If You Haven’t Yet, Please Vote Today.

Don’t be Paul Stanley….

“You wanted the best, you got…HUH?!”

On November 5th, 1996, two gaudy spectacles clashed head-on: Election Day, and the original lineup of KISS – kabuki makeup, platform boots, and all – at Austin's Frank Erwin Center. One had real-world stakes. The other? Well, let's just say I wish I'd snuck a tape recorder in for Paul Stanley’s hilariously clueless commentary on voting.

I rarely attended shows at the Erwin Center. For one thing, it’s an arena. For another, it was named for a conservative member of the UT Board of Regents who bore a notorious hard-on for hippies and the counterculture. He fought ceaselessly against Students for a Democratic Society, Young Socialist Alliance, and any sort of activist groups or protests, fired “unpatriotic” university professors, and frequently stood by shouting into a bullhorn as student protestors were led off by Austin Police. He’d have hated what happened in the facility named for him that night. This made the event irresistible.

Besides, it was KISS! This was gonna be FUN!

Paul’s between-song announcements were so perfectly Spinal Tap, they’d have made that Venom Live At City Gardens, NJ bootleg — released by Thurston Moore on his Ecstatic Peace Records label, consisting of nothing but singer Chronos’ inadvertent onstage comedy — sound like War and Peace. But the funniest thing Paul uttered that night, in his insanely shrieky falsetto, was:

“So, today’s Election Day – so what?! I don’t care about politics, unless they try to take away my gun…MY ‘LOVE GUN!!!’”

Please let me pause long enough to laugh my ass off at this memory. Paul was clearly oblivious to the real implications of that day’s election. That’s exactly what I hope you, my readers, won’t do today.

Fast forward to 2000, and I wish I'd cared more, too. In the one presidential race I sat out voluntarily (as opposed to being locked out over ID issues and residency requirements, as I have from 2012 until this year, as detailed in my Kamala Harris endorsement from last week), I made the mistake of thinking my vote didn’t matter. But as I learned, the hard way, it’s exactly when we check out that the stakes grow higher.

In an email last week, longtime Friend Of The ‘Stack Jello Biafra reminded me that I, like many, unfairly blamed Ralph Nader for The White House going to Bush in 2000. Just like the Trump supporter who corrected me on Charlottesville was a reminder that accuracy doesn’t depend on political leanings. Thanks for keeping me sharp, Jello.

“Blaming Nader for Gore and Lieberman giving away 2000 is PURE BULLSHIT!” he wrote, emphasizing that Al Gore’s lack of youth support, partly thanks to then-wife Tipper’s musical censorship crusades back in the '80s, hurt more than Nader’s third party candidacy ever did.

I thanked Jello in my reply “for reminding me why I did not vote for Tipper's husband that year. That was the only election I ever voluntarily sat out, because I liked NONE of the candidates. I regretted that decision, once I saw in action how wrong I was in thinking they were all lame, and my vote wouldn't count that year. Once I saw the damage I did in sitting out that election, I vowed to never again be so irresponsible, and ALWAYS vote thereafter.

“Mind you, my observations do tell me that third party candidates have come close, but will unfortunately never have a chance to make it into The White House. Local elections? Yes. But those two damned parties have the national race sewn up so that no one who isn't a Democrat or a Republican will ever win. Nader made a dent, however, and a significant one. But you reminded me that Gore had enough votes to successfully contest the election, and he didn't. Even without Nader's numbers, Gore could have gotten in.” 

Biafra recommends we all give a listen again to the track “If You Like Tipper, You’ll Love….”, from his spoken word record Become The Media,  for more details, as well as Greg Palast’s The Best Democracy Money Can Buy. 

For some readers, my Harris endorsement was a dealbreaker. About ten former subscribers ditched The 'Stack – but thankfully, ten new ones joined, including paying subscribers making up the lost revenue! If anything, that tells me these issues matter.

If Trump returns, it won’t be like last time, when some guardrails held him back. This time, he’s surrounded by loyalists ready to silence dissent – from writers to watchdogs. Democracy itself is on the ballot today, and I don’t think that’s overstating it. Bringing back Trump would mean I couldn’t write about what I want. You wouldn’t be free to listen to Biafra’s spoken word routine about the 2000 election, or watch Palast’s documentary. Trump is not kidding about the fatwa he is swearing against the press and his enemies if he’s ushered back into The White House.

I know. Maybe I am starting to sound like a professional nag here, beating that same message over everyone’s heads like I’m Keith Moon and you’re my latest set of Premieres. I’ve done my part. I straightened out every obstacle towards me performing my civic duty and voting for the best possible candidates, in my opinion. I voted for Harris-Walz last Tuesday. I have now urged you, my readers, to do the same — twice. I’m just as anxious as anyone to prevent a rerun of Trump’s previous term, but even more destructive. He had some people last time telling him, “Sir, you cannot DO THAT!”  He won’t this time around, if he’s given another chance.

I do feel the Harris-Walz ticket will win, but by a very slim margin. The problem is, Trump will not concede. Nor will his base. They will violently react. We will see a rerun of January 6th. Hopefully, the U.S. Capitol building will be better fortified against the coming attack than it was in 2021.

So please, if you haven’t already, get out there and vote today. And let’s hope Paul Stanley’s given a little more thought to this Election Day than he did back in ’96.

P.S. — Let’s remember the words of Lenny Bruce: “Take away the right to say ‘fuck’ and you take away the right to say ‘fuck the government.”

Standing For Democracy, Dissent, and Punk Rock

Dear Reader, thank you for sticking with me – especially today. Writing honestly about voting and the stakes of this election has come with a cost: Ten readers, including some paying subscribers, chose to part ways after my recent political posts. In a month where my hours have dropped at the Day Job, that $109.25 lost hits harder than usual. But like punk itself, this space is about taking a stand, even when it’s uncomfortable or divisive. If we can’t call out the threats to democracy and press freedom now, then when?

To my relief, ten new subscribers joined last week, showing that what we’re building here does resonate – a real community that cares about music, truth, and independence.

And this is where I need you: if you find value in these posts and believe in keeping punk journalism honest and uncompromising, consider joining as a paying subscriber. As a thank you, I’m offering a November Subscription Special of 20% off for life, for new or upgraded subscriptions. Every bit of your support goes directly to this work, helping cover the essentials, so I can keep writing without watering down or hedging bets.

Thank you for being here, and for caring enough to vote with your time, your energy, and your heart.

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