The Billionaires for Bush, who rocked the presidential campaign circuit in '04 with slogans like "Free the Enron 7," "Corporations are People Too," "Kerry-Edwards: Where's the Greed?," and their special brand of ironic tuxedo-wearing protest, were feeling adrift in the more hopeful times of '08. As founder of the group, I called the old crew together earlier this month to figure out what, if anything, we had to offer this time around.
"McCain is no Bush. He wasn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth."
"Yeah, he's a fucking war hero and a champion of campaign finance reform."
"Harder to go after him."
Thai takeout arrived, beers were opened.
"Maybe we could be, um, 'Curmudgeons for McCain'?"
"Ehn."
"'Peaceniks for Armageddon'?"
"Uh…"
"And Clinton?"
"She's going down, it's gonna be Obama."
"Obama is so, well, so, so…"
"Hopeful."
"Yeah, so goddamned fucking hopeful."
"And smart, and handsome and sexy and inspiring and…"
"People are so into him, into this 'Yes We Can' thing, into this 'change.'"
"But it's good, man. People are engaged. Positively. They're actually for something this time."
"Yeah, they don't need snarky, funny us playing off of the other guy to get engaged, they already are."
Gloom set in.
Except for the sound of chopsticks on Pad Thai, the room was silent.
"But wait, what if we play off of that? You know, show up at Obama rallies and say, 'Stop smiling! This is politics. It's not supposed to be fun."
"Or pretend we're from the McCain campaign with signs that say, 'Status quo!' or "No, You Can't!"
"Or, hey, why don't we play off of that video, the Yes We Can video on YouTube, you know by the…"
And from there it was like clockwork. The gears of our motley grassroots crew went into overdrive: scripts were written; actors, cameras, poodles, even the founder's mother were all assembled in a borrowed space in Brooklyn; tape was feverishly edited in an all-night-and-next-morning session in a friend's home studio in the South Bronx, so that within a few days, not only did we have a YouTube hit, a story in the New York Times, a segment on CNN, and buzz in the blogosphere, but we were well on our way to once again being useful pranksters in a new political era.
Here is the video and below it the announcement we sent out.
"Yes, We Can" meets "No, You Can't" – The Buzz Continues
The infamous Billionaires for Bush, have added their own sly twist to the ever-expanding YouTube phenomenon (9 million views & counting) of willi.i.am's paean to Barack Obama "Yes, We Can."
Titled "No, You Can't," and posing as the Official Response from the status quo, the new video skewers the political establishment at the same time it pokes fun at celebrities indulging in a personality cult of Obama. Half parody, half homage-they're calling it a "parage"- a term the New York Times also picked up in an article this weekend-it has been generating considerable buzz in both the blogosphere (Salon, Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish, Crooks & Liars, Comedy Central, LA-ist, Alternet, etc.) and traditional media (CNN, New York Times, Wall Street Journal).
Whether the original video moved you to tears or eye rolls, you won't want to miss this one.
Feature video, "No, You Can't" :
http://youtube.com/watch?v=gI7WwY4a9ro
Media coverage:
• CNN Breaking News segment, "Yes we can" meets "No you can't."
• TechPresident — favorite video of the week.
• From the Wall Street Journal: "In the video, several stereotypical rich people – a poodle-holding blonde, a balding Cheney lookalike, an Ascot-wearing trust-funder – declare the creed of the fabled American aristocracy. "No you can't stop our power and privilege," they sing. "No you can't repeal our tax cuts for the wealthy few." …In an election season full of fake sincerity, "No You Can't" is great comic relief – even if it's at the expense of the wealthy.
• From the New York Times: "Is Satire in a Slump? 'Yes' and 'No' :"…created by people with deep roots in making fun of politicians [there was] some ambivalence among the group about using the "Yes We Can" video as a template – some people were moved by Mr. Obama and his soaring oratory, while others were squirmy about an appeal that seems to be all gut and poetry with not much policy…."[The original] is so sincere, so earnest, so schmaltzy," said Mr. Ceglie, 34. "But there's been no J.F.K. or Martin Luther King oratory for our generation. We are hungry for someone to inspire us."
