The United States 'Tea Party' has an anthem.

[PHILIP SCHNEIDER]

CNSNews.com
Ray Stevens’ Song ‘We the People’ Becoming Anthem of Tea Party Movement
Thursday, January 07, 2010
By Pete Winn, Senior Writer/Editor


Pop and country artist Ray Stevens. (Photo courtesy RayStevens.com)
(CNSNews.com) - Grammy Award-winning music artist Ray Stevens has recorded a song and video that is fast becoming the anthem of the Tea Party Movement.

“We the People” is about Obamacare and the health-care reform bills that have passed both houses of Congress.

The lyrics express a comic, but pointed warning to members of Congress: “You vote Obamacare, we’re going to vote you out of there. We the People have awakened to your tricks. You vote to let this pass, you’re going to be out on your (sound of foghorn).”

(To view the video on YouTube, click here.)

Stevens, known for hit records in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s that include “Everything is Beautiful” and “Ahab the Arab,” has a long history of comedy records capitalizing on social trends. In the 70s, his novelty song “The Streak” -- about the then-new phenomenon of “streaking” naked in public places -- became a radio standard.

But Stevens told CNSNews.com that “We the People” – though it is a novelty song – expresses his personal beliefs.

“‘The Streak’ was for fun – strictly fun,” Stevens told CNSNews.com. “This is serious.”

“To me, it’s pretty obvious that the government is doing a bunch of crap that we don’t need and we don’t want, and they don’t care what we want – they’re going to do it anyway. I think I’ve heard it called ‘progressive.’ I don’t know what’s progressive about it – it seems like to me it’s stupid.”

He added: “But then I believe in freedom, and I believe in the Constitution and I believe in the things that made America great.”

Stevens said the “health-care” bill is a misnomer – it is not actually designed to provide health care.

“Anybody with half a brain can figure out this is about control. So is cap-and-trade – or this so-called ‘green’ crap that they’re talking about,” he told CNSNews.com. “It’s not about climate change. It’s not about health-care. It’s about control. They want control, and I don’t want to give it to them.”

Stevens, who was born and raised outside of Atlanta, said he has always been a conservative.

“I’ve always written and recorded songs that espoused a conservative point of view. Granted, not much attention was paid to them in the past,” Stevens said. “This one is rattling a few cages I guess.”

Stevens’ said some members of Congress might decide to vote for the bill just because the final version might not contain objectionable provisions like the “public option” government-run insurance scheme. However, that could always be added at a later date once the bill passes, he pointed out.

“Once they get their foot in the door, it’s like a germ – it just spreads. They’ll pick a New Year’s Eve, when nobody’s looking, and pass something that will put in something that you didn’t want and you didn’t think was going to be in there. So, don’t let ‘em get their foot in the door.”

A storyteller, Stevens illustrated his point by telling the old story about the squirrel and the alligator.

“The alligator said he’d give him a ride across the river. And (the squirrel) said, ‘Oh no, I can’t do that.’ (The alligator) said, ‘I won’t bite you.’ So the squirrel jumped on the alligator’s back, and about halfway across, he reached around and ate him. The moral is: man, that’s still an alligator.”

Stevens said he attended a Nashville-area Tea Party last year – and sang his song, ‘If 10 Percent is Good Enough for Jesus, it Ought to be Good Enough for Uncle Sam.”

In the two weeks since it was released, the video has gone viral on the Internet. The YouTube clip of the “We the People” video has already been viewed more than 1.4 million times.






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