The Boss fancies himself rock's answer to Rachel Maddow.
Shudder...
Bruce Springsteen has gone the full MS NOW in recent years. He routinely weighs in on politics, turns tours into DNC gatherings and even did a podcast, oh so briefly, with former President Barack Obama.
Through it all, Springsteen kept the messaging on target. Trump bad. Very, very bad.
That's both predictable and fine. Nothing he's said in recent years has been eye-opening or novel. It's just progressive talking points in a husky, New Jersey drawl. He's not trying to change hearts and/or minds but preach to his choir.
That just changed with his unexpected endorsement. The Boss threw his celebrity clout behind Abdul El-Sayed. What does the Michigan Democrat have to do with New Jersey, the singer's beloved home state?
Nothing.
His campaign has everything to do with control of the Senate, and Springsteen put that above all else, apparently. He used his Instagram account to ask fans to pull the lever for El-Sayed.
Dr. El-Sayed is a fighter for our American Constitution, he’s a fighter for our American Democracy, and he’s a fighter against the corrupt, lawless, and anti-American leadership currently in the White House. That’s why I’m in his corner 100%.
One hundred percent, you say? There's an equal chance that statement will come back to haunt him.
Here's why The Boss' move isn't just a political miscalculation, even if El-Sayed defeats Mike Rogers this week. Springsteen's past statements have been more general in nature. He's a progressive who promotes Democrats, by and large.
In a normal year, that's fine. This isn't a normal year, and El-Sayed isn't your garden-variety Democrat.
He's a DSA-aligned radical, for starters, even if he won't admit it. He's virulently anti-cop, which on paper should clash with Springsteen's blue-collar bona fides. He doesn't mind if little girls see boy's genitals in a locker room.
Hey, they'll see worse online. That's his actual argument. Worst of all, El-Sayed's views on Israel and Jews in general are deeply disturbing on the very best of days.
He has few of those.
Why would Springsteen wait until the very last minute to Instagram-push this radical's campaign? Panic is partly the answer. The Left sees their chances of winning back the Senate slipping with every disastrous El-Sayed interview and Democrat disavowal.
To be fair, the latter constitutes a pretty small crowd, most notably Michigan's own Haley Stevens.
She had far more courage than Springsteen, and she'll pay a hefty price for it. Will Springsteen suffer from Jewish fans who find his new endorsement a bridge too far?
Even liberal Boss fans may be taken about by the craven nature of his latest political statement. One thing is clear. In an age when celebrity endorsements often backfire more than they help, his Instagram post won't move the needle.
The El-Sayed endorsement makes one thing crystal clear. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer would have easily done the same for Captain Nazi Tattoo if he hadn't dropped out a few months back.
