Votes to Come From the Unexpected, Undaunted, and Untamed

Marginalized by mainstream America and its relentless
moralizing, strip clubs may well have been the last outpost of
apolitical intercourse; that place where mostly-male Democrats and
Republicans could blow off their biases over a beer, some chicken
wings, and a lap dance or two. Those in the adult entertainment
industry have been no less affected by the pervasiveness of
presidential politics this past year, though, and given Attorney
General John Ashcroft’s preoccupation with eliminating ‘smut,’ it
was only a matter of time before someone recognized the potential
of the heretofore unexploited ‘strip club vote,’ Angelina Spencer,
club owner and trade association director, began sending voter
registration kits to adult nightclubs, lingerie stores, and adult
bookstores nationwide. The results were staggering — 160,000
customers filled out voter registration cards on site, and more
took the cards home to fill out at a more convenient time.

Other marginal subcultures have been mobilized, as well. While
punk rock has decidedly political origins, its strong
anti-establishment ethos has long kept purists away from the polls.
Mike Burkett, better known as Fat Mike, the beloved singer/bassist
for NOFX and CEO of Fat Wreck Chords, decided to change all of that
by founding Punk Voter, an angry coalition determined to make a
presidential change and promote progressive politics. A tour
featuring A-list punk bands and a compilation CD/DVD have both been
highly successful in bringing punkers, and even some parents, into
the John Kerry camp. Even feminist icon Gloria Steinem has helped
out with the campaign, lending support and well-placed obscenities
to the cause. While the Punk Voter campaign, like strip club
registration, is a highly insular effort, it indicates a dwindling
national tendency towards being, as Fat Mike says, an
‘I-don’t-care-ican.’

Go there >>
The Strip Club
Vote

Go there too >>
The Day the
Music Voted

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