The ideas been floating around here and there, but from what Reuters reports, the Draft Bruce Springsteen movement seems to be picking up speed:
A New York concert promoter has mounted an online campaign to “draft” Bruce Springsteen to headline a rock ‘n roll show to upstage the Republican National Convention on the night it nominates President Bush to run for another term.
The “Concert for Change,” would be held Sept. 1 at Giants Stadium, across the Hudson River from the Republicans’ meeting at Madison Square Garden, said promoter and Democratic activist Andrew Rasiej, who has reserved the date at Springsteen’s New Jersey home venue that he routinely sells out when he tours.
Sounds fun as a partisan prank, along the lines of Google-bombing the Bush-Cheney website with some disparaging epithet. But I think such a concert would be a horrible mistake. There is always the possibility that the attempt would fail, that the Republican Convention would proceed ratings unhindered. But I suspect it’s likely that the Springsteen concert would be the bigger draw. What then? It would hardly represent the triumph of left over right, but rather of popular culture over politics. Debasing the latter might mean a short term win for the Dems, but wouldn’t help their causes in the long run.
Political strategy plays an integral part in effecting what gets done by whom. But at some point, there has to be a battle for the hearts and minds of the public. As nationally organized, however, the Democrats seem unwilling or structurally unable to engage that battle. The minority party mindset clings too tenaciously.
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