their issues like abortion and being painted with metaphorical scarlet letters for having sex. Larry, himself, said that the worst thing he could be accused of is having bad taste. His editorial policy is left wing but appealing to the working class rather than the elite. He also mails a copy of Hustler to every member of Congress gratis so that they may know how working class people think. I haven't heard of him beating any women or denying them their human rights.

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a lot of real sexism in my lifetime, so what Larry does to get money from truck drivers isn't really a concern to me. Besides you know what I was suggesting was mostly a joke. Even if he were pure as the driven snow, his disabilities would keep him from seriously having a career in politics.

has been for a long time.

I'm not laughing.

Larry Flynt is not now, nor has he ever been, a resident of Indiana. What's more, in a state that leans conservative, having a pornographer on the ballot would be just plain cataclysmically stupid. As the replies to your suggestion show, Flynt couldn't even get a majority of Democrats to vote for him.

I love John, but this is the kind of thinking that allows Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber to get headlines instead of serious problem solvers.

The fact that he was an incompetent Governor has nothing to do with his success in gaining and keeping office.

Not just finishing the term.

However, how many of us could successfully run for governor and win, twice and not get recalled for the same problems Grey Davis got recalled for? So you have to give him credit for that.

so he's a success to you?

Success is completing your job competently. There isn't any other SANE definition of success.

Because there are only 4 days left.
Unless someone with serious name recognition challenges the Status Quo, either the Republicans inherit the seat,
OR
The Conservative ("Centrist") Wing of the Democratic Party appoints another Conservative replacement.

Besides, Aahnold has done a FANTASTIC job....of Getting Elected.
I don't LIKE it that celebrities can get elected in America.
I AM observing the FACT, and finding ways to use it.

Of course, you are free to continue cursing the darkness.

Then it's got bigger problems than John Mellencamp can overcome. All this thread shows to me is that the left is as shallow as the right.

terrible job. That's what we get for electing celebrities.

He didn't step from the stage to the senate. Very big difference.

John Mellencamp is well spoken, passionate about helping the little guy, been fairly politically active over the years. So if he's also a singer, that makes us shallow? For all we know he's been considering a move into politics . . . I wouldn't be surprised with the passion he expresses for helping working people, the poor.

He's used his music to draw attention to political and social issues. He IS NOT a political activist who just happens to sing. He is going to be 60 years old next year. He'd probably choke with laughter at the very suggestion. Honestly this thread just makes me wonder if there's any hope for this country at all. People can clearly see Sonny Bono, Reagan, and other celebrities weren't qualified to run. But can't see it when it's a Democrat and the funny thing is, a lot of people around here thought John Mellencamp was a Republican because he did a truck commercial. That's how "enlightened" DU really is.

All of DU is whack because a few posters thought he was a Republican? Just because one is an artist means he couldn't handle public office and do some good? Maybe he could, maybe not. Maybe he'd desire to run, maybe not. Just talking here, tossing the idea around.

If the OP suggested another Indianan, say, David Letterman, I suspect not so many would be responding as positively. Mellencamp, I can kind of see.

I always hate it when Republican's say celebrities should "shut up and sing/act/etc", and sometimes celebs do come off as idiotic. But, I can't help thinking, just because someone happens to be in the entertainment business, does that mean that they can't be intelligent and express an opinion? I feel the same about this. Al Franken is doing a fantastic job, IMO.

And, come to think of it, 60 isn't that old.

He just about single-handedly turned the tide against McCain. He was one of the first to start really lampooning Bush. He's had very serious discussions about political topics with a number of people including Al Gore, John Kerry, Obama and others. He's every bit as politically aware and concerned as Mellencamp. So maybe now you get how stupid the suggestion is.

I never said artists should shut up. I said they shouldn't step directly from the stage to the Senate -- unless they've spent a number of years directly involved the way Al Franken did before he ran.

but asking smart questions on a talk show doesn't make him politically active. What has he done outside of that? But maybe he'd do well as a senator, he's certainly seems smart enough. He can put his foot in his mouth on occasion, I wonder if he'd survive the media gotcha machine. Al seemed to be able to control that impulse, but I recall some here criticizing him as a shallow celeb who couldn't handle the job and look at how well he's doing.

Mellencamp is 58, btw, and Letterman's waaay up there in his 60's. Too old according to you, right?

For a long, long time we've had the smartest guys with facts on our side, and the Repub's put out some folksy empty vessel who has, :puke: a good heart and can speak in a way Mr. and Mrs. Middle America can understand, down a beer with; reciting bumper sticker bullshit, the media then proceeds to thake the bait and common sense and facts get drowned out. Why not try a 'man of the people' outsider? Someone who's already well known who the media would pay attention to? Someone who's actually taken action to help the farmers, actually done something. Isn't he very popular in Indiana for his Farm Aid work? A real authentic man of the people and not some empty headed robot type like the R's seem to prefer, but one with passion and brains and conviction? I'm for it.

I'm willing to bet that he could do it and that he would be a good Senator.

and I agree, he's been involved, is passionate and I'd bet, if he's interested, would make a well spoken, smart contribution to the senate.

Those are sound ideals you have, but America is very very unsound. People are soooo easy to fool and now corporations have unlimited cash to elect their very own patrol-bots.

:) :patriot:

somebody that can tell the Republicans to hit the highway!

It would be interesting to hear what John has to say. He is usually passionate about politics but tends to be a populist that rejects the political process rather than a progressive Democrat.

My bet is he'd rather stay on his farm and paint than get involved in the bloody fray that is American politics.

:rofl:

May I suggest a campaign slogan: "Unforeclosed Little Pink Houses for You and Me."

next?

there were a couple of others.

But we better figure it out and get our own stars into office. Or they will get more righties in that supplant our side.

but "Jed" sided with the opposition

She's a good progressive Democrat. Sheila Kuehl. She was an advisor of the comic book club when my husband was at UCLA.

Of course, Carmel is a very small town.

He seems a paragon of hard work and honesty.

Brother

;)

just reported the deadline is Friday. They also spoke with Brad Ellsworth about the possibility of his running for Bayh's seat...

No signatures, no primary ballot placement.

http://www.in.gov/sos/elections/files/CAN-4.pdf

He's got plenty of money to run, he only has a slight drug problem and he's a little nuts. He's officially my guy.

from every county in Indiana. I'm not sure how many signatures are required on the petition. Way too little time to accomplish that feat. However the Dem Party in Indiana could just select a replacement.

not every county. It's probably doable.

If Bayh had announced last week and given the party even one weekend for collecting signatures, it might have been possible. But in less than 48 hours? No chance!

That is what is really smelly about this whole thing.

That's nutty. Anybody can write in wikipedia. There are thousands of precincts in the state, not all of them even have 500 people.

rock star NOT to sell his music to Corporations for advertisements!

I doubt he'd want to go to DC....but who knows. I think his heart is in the right place. Maybe Al should give him a call!

witness those "This is our country" truck ads that were running all the frikkin' time a couple of years ago.

I saw an interview with him. Guess it was over a couple of years ago.

They won't let him smoke in the Senate chambers.

Just to watch their heads explode.

while a good cause, is not enough to qualify one for the Senate,IMO. Being a senator is a little more complicated than playing a guitar and writing songs.

And, Bayh's departure at this time allows the Democratic party in Ill. to pick the candidate they feel is a strong contender. You are free to suggest Mellencamp to them, but I wouldn't be surprised if they had someone else already in mind.

..has been one of the problems.

SEE: Rahm and the DCCC.

What always gets me is when spouses of deceased leaders run for the dead spouse's seat.

She has a lot of contacts inside the music industry.

I've seen him talk on many interviews and he is intelligent and very politically aware and very progressive.

He would have to run but a political team could be sent in to the organizing and heavy lifting. If he can manage a tour and CD promotion he can manage a campaign.

He can't sing his way through the election. If he can talk his way out of a paper bag, he has a good chance, IMO.

a little like that Kinky Friedman guy but not goofy or trying to be a comedian. I don't know if he could hold up under the campaign pressure cooker gotcha microscope.

Bet he's on fb..?!

I KNOW Willie has his #..
I'll go see what I can see..!

hey-HEY! There's a PROGRESSIVE!
:woohoo:

requesting he file!

His site: www.mellencamp.com

free tunes there, too.:headbang:

At least, he has the info.
The ball is in his court now.
If he chooses to step up, I will march in his army.
:hi:

Will YOU enCourage him on his fb wall?
From his Farm Aid work, I KNOW he is PROGRESSIVE:
cares deeply for JUSTICE.. Working PEOPLE..anti-corporate-bs..
I also KNOW he does alot for wounded/ill Veterans.
That's all the info *I* need to back him!


:applause:

but I'll give it a try.

google "facebook" & his name,
it should pop up,
& it will walk You thru it,
step-by-step.

I am not crazy about it,
but it IS goood for some things,
like sharing petitions & PEACE-actions, QUICKLY..
Give it a try..
let me know how it goes, ok?

I didn't see an email address for Mellencamp,
at his site,
but I may have over-looked it..
fb will almost certainly get to HIM
or his trusted personnel..
HE WILL get the message!
:hi:

*ducks*

sending him some enCouragement
on his fb page..!:hi:

I will GO BACK and EDIT my post so that

YOU

can be happy.:party:
.
.
.
Aw Gee.
Its TOO late.
I am soooo powerful, I ruined Mellencamp's whole chance.
.
.
.
.
.
my bad
I should have checked with you first.
I will go cry now.
:cry:

:kick:

:hi:

ps.I have NO voice today,
can barely *squeak*, let alone speak..
But trying to rest UP for Fat Tuesday!
Tooo dang FUN!

Oh, well.... if a know-nothing like Failin' Palin is seriously talked about for anything higher than dogcatcher, then John Mellencamp should have no problem.

Y'know, if You listen to those lyrics,
You KNOW he understands WE are off-track, as a society.
Mellencamp IS REAL, & PROGRESSIVE!
:woohoo:

Oh yeah, life goes on.

If a guy can't even decide what his own name is, and his expertise (and he is brilliant at this) is writing songs, how in the hell is he going to make our country better?

This is wishful nonsense.

It was the 80s, and he relented. He pretty quickly migrated back to his real name and taking creative control of his work, which I think shows integrity.

And honestly, it would be nice to have ONE fucking artist in congress amongst all the fucking lawyers and CEO types.

Elvis Costello has talked for years about going back to "Declan MacManus" but he can't escape the brand name.

Look having been an "artist" in the 80s (not music but film), there is nothing special about artists. It depends on the artist, as you must know.

But from what I've heard and read about Mellencamp, he's smart and his heart is in the right place, and he does have actual "values" and sees what's happening to the middle and lower classes in this country.

How many years has he been doing Farm Aid? I don't think he just shows up and sings, but is actually involved with the cause. Running for congress would let him possibly impact legislation that would help family farms survive the threats of agribusiness, and help protect the American consumer from GM foods and the other health hazards big agribusiness is literally trying to shove down our throats.

I guess Franken counts as something of an artist as well, and he's taking the job very seriously. I think Mellencamp would do so as well, and fight for "the little guy" instead of the banksters, even though I'm sure he's a millionaire many times over, married to a retired supermodel. Even if it's all an act, it's at least the right act, and he'd probably operate consistently with its message.

I don't think that when the country was founded that there were supposed to be "career politicians" -- an established aristocracy as we have today. Those guys were mostly wealthy, but they kept their day jobs. They did a term or two in help out as they could, then they went back to their work. It would be great if that kind of thing were possible today. Elect a farmer, or a machinist, or a teacher, or a haberdasher. Maybe I'm naive to think it could be like "Mr Smith Goes to Washington" but of all the multimillionaires who could run for office, I'd say Mellencamp's pretty high on the list of people who would take it seriously and do a great job for the people.

than I should be.

You could be right. Maybe, hopefully, artists will be our saviours.

I would LOVE that. I just am too cynical I guess to believe that is how this will turn out.

But I totally respect what you are saying.

but that was soon over.

I think he does his songwriting credits as MacManus these days

but every time I hear his lyrics they strike home.

I was thinking that his songwriting skills, which includes recognizing reality and distilling its essence into poetry, make make him the kind of elected official that is rare right now--one who is in touch with the people.

I'm from Alaska, but if this write-in fantasy turns into a real campaign, Mellencamp has my financial support.

I share your skepticism about mere celebrity translating into a political career. Look how badly Reagan turned out. But I don't think we're talking about that same scenario.

Mr Larry Bird !!

I will support his campaign wholeheartedly!

here is his official website... http://www.mellencamp.com/?module=news&news_item_id=544

here's the FB page http://www.facebook.com/pages/John-Mellencamp/7609814137?v=wall&ref=ts

Club Cherry Bomb is the fanclub link on his main site: contact info: help@mellencamp.com

I wouldn't know who to direct him to contact, but you fine folks in Indiana must be able to catch him somehow...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsEwK69LXjQ

:thumbsup:

Bormann network.

Its sort of a kick in the ass to America and what was done to the middle class in the 80's.

Neoliberal Stooges.

found this out while researching when we almost (twice) moved there last year. He has a good reputation as a progressive among the locals inside Bloomington; those outside of the city tend to be more conservative, however. They tend to keep to themselves but do step up whenever there are needs and are good neighbors.

I'd vote for him if we were townies. ;)

He's a good man, and a thinking man.

who occasionally plays with John's band, and the latter is an amateur boxer . . . Speck can play at the rallies, and Hud can beat the shit out of any Republicans who get in the way . . . :smoke:

John is a Stand Up Guy, and he's very intelligent, a lot more informed than most people here realize.

I'd vote for him.

And go effin' work for Big Pharma (or some such)...yeah, Evan, WAY TO GO!

Did everyone notice how "unhappy" his wife looked when he was speaking? She's in the pocket of Wellpoint, and he's probably going to be making big bucks with another health insurance company or some such.

YEAH RIGHT, EVAN, YOU "LOVE" THE PEOPLE OF INDIANA....right. :puke:

:sarcasm:

.... former Indy mayor Bart Peterson. :shrug: No facts, no insider tips, just a hunch.

"I will not belch the National Anthem."
- Bart Simpson

Mellencamp was part of the recent 'Music of the Civil Rights' concert shown on PBS:

link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jn0Ne813QUU



http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/jan-june10/music_02-11.html

They sung songs when he lost the Senate in the Reagan takeover. Calling his son a traitor is "a bit" too much.

He is not any more thrilled than most of us are with what is happening (or, rather, not happening) with the Party
these days, but he respects the fact that someone else is DNC chairman now, and will not try to do Kaine's job for
him any more than he would have appreciated someone else trying to second guess him while he was chairman (just ask
Rahm). He'd make the call MAYBE if Tim Kaine called him up and asked him point blank, but otherwise, Howard is still
very much on our side, but he is also a team player, and won't step on the toes of the man who succeeded him unless
the guy commits some kind of high crimes and misdemeanors (like endorsing Sarah Palin or something).

Good luck John, your heart is in the right place...

Now that Australia has a newer more progressive government, look who they have as their Environment Minister kicking ass on global warming, etc. that they avoided in the past. Peter "Beds are Burning" Garrett.. Mellencamp will do just fine in the same mold!



http://www.nowpublic.com/culture/australia-midnight-oil-frontman-named-environment-minister

"Beds are Burning" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chwZOeOBTmQ

"Blue Sky Mining" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyHGUHbfRHQ

Note this youtube where he played on a campaign rally for both Hillary Clinton and Evan Bayh here...

Hillary Clinton's comments at the end could be used to help Mellencamp's campaign too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laxEO2bfsUI

I am sure that a lot of heavy hitters would make it happen for him. Fundraising and volunteers would not be a problem. President Obama should invite Mr. Mellencamp to dinner with a few of his buddies.

You know, he probably wouldn't win, but it would be way cool to have a guy with Nothing To Lose campaigning for the Senate.

you can join here:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=303715387841