Power Ballots

Photograph by Ben Alsop

Stutzman agrees, but says some of the practical stumbling blocks standing between Republicans and the entertainment community are imposing. "There's no question of the benefit, particularly if you find younger artists across different genres sympathetic to Republican causes. We cover it in country music, but beyond that, it gets thinner. You need people who are involved in the arts to build those relationships and the Republican Party as an entity is just not equipped to deal with that."

In 1946, George Orwell wrote, "In our age there is no such thing as 'keeping out of politics.' All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred, and schizophrenia."

Sixty-two years later, things don't look a hell of a lot different, so it's hardly a surprise that musicians continue to throw themselves into political causes with what sometimes seems like reckless abandon. Plenty open their mouths in support of candidates or causes without thinking too hard about what they're going to say. Some endorse candidates they later come to regret. Their presence is often an attraction, sometimes a distraction, and frequently, a bit of both. But here's something to consider: Unlike an oil executive or a pharmaceutical industry lobbyist, will.i.am is not really expecting favorable deregulation or a tax break from Obama if he helps him get elected. At worst, most artists are angling for little more than a cool photo op (or maybe, in some administrations, an overnight in the Lincoln Bedroom) and a chance to feel good about themselves, which makes their hands a lot cleaner than just about everyone else's in politics.

It doesn't really matter anyway. Regardless of whether they're viewed as thoughtful, effective advocates or ditzy, distracting dilettantes, musicians won't be untangling themselves from politics anytime soon. This isn't an insightful prediction for the future, just a close reading of the past.

As David Crosby puts it, "There's a tradition thousands of years old of us being troubadours and town criers. That's part of our job. We're not going to shut up."