Introducing the Chuckie Watch

One of the things I plan to do here regularly is the Chuckie Watch.   This will be a commentary on the ravings of the country singer CHARLIE DANIELS, which he posts regularly in his Soapbox at his Web site.

I capitalize his name because he is known for writing e-mails in all caps.  Which fits, because he's basically a loudmouth blowhard.

So why would I want to write about him?  For one thing, Chuckie seems to picture himself as a Nashville political guru, especially for determining what's Patriotically Correct. 

For another, Chuckie's Soapbox rants show one stage of how rightwing ideas get dissiminated, from the superficially respectable forums like Fox News and the American Enterprise Institute and the *Weekly Standard* through the Rush Limbaughs and his many clones on hate radio to the kind that you find tossed in your face, usually by people who should know better.

Of course, Rush and Chuckie and the rest of that crowd don't represent regular folks.  They represent a nasty minority who spew rightwing fantasies over the airwaves and the Internet.

If the Republicans want to try to make country music a partisan affair, as they did with the ludicrous campaign against the Dixie Chicks, regular country fans certainly don't have to sit still for it.  Chuckie may think that Enron Republicanism and mindless jingoism represents the spirit of country music.  But anyone who loves the music of Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family and the many others who gave birth to this form of music will find that hard to accept.

First installment: Chuckie and the Muslims

- Posted by Bruce Miller

Tags: charlie daniels, charlie daniels soapbox, chuckie, chuckie watch