Power Ballots

Photograph by Ben Alsop

It's also clear that Obama has energized pockets of the musical community that have previously been largely silent on political issues. "I do believe if Obama is the nominee," says Wilcox, "the potential for significant and enduring involvement among performers who have not yet participated is greatly enhanced." But whether their participation will make a difference on Election Day is far less clear.

"The evidence suggests voters don't necessarily trust the credibility of celebrities to tell them how to think big, important thoughts," says Rob Stutzman, former adviser to Mitt Romney's campaign and former communications director for California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. "No matter how star-crazed we are, when it comes to the issues we vote about, people usually vote for candidates or on issues that affect their life. [Stars] are people who don't have lives like ours."

To illustrate his point, Stutzman recalls an Eagles concert he went to a year ago. "At one point, Don Henley goes into a rant, and you so much want to go, 'Just shut up and sing, dude!' It's easy to go into an 'impeach Bush' rant onstage before you go backstage and hang out with your groupies all night."

David Crosby, who has been active for liberal causes since the 1960s and during Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's 2006 Freedom of Speech tour frequently called for Bush's ouster, says such criticism of artist-activists has grown louder in recent years. "It's just an easy way to dismiss us," he says. " 'Those rock stars! Why can't they be happy with their money?' Well, we feel the president deserves to be impeached."

Dawn contends that the dismissive attitude toward celebrity activism amounts to little more than Republican sour grapes. "There's a lot of vitriol coming from the far right wing directed at artists, because they understand artists and creativity are a very powerful resource. Since they're lacking in both, they criticize it."

Todd Park Mohr, frontman for Big Head Todd and the Monsters, who have played a couple of events for Hillary Clinton and whose track "Blue Sky" became a theme song for her campaign, has been able to put subsequent criticism into perspective. "It's more disagreement over what we're supporting as opposed to the idea of artists getting involved," Mohr says. "People who criticize you for getting involved don't criticize artists who support their views."

Regardless, there's no doubt the attacks on artist-activists have some impact. Harmer says the response to Death Cab's Vote for Change appearances was largely positive, but not entirely. "One kid sent all our CDs back to us smashed, cracked, and scratched with a note that said, 'How could you do this?' " he says. "He felt really betrayed, like it wasn't our place to take any political stance."