Less Bayh, More Rock*

Rocking Liberally Sound of Change

I don't know about you, but in the Living Liberally offices, the main topic of conversation all day has been Obama's running mate. A pattern emerges, gradually developing into a familiar cycle: the office is relatively quiet as we all work diligently on our given projects, until someone has some new rumor they just have to share ("ObamaSebelius.com seems to be owned by the Obama campaign!" "Joe Biden says he's 'not the guy'!"). Ecstatic to have a potential new lead, we pick it apart in a fever pitch of speculation, hope when considering some of the better options and dread when contemplating some of the worst, and then try futilely to settle back into our work...and all becomes quiet again. Until someone has a new rumor to share...

Yep, waiting can drive you crazy, something that Max Bernstein knows all too well - tired of the wait-and-see approach, he created the 100,000 Strong Against Evan Bayh for VP facebook group you might have heard about. However, even this didn't slake our thirst for any and all VP information.

Thankfully, Max gave us even more material.

In addition to being a great blogger, Max is the frontman of the progressive blogosphere's first messaging band - Max And The Marginalized. Every week they post a new power-pop and punk-infused anthem, a genuinely good song that covers the left-leaning perspective on the issues of the day with a turnaround time that a traditional protest record could only dream to achieve. And this time, Max has written a tune, Vultures and Hawks, that addresses perhaps the biggest anxiety a lot of us have about the VP pick - rewarding past failures (e.g. failing to stand up to war with Iraq and Iran) to a promotion upwards, all under the guise that being wrong was somehow, well...let's let Max sum it up:

I'm open to suggestions, we'll I'd like to think I am
Frankly for the life of me I just can't understand
Why they're out in Indiana, looking near and far
To hire a mechanic among the folks who wrecked the car

Wrong, oh wrong, it rhymes with strong, and that's all right for just a song
After that it makes no sense to me.

Now, even when we're not talking about the VP selection, we can hum about it - thanks, Max!

Title admittedly inspired by/stolen from Jon Pincus.