WorldNetDaily blunders in late to the Obama-Decemberists party, in the form of a May 27 article by Jerome Corsi that begins: “A hip rock band that features the Soviet national anthem and communist-inspired lyrics was on stage to open for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama at his record-breaking Portland, Ore., rally that attracted 75,000.”
We suspect that Corsi has never heard of the Decemberists before this mini-controversy erupted and wouldn’t know a “hip rock band” if one walked up to him and gave him a Masonic handshake.
Corsi rehashes Robert Knight’s errant assertion that people at a Portland rally at which the Decemberists played before an Obama speech were there to see the band, not Obama. Corsi counters the claim that the band is “a relatively unknown independent folk-rock group that plays small clubs at local Portland nightclubs” by noting that “the band has appeared on national television.”
Corsi also went on to play WND’s favorite game, guilt by association, asserting that “What remains undisputed is the group’s pro-communist image” and noting the band’s “unfinished song with communist-style lyrics” endorsing Obama (though Corsi never explains what “communist-style lyrics” are supposed to be).
Shouldn’t a writer who criticizes a band’s music have actually listened to that band before issuing his criticism? Corsi shows no evidence that he has — or that he has ventured beyond conservative blogs for the information he threw in his article.