Willie Nelson upsets fans with plans to perform at Beto O'Rourke rally
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Country music legend Willie Nelson has enraged some of his most conservative fans by announcing plans to play at a huge rally on behalf of Beto O’Rourke, the Democratic insurgent threatening an election upset in Texas.
The 85-year-old star will headline a free outdoor show in Austin, Texas , in support of the Democrat who is pushing to unseat the Republican senator Ted Cruz in November’s midterms.
“My wife Annie and I have met and spoken with Beto and we share his concern for the direction things are headed,” Nelson said in a press release announcing the event, which his publicist suggested was his first-ever rally on behalf of a politician.
“Beto embodies what is special about Texas, an energy and an integrity that is completely genuine.”
The move seems to have surprised and upset some of Nelson’s fans – even though he has a long record as an activist on a range of liberal issues.
One Texan wrote on Twitter : “Someone buy my Willie Nelson ticket for Friday, November 16. I am no longer willing to watch that hippie guitarist who supports that damn socialist running for Senate.”
A woman wrote on Nelson’s Facebook page: “Just cause you can write a song, sing a song, play a guitar and smoke weed – doesn’t mean you know what’s right for this state!!! Entertainers should stay out of politics & stick to entertaining.”
Another disgruntled fan said: “You should stay out of politics. I’m a lifelong fan this is not a smart move.”
That fan was quickly shot down by a Nelson supporter, who replied: “Lifelong fan unaware of Willie’s decades of political activism.”
From campaigning to legalize marijuana to supporting the LGBT movement, Nelson has scarcely hidden his progressive credentials during his long career.
As well as being co-chair of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, Nelson was a critic of the Iraq war, an advocate of biofuels and a supporter of animal rights campaigns.
O’Rourke, who was once a member of a punk rock band , joined Nelson on stage at the singer’s Fourth of July picnic , playing guitar and singing harmony on songs including Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die.
O’Rourke has been accused by Cruz of running from the “hard, hard left like Bernie Sanders”. But Cruz, who was the last man standing against Donald Trump in the 2016 race for the Republican presidential nomination, is feeling the heat. A rash of summer headlines have asked whether he is facing an upset defeat. Latest polling suggests his lead is down to 3.2%.
Last week the New York Times reported that Trump’s budget chief, Mick Mulvaney, had told donors Cruz could lose because he is not “likable” enough.
More than 20,000 people have already signed up for Nelson’s outdoor show in support of O’Rourke, which will be staged at Austin’s Auditorium Shores on 29 September.
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This story is fascinating because it spotlights the way some people "think".
Some people do not actually hear , most of the time. They know what the other person must be saying. They imagine that the other person is saying that... regardless of what that other person is actually saying.
When many NTers say something like "So what you're saying is..." followed by nonsense that has nothing whatsoever to do with what was actually said... they may not realize that they are travestying the truth.
Willie Nelson sings C&W... and is very good. People know what a C&W singer's words must be, and therefore what Willie Nelson's words must be. The fact that Willie has been singing about progressive causes for decades has never registered in these people's "brains" because they knew what he must be singing.
And now, they genuinely feel betrayed because Willie is singing things that a C&W singer cannot be singing... just as he always has...
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Until now I never realized how very much MJ affects a person's intelligence.
Willie is 85, and still leading his family band.
I'd like to have a ton of whatever he's smoking...
" Researchers examined children's IQ scores at age 8 and again at age 15, and found "no relationship between cannabis use and lower IQ at age 15," when confounding factors - alcohol use, cigarette use, maternal education, and others - were taken into account. Even heavy marijuana use wasn't associated with IQ."
Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be goppers...