Chicks Vote and Rock and Stuff!

The Dixie Chicks have made a clever political move, buying, I mean supporting their own section of the Rock the Vote site and starting a registration and education campaign called “Chicks Rock, Chicks Vote!” (of course the Chicks don’t exactly “rock,” but “Chicks Pop, Chicks Vote!” doesn’t have the same ring). What this does is allow them to say things like this in a new context:

Dixie Chick Martie Maguire says the group’s efforts with Rock The Vote aim to encourage respect and tolerance for differing political opinions. “We don’t have any agenda with our appearing with Rock The Vote,” Maguire said. “We were raised to have political conversations around the dinner table and my mother, she’s very conservative and I love her no matter what and I respect her opinions and that’s how I am with my friends too. So I think that’s what we want to get out there to young people is that you don’t have to agree on everything, you respect other people’s opinions.”

Coming under fire earlier this year for voicing her own political beliefs, lead singer Natalie Maines says she felt more compelled to encourage free speech as a parent to son Slade. “What gave us the courage to speak out was just thinking about us as parents,” Maines said. “When our kids grow up and they’re gonna know about all of this and what happened, and I had to think about supporting what I was going to tell Slade when he gets older about speaking out and being himself and not letting anyone silence him.” [Launch]

Um, sure Natalie, that was utterly incoherent, but Martie’s point is well taken: “respect our opinions, stop being mad at us, buy our records, come to our concerts and play us on the radio. Oh yeah – vote.”

The press release says:

Chicks Rock, Chicks Vote! is part of a broad Rock the Vote strategy to make voter registration ubiquitous on the web in the run-up to the 2004 presidential election. Rock the Vote’s new online tool, unveiled with the tag line, “Print it and sign it, lick it and mail it,” brings voter registration directly to young people on the web and makes it downright cool.

It’s downright cool! Chicks lick it and stick it! In the mail, I mean.

Chicks Rock, Chicks Vote! will target young women because, like all young people, they are less likely to vote than older women. In making the announcement, the Dixie Chicks said, “It is important for young people to know they have the power to Rock the Vote. Only 36% of Americans between the ages of 18-24 voted in the last presidential election. We are involved with Rock the Vote because they are a great avenue for bringing awareness to the issues and getting people to register to vote.”

They added, “We also hope this helps you forget all the stupid stuff Natalie said and the fact that she is short and squatty and has secret fantasies about Islamist militants.” But I’m the only one who heard that part.