Debunking the "50 greatest conservative songs", part 2112 - RUSH

Get out you Bics and your concert T-shirts. Make sure that you go to the bathroom before the drum solo starts because we’re going to dig into the Rush songs that are on the countdown!

11. “The Trees” – Rush

NRO Take: Before there was Rush Limbaugh, there was Rush, a Canadian band whose lyrics are often libertarian. What happens in a forest when equal rights become equal outcomes? “The trees are all kept equal / By hatchet, axe, and saw.”

DL Take: So, I’m confused. Is his fascination with Rush because of his love for Rush Limbaugh? If you love him so much, why don’t you get married? Oh right, I forgot.

So really, the song isn’t necessarily a liberal tune but the way Miller describes it, it is not a song about equal rights. Isn’t that what he’s saying? I’m sorry, what point is he trying to make to justify this as a conservative song?

Anyway, I dug up some information about the song and here it is courtesy of Wiki:

Peart has been quoted as saying that the lyrics for this song were inspired by a cartoon, and that the song has no deep meaning; however it appears to be an allegory on socialism and trade-unionism. Peart has been known to draw inspiration from Ayn Rand, who was a proponent of free market philosophy, arguing that using regulation to try to "level the playing field" in business competition will only harm everyone by holding back the most successful producers.

So there you go. Peart says that it’s about a cartoon while some may argue that it’s about a free market society. Miller listens to it and dreams of Limbaugh.

22. “Red Barchetta” – Rush

NRO Take: In a time of “the Motor Law,” presumably legislated by green extremists, the singer describes family reunion and the thrill of driving a fast car — an act that is his “weekly crime.”

DL Take: I wonder if Miller knew that the song was inspired by a short story called, “A Nice Morning Drive” by Richard S. Foster? Probably not because as I have said before, research takes up time and if you’re a hack, research isn’t going to help you much. I also wonder if he knew that a Barchetta was a car built by Fiat? There I go again.

If you read the story, you will understand the song. The story takes place in the future after the government has placed safety regulations in effect for cars, which basically renders older cars, “unsafe” for travel. One particular line in the story talks about one of the reasons behind the laws:

Cars became larger, heavier, less efficient. They consumed gasoline so voraciously that the United States had had to become a major ally with the Arabian countries.

A major ally? It must be fiction!

Don't you love how he puts in these off-handed remarks such as, "green extremists?" Those words that are so lightly thrown are to keep the attention of his regular wing-nut-job readers. I think as a conservative writer anytime you can use the word extremist to describe a liberal cause, you get an extra juice box before afternoon nap.