Didn't it seem a little odd that the Dixie Chicks' latest album would hit number one in its debut week when their overall sales have hit the skids? I mean, they are (or were) a country music group and country music fans have pretty much left them behind since they not only insulted the President on foreign soil in a time of war but have completely dissed their old fan base at every opportunity. Something didn't add up in my mind.

Lorie Byrd writes this morning what I had suspected about this as well as some advice for Democrat politicians:

"The new Chicks CD sold well the first couple of weeks, topping the charts. It is hard to imagine with the cover of Time Magazine, a 60 Minutes feature and an avalanche of favorable media, that the CD would not be a top seller. I recently heard Democratic Congressman Harold Ford, Jr. say he went out and bought a copy the first week.

I suspect that many who never would have paid a dime to listen to the Dixie Chicks when they were a kitschy country band, went out and purchased a copy as a political statement.

Although sales the first week put the CD at the top of the charts, compared to the previous Dixie Chicks CD, sales were down considerably. Concert ticket sales in some venues have been so slow that some shows may even be cancelled.

The example of the Dixie ChicksÂ’ rejection by many country music fans is one that carries a lesson those marketing any product would do well to heed. It easily translates from musicians and fans to politicians and voters, too. When politicians treat voters as ignorant and backward for not accepting their position on an issue, the voters are likely to go elsewhere."

UPDATE: 11:15am
Then again, if Natalie Maines can't understand the NYC subway system, how can we expect this dim bulb to understand her fans?

h/t: HotAir.com

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1 Guess she can't read a subway map...nor can she ask directions. I rather doubt many New Yorkers would know her by sight, so she doesn't have to worry about being mobbed!

Posted by: Pam at June 23, 2006 08:56 PM (OdalM)

2 Odd? Not at all. Most people are only fooled once. After buying the Dixie Twits CD, they realized how awful the dixie twits sound musically...hence the slump in concert ticket sales. ----------------------------------- Didn't it seem a little odd that the Dixie Chicks' latest album would hit number one in its debut week when their overall sales have hit the skids?

Posted by: Skye at June 25, 2006 10:07 AM (bZ0mc)

3 Steve Johnson of Chicago Tribune said it's proof that far more people than you would think still can't handle the idea of a strong-minded woman. I say people can handle strong-minded women. It is the dumb ones who keep on talking people cannot handle.

Posted by: Tess at June 26, 2006 02:49 AM (ZSAtj)

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Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's relentless (and fruitless) pursuit of a well-photographed "frog march" for Karl Rove fizzled (or should I say, "Fitz-led"). The primary reason - his case is bullshit, always has been. The editors of OpinionJournal.com put it plainly:

"In the end, it seems Mr. Fitzgerald was trying to trap Mr. Rove over the minor matter of his failure to remember a conversation with Time reporter Matthew Cooper. But Mr. Rove is the one who later volunteered information about the conversation to Mr. Fitzgerald, after a check of White House records reminded him of it. A perjury or obstruction accusation based on that inconsequential discrepancy would have been prosecutorial misconduct.

The Rove decision also finally discredits the accusation that there was some grand White House conspiracy to smear Mr. Wilson. Mr. Fitzgerald has brought no charges concerning the original leak, which means there was no underlying crime. His entire case--and this entire "scandal"--has been distilled to charges of perjury and obstruction against one man, former Vice Presidential Chief of Staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

And that one case comes down to nothing more than the fact that Mr. Libby's memory of conversations with three reporters differs from that of the reporters themselves. Think we're exaggerating? Here's how the judge in the case, Reggie B. Walton, summarized it in a recent ruling on evidence: "The charges against the defendant are based entirely [our emphasis] upon what the defendant has said was discussed during his conversations with these news reporters."

The image of Fitzgerald as a partisan (and incompetent) hack will be reinforced in the minds of anyone who does not refer to the President as Chimpy McHitler on a regular basis. And the lump of Fitzmas coal left yesterday in the Left's stocking will morph into a dry, stale turd.

And - once again - I will giggle myself silly.

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The unhinged Left's public enemy number one cleared of any charges in the Plame affair despite numerous fishing expeditions and repeated testimony...CHECK!

The unhinged Left looks utterly stupid having staked their future on this bullshit investigation that isn't...CHECK!

A big old lump of coal in the unhinged Left's Fitzmas stocking and a nice big flaming bag of poo on their doorstep...CHECK and MATE!

Nice try, moonbats!

Time to focus all of Rove's mojo on the November elections...free of distractions.

"Now, witness the firepower of this fully-armed and operational battle station!!!"

DNC Chair Howard Dean, the King Of Reynolds Wrap himself, took it in stride this morning:

"...this is probably good news for the White House, but its not very good news for America..."

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Markos Moulitsas Zuniga (aka Kos) is now 0-20 for candidates he and his band of Lefty nutcases have backed thanks to Brian Bilbray's win in the CA-50 Congressional race yesterday. Moonbats are still consoling themselves with the fact that the margin was only 4.5%. That's all well and good but the fact remains that Democrat candidate Francine Busby still LOST.

The folks at RedState put into context what this really means as a precursor to the Fall elections:

"Let's do a recap, shall we? Bush's approval numbers are in the 30s. These "generic Congressional ballot" numbers that we see trumpeted give Democrats wide double-digit leads. And here's the most important part:

The Democrats are running this fall on a "culture of corruption" strategy. This special election was to replace a guy who's currently sitting in jail, who had a BRIBE MENU for goodness' sake. Early in the night, the NBC affiliate in San Diego showed a clip of Busby with her supporters, and in a statement that was (apparently) in response to a question about a hypothetical situation in which she would achieve victory the way it is defined everywhere but the left side of the blogosphere, she said, "Anyone who writes this off as 'This is just because of Cunningham' is wrong." I thought to myself then, yeah, but what does it mean if she loses? Right now, the only question I have about the "culture of corruption" strategy is whether we can convince the Donks to keep it.

After all, another string of victories like this would apparently suit both sides just fine."

UPDATE: 3:10pm
Bob Novak weighes in:

"For all the hype and the money spent on the race between former Rep. Brian Bilbray (R) and Francine Busby (D), Busby, in her loss to Bilbray, failed to exceed significantly the percentage won here by John Kerry in 2004. This is significant, because although she will have another shot at Bilbray in November, the turnout should have favored her yesterday, since Republicans had no other races to drive their turnout and Democrats had a gubernatorial primary.

The outcome proves that even with corrupt former Republican Rep. Duke Cunningham’s name fresh in the news, low turnout, a weak candidate like Bilbray and dissension within the GOP ranks (that led to negative Republican campaigning against Bilbray), Democrats cannot win here. Even here, where it should have mattered most, the “culture of corruption” mantra wasn’t enough to convince voters to pull the Democratic lever."

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The National College Republicans came up with an idea to comment on the whole "global warming" scare and have a little fun in the process.

"Freeze out cataclysmic environmental scare tactics with a little humor. The Oklahoma University College Republicans gave out free snow cones to students for an event they called "Global Cooling Day."

Stage an event like this one to grab the attention of your campus and raise awareness on the real facts of the global warming phenomenon. Engage with students and debunk some of the myths and cool the hyperbole surrounding the issue.

OU CRs simultaneously used the event to promote their first meeting, sign-up members, and sell CR shirts. A tent and tables were set up at the busiest spot on campus, and OU CRs gave away nearly 1,000 snow cones each day.

Prior to your "Global Cooling Day" event, arm your College Republican chapter with solid talking points on the issue, and then kick-back and enjoy the sun. The facts are on your side...

...Consider staging a similar event on your campus--but make it a beach party instead. Kiddie pools, sand, bikinis--you get the idea."

"As more and more experts continue to confirm the harmful effects of global warming, the College Republican National Committee is urging its membership to mock the threat by throwing beach parties this summer. The College Republicans actions demonstrate the misplaced priorities and short-sightedness of the future of the Republican Party, according to the Democratic National Committee. As College Democrats continue to fight for issues that young Americans care about like an affordable college education, Republicans continue to push their out of touch agenda.

"The College Republicans' beach parties mocking global warming are just another example of the misplaced priorities and short- sightedness of the Republican Party," said College Democrats of America President Grant Woodard. "The College Republicans' ignorance toward the seriousness of global warming and climate change shows a Party more focused on partying than talking seriously about the issues facing young people across America. While College Republicans party on this summer, College Democrats will be knocking on doors, working to get Democrats elected nationwide. With young leadership like this, Republicans should prepare to get burned in the upcoming elections."

Who do you think will have the edge in influencing the youth vote? Hmmm.

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Peggy Noonan writes this morning in her WSJ column about a minor movement aimed at the 2008 Presidential Election. There's a new party a-brewin': Unity '08. The idea is that some moderate Democrats and moderate Republicans are trying to create a fusion ticket for President.

Noonan laments the current polarization of U.S. politics and bitter rancor that passes for the current level of partisanship. Could we be seeing the seismic shift in party affiliation that has failed so many times in the past, she wonders?

I'm inclined to think...nah. more...

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