Lord knows I love Bruce Springsteen, and I generally agree with his politics and his take on the American landscape. But I think the concerts featuring Bruce, Pearl Jam, REM, Dixie Chicks, the Dave Matthews Band, and others organized by MoveOn.org are a bad idea - if the main goal is driving voters to Democrat John Kerry in key swing states. Look, awareness around certain issues may work well in the feel-good rock festival arena. Telling people how to vote simply doesn't. Indeed, it risks a typically American, iconoclastic, don't-tell-me, anti-artist backlash among the very voters the concerts are trying to sway. It feels good, but it's not great strategy. Sure, it may solidify the base - but that base is already looking like granite. If it moves any votes, it may well be away from the Kerry-Edwards ticket, in my view.
UPDATE: If you want some hilarious reactions to this, you've got to visit Act's blog. A short taste: "Shut up and sing, Bunch of pathetic leaches that think you know something about the world because God gave you the gift to be able to carry a tune. Get a life."
