American Voter, a Rock Opera

Pat Benatar has been rockin’ American politics since 1979

It’s the dog days of Summer, and with the heat here in the western end of the San Fernando Valley, I’m walking my dogs at midnight. In the deserted cul de sacs, I let them run free to get some exercise chasing the occasional rabbit, but I’m always on the look-out for skunks.

Some dogs just have a thing for skunks. They think they’re cats who refuse to play the game you’re supposed to play. So they get closer and closer, waiting for the chase to begin, and instead they get sprayed. If a dog is smart, it only happens once. And speaking of skunks, I’m reminded of Donald Trump and the election.

Firing up the best of Pat Benatar on my ancient iPod gave me an epiphany as I walked the dogs. Instead of cherry picking my favorite three songs, I put it on shuffle and I heard a song that made me think of the upcoming election. Then I heard a song that made me think about Bernie Sanders. And then I heard another one that should have been Obama’s campaign song in 2008. Then I heard one that made me think of Hillary, so I decided to see how many Pat Benatar songs could describe our political landscape for the last 25 years.

So, are you ready to take a trip down memory lane? Of course you are! There are 97 more days to be fearful, disgusted, apathetic and angry until election day puts us out of our misery (and if Herr Drumpf gets access to the nuclear codes, this may not be in a figurative sense).

So, without further ado, I give you the rock opera, “American Voter.”

Hell is For Children

(1993, Hillary pushes for the Children’s Health Insurance Program after she fails to get single payer health care passed. This will become one of her signature achievements and symbolic of a lifetime working for children. Written by future husband Neil Giraldo, bassist Roger Capps, and Benatar, this song has become an anthem for the fight to end child abuse.)

Painted Desert

(1998, Hillary suffers through the final years in the White House dealing with Bill’s dalliances and culminating in the Monica Lewinsky scandal. But she hangs in there, setting up her own political career in the years to come.)

I hear your heartbeat but you’re never there Like a mirage, you haunt me everywhere All day long I burn for you, lonely in the night I tried to live alone, but I just can’t get it right

Ya’ know that, this town’s like a painted desert Dead heat, movin’ in the city I’m lost in a painted desert In a Painted Desert without you

I’ve done some thinkin’, now that you’re not here I know your reasons, and they’re still not clear All I’m sure of is what I got to lose I tried to be a better loser, but it’s just no use…

Little Too Late

2006, after six years of lies, wars, budget busting tax cuts, the heartless non-response to Hurricane Katrina, and GOP sex scandals, Mark Foley’s sexual harassment of Congressional pages and the party cover-up effectively ends the Bush-Cheney reign of error. And the American voter sings:

It’s a little too little It’s a little too late I’m a little too hurt And there’s nothin’ left that I’ve gotta say You can cry to me baby But there’s only so much I can take Ah, it’s a little too little It’s a little too late

All Fired Up

2008, and one of the signature moments of the Obama campaign is his introduction by Edith Childs, a city council member from Greenwood, South Carolina who tells the crowd “Fire it up! Ready to go.” Obama’s story is awesome, but why on earth didn’t they ask Pat Benatar to use this as a campaign song?

Livin’ with my eyes closed, goin’ day to day I never knew the difference, I never cared either way Lookin’ for a reason, searchin’ for a sign Reachin’ out with both hands, I gotta feel the kick inside

All fired up (Now I believe there comes a time) All fired up (When everything just falls in line) All fired up (We live an’ learn from our mistakes) All fired up, fired up, fired up, hey

Ain’t nobody livin’ in a perfect world And everybody’s out there, cryin’ to be heard And now I got a new fire, burnin’ in my eyes Lightin’ up the darkness, movin’ like a meteorite

All fired up (Now I believe there comes a time) All fired up (When everything just falls in line) All fired up (We live an’ learn from our mistakes) All fired up, fired up, fired up

One Love

In those early days of Obama’s presidency, his decisions to bail out the auto industry and his personal inspiration kept the country from unraveling completely. We had hope. Change we can believe in. And the American Voter serenaded him:

Once there was a man, and he lived to sing the lions song As he traveled on road of hope One love is the light, shining over every mountain top It will lead us to the higher ground One day every heart will beat strong against the night Let it be done right now

Promises in the Dark (part one)

It’s 2012 and in spite of coming back from the brink of disaster, there is some disillusionment with Obama — caused in large part by the record breaking obstructionism of the GOP in Congress and the unending stream of right wing hate rhetoric — over not closing down Guantanamo, taking single payer health care off the table, and an economic recovery that’s left so many people behind. But damn that man can give a fine speech, and the American Voter hopes there will be some magic during the second term, despite the frustration:

Never again, isn’t that what you said? You’ve been through this before An’ you swore this time you’d think with your head No one, would ever have you again And if taking was gonna get done You’d decide where and when Just when you think you got it down Your heart securely tied and bound They whisper, promises in the dark

Heartbreaker

It’s 2015, and a “young” voice sweeps across the nation. Feel the Bern, motherf*ckers! The American Voter finds the incredible energy in the nation’s latest dream maker but hopes Bernie won’t disappoint us in the end.

Your love is like a tidal wave, spinning over my head Drownin’ me in your promises, better left unsaid You’re the right kind of dreamer, to release my inner fantasy The invincible winner, and you know that you were born to be

You’re a heartbreaker Dream maker, a love taker Don’t you mess around with me You’re a heartbreaker Dream maker, a love taker Don’t you mess around, no no no

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

Since the end of Bill Clinton’s presidency, Hillary has been the target of everyone. Sometimes, her mistakes make it easy for her opponents to take their shots, but let’s face it, no political figure (not even Obama and all the racist bullish*t he’s had to deal with) has been dumped on like Hillary. She’s been attacked non-stop by the right, by misogynists, by progressives, and even by young feminists who think she’s not a good enough feminist. But you got to give props to Clinton, because she keeps on going. And here’s her response to everyone, including the American Voter:

Love is a Battlefield

The 2016 primary wears on and all the signs are there. In spite of our love for Bernie, it just won’t be enough to beat Hillary Clinton. But that doesn’t mean we won’t hold on to the very end, hoping against hope, even though politics is as cruel as a battlefield:

We are young Heartache to heartache we stand No promises No demands Love is a battlefield

We are strong No one can tell us we’re wrong Searching our hearts for so long Both of us knowing Love is a battlefield

Promises in the Dark, part two

It’s the first day of the DNC. Bernie Sanders endorses Hillary Clinton over a chorus of boos at his rally in the morning. That night he gives a speech to honor his supporters, but they still feel anger and betrayal. The American Voter sings:

But promises, you know what they’re for It sounds so convincing, but you heard it before Cause talk is cheap and you gotta be sure And so you put up your guard And you try to be hard But your heart says try again

You desperately search for a way to conquer the fear No line of attack has been planned to fight back the tears Where brave and restless dreams are both won and lost On the edge is where it seems it’s well worth the cost Just when you think you got it down Your heart in pieces on the ground They whisper, promises in the… Dark

Shadows of the Night

The last day of the DNC, and Hillary gives her acceptance speech after incredible speeches by Michelle Obama, Bill Clinton, Joe Biden and Barack Obama to pass on the torch of democracy. The convention’s incredible production values, the stirring endorsement by General John Allen and the unforgettable moment when Khizr Khan cuts Donald Trump to pieces with a pocket version of the Constitution. Hillary gives her best, serenading the American Voter with that faint hope that somehow she’ll come through, in spite all of the shadows surrounding her career:

We’re running with the shadows of the night So baby take my hand, it’ll be all right Surrender all your dreams to me tonight They’ll come true in the end

Invincible

The first song I heard while walking the dogs. Herr Drumpf continues to say the most ignorant, heinous and potentially dangerous things any American politician has said since the end of slavery. The hits just keep coming… attacking John McCain, the Wall that Mexico will pay for, the Muslims in Jersey cheering while the twin towers came down, playing to the KKK, attacks on women, his love affair with Putin, banning Muslims, asking the Russians to find Hillary’s missing emails, attacking the Khans… There are so many, the lists keep getting replaced with new outrages. And the American Voter has to sing with Hillary in their opposition to a small-handed and even smaller-minded demagogue for the next 97 days:

This shattered dream you cannot justify. We’re gonna scream until we’re satisfied. What are we running for? We’ve got the right to be angry. What are we running for when there’s nowhere we can run to anymore? We can’t afford to be innocent stand up and face the enemy. It’s a do or die situation — we will be invincible. And with the power of conviction there is no sacrifice. It’s a do or die situation — we will be invincible.

Not too shabby for a woman who’s old enough to be a grandma.

And yeah, Pat Benatar, too!

Rock the Vote this year. It’s that important.