Not all Texans swear allegiance to George W. Bush and Rick Perry. If you look hard enough, you can find lonely dissenters in the Lone Star State.
One of the cleverest and most outspoken is Bill Oliver, a folk singer and environmental activist who lives in Austin. I first encountered Oliver and his sometime partner Glen Waldeck back in 1989, when they entertained the Sierra Club National Assembly. I was so impressed that I profiled them in Time magazine, calling them "troubadours for Mother Nature." More than two decades later, Oliver remains one of the planet's staunchest defenders, but it's election season now and Oliver and his Otter [sic] Space Band (all Texans) are focused on politics. His two newest recordings, "It's Obama's Fault" and "Mitt Romney, the Candidate Nobody Wanted (Woof, Woof!)" are Oliver at his best: wacky, wicked and on target. Here are a few slightly rearranged lyrical excerpts:
It's Obama's fault...the rich are getting richer
It's Obama's fault...there's illegals in your yard
It's Obama's fault...that Japanese tsunami
It's Obama's fault...lesbians are in the army
It's Obama's fault...you've got issues with your Mommy
It's all Obama's fault.
Where would we be today without this guy to blame?
He won a Nobel Peace Prize, but he's got a funny name.
It's Obama's fault...EPA has regulations
It's Obama's fault...global warming's not a hoax.
It's Obama's fault...the climate keeps a-changing
It's Obama's fault...that Congress isn't working
It's Obama's fault...it's not a perfect world.
It's all Obama's fault.
Where would we be today without this guy to blame?
It's more fun to be the party blocking all this hope and change.
Check out Oliver's website and enjoy the music videos.
http://www.billolivermusic.com/