ADVERTISEMENT

Exclusive Performances

Watch live, in-studio performances.

Blogroll

John Rich May Have Put Political Foot in Mouth

John Rich is trying to convince voters that not all celebrities are liberals. An outspoken Republican, Rich told a Florida audience last week that he believes the Man in Black would be on his political side.

"Somebody's got to walk the line in the country. They've got to walk it unapologetically," Rich told the crowd before breaking into a cover of Cash's 'Walk the Line.' "And I'm sure Johnny Cash would have been a John McCain supporter if he was still around."

But the Washington Post reports that Cash was an outspoken supporter of Democrat Jimmy Carter. Cash was also known to support many Democratic causes.

Additionally, Rich's duo partner, Big Kenny, has endorsed and contributed money to Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's campaign.

Rich has also changed his own tune, as he formerly endorsed Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson for the GOP nomination this year. He called Thompson the "only true conservative" in the 2008 Republican primary. But after Thompson dropped out of the race, Rich joined the McCain camp, even writing a song, 'Raisin' McCain,' for the Arizona Senator's campaign.

Add a Comment

*0 / 3000 Character Maximum

90 Comments

Filter by:
GHR HVAC

I elieve Johnny Cash would also. He would look at the Democrat and say 'Darling this man ain't right in the head'.
Currently Obama/Biden make a ton of cash from wall street and the Hollywood wealthiest in donations.
And who are we bailing out the same wealthies class of snobs and leeches.

October 05 2008 at 5:23 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
alisharan1

Hey don't knock all of Big and Rich Big Kenny is supporting Democrats!

August 20 2008 at 1:35 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
kim

Of course Johnny was a suppourter of the Carter campaign. He was June's distant cousin. Johnny never walked the straight and narrow anyhow. He always looked at the issues. As any well informed voter should do!

August 11 2008 at 2:48 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Rene

Linda Laird, why are you attempting to stir up trouble with your propaganda??

A) You couldn't get a direct quote from any family members or business or political associates...you had to state a generalized comment about something the Washington Post once said and pass it off as authentic information.

B) A Republican supporting a Republican even though his true pick was not nominated is not "changing his tune". You want to not count every Hillary supporter's vote for Obama on election day?

C) John Rich knew Johnny Cash and you didn't, so if anyone has a better idea of what Johnny would say or do, I think J.R. is more credible.

D) You didn't elaborate on what "Democratic issues" Cash supported, which leads me to believe 1) you don't even know what those issues are or 2)they were more than likely issues that conservatives backed as well!

E) 75% of everyone that backed Jimmy Carter back in 1976 backed him because he claimed to be a born-again Christian, and that struck a huge chord with people like Cash and my own parents. Since Jimmy had a failed presidency, and has acted like he needs the penthouse suite of a looney-bin ever since, people like Cash and my parents started voting REPUBLICAN! I know my parents today would HATE IT if anyone based their political beliefs on who they voted for in 1976!!!!

F) Still don't get your headline. His comments were not followed up with boos from the audience or fans coming out by the droves to burn his CDs.

G) I couldn't speculate as to if Cash would've been happy over McCain's nomination...but I can bet he would never back a Socialist/borderline Communist with little experience, refusal to cooperate with answering questions, and incredibly shady political/personal ties for President! Cash was for Freedom of Speech..something Obama seems to have a little trouble with--alot like Hitler did when he was a first-time candidate for president.

H)Where do I apply to get YOUR JOB! The qualifications seem awfully easy.

August 10 2008 at 6:04 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Melabbo

John Rich is retarded. After Gone Country, do we really need to say anything else? I don't own a single Big and Rich album and never will. They suck.

August 10 2008 at 5:42 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Ric



Hmmm.....I guess the firestorm of vilification that has chased Natalie Maines around (who spoke out against the President, not the country.....it's a scary world when the two are confused) was just a dream. Or better yet, a fabrication by the Democrats to make conservatives look bad.

August 07 2008 at 8:02 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Fred

Carter, for all his faults did set ANWAR asside for DRILLING. THe bonehead liberals of today would love to herd us all into tightly packed cities and control our every movement. Cheap energy is the lifesblood of our freedom. We need to Drill Here Drill Now Pay Less.

August 07 2008 at 5:54 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
joey

Wrong. As we can see with the current Republicant party, most of it is gay. Ever heard of Senator Widestance?

August 07 2008 at 5:43 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
MrDoughnut

Jimmi Henrix had it right.
Bob Dylan had it right.
Jim Morrison had it right.
Bruce Springsteen had it right.
Johnny Cash had it right
Obama had it right

John Rich got it wrong.
John McCain got it wrong.
Outsourcing is just plain crooked!

August 07 2008 at 5:21 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
EarlyBird

I knew there was some reason I didn't like this smug know-it-all! Never bought any of Rich's songs before (didn't like them - too "pop") and certainly never will now. They're not good enough to overcome his outspoken conservatism, especially after the hell this country has been put through the past 8 years!!

August 07 2008 at 5:16 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply