First New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was rejected by Bruce Springsteen. Now another liberal musician has spurned the advances of a Republican politician-fan.
In a Rolling Stone editorial, Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello calls Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney's vice-presidential pick, the "embodiment of the machine that our music has been raging against."
The 42-year-old Ryan has touted his Rage fandom in the past, a curious choice given the Los Angeles band's ferocious advocacy for unions, immigrants and social justice.
Morello is clearly amused and perplexed at how deeply, in his opinion, Ryan has missed the point. "He can like whatever bands he wants, but his guiding vision of shifting revenue more radically to the one per cent is antithetical to the message of Rage," Morello wrote.
"I wonder what Ryan's favourite Rage song is? Is it the one where we condemn the genocide of Native Americans? The one lambasting American imperialism? Our cover of "F-the Police"? Or is it the one where we call on the people to seize the means of production? So many excellent choices to jam out to at Young Republican meetings!"
Ryan's Gen-X age could have allowed for some teenage dalliances with Rage while he was getting into Ayn Rand, and Ryan has claimed to like band's sound but purposefully tunes out their lyrics. Morello agrees that Ryan was probably "moshing when he should have been listening."
