Every now and then you run across a story that you just dont know if it should be diaried or not. I thought about passing this one up, and saving the diary for something more 'important', but eventually decided to go with it, as the effect it could have on red-state voters.
McGraw bucks conservative country image
Country music might seem like a pretty conservative medium, but Tim McGraw is bucking the trend. "It's innate in me to be a Democrat -- a true Southern populist kind of Democrat. There's not a lot of those anymore,"
I grew up in west Texas, 60 miles outside of Lubbock where cotton and cows put food on the table, and the once a month country-dance at the local rodeo arena draws people from counties all around. This is about as 'red-state' as you can get. If youre driving through and looking for variety on the radio-dial, good luck. You have the choice of country music channel 1, 2 or 3. When Tim McGraw speaks, the people of the area listen. The same area is home to the great Buddy Holly, and the republican's worst nightmare, The Dixie Chicks. When the country music stars are turning Blue and speaking out about it, Rove's head must be near explosion. I mean these people are preaching to the republican base, and people are listening, in a way that John Kerry, Al Gore or even Bush and Rove could ever do. It was one thing to smear The Dixie Chicks, as their statements came pretty early in the war. They will have a much harder time doing the same to McGraw.
The issues that matter to me are the social safety nets for people, health care, middle-class concerns. We need to take care of the middle class and the poor in our country. The chasm is getting larger between haves and have-nots, and that's something we need to close down a little bit," says the singer and star of "Flicka."
Could that mean a McGraw on an election ticket soon?
"One of these days, if the opportunity's there, that's something I'd love to do," he says. "It's a high calling to serve the community, and if you can do it, I think you should."
Wiki has this:
In early 2006, McGraw reaffirmed his plans for running for public office, saying that he would like to run for Governor of Tennessee about 10 years down the road. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He has said he would be open to running for the Senate, but leans toward governor saying, "It's more of a leadership role, and I think that's something that I'd do well...that doesn't rule out senator; I just think that as governor of a state, there would be a lot more opportunities to make some decisions and change some things."
McGraw has been a huge supporter of President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, and other Democrats, and Time has called him "one of the few vocal Democrats in country."
Governor McGraw, what do you kossacks think?