RNC 2012: Wyclef Jean in, Randy Travis Out After Naked Drunk Driving Arrest

Impact

Sometimes life throws you lemons and you gotta take those lemons and get your third choice for a band to come to your Republican National Convention. Down in Tampa, Florida the Republicans are looking to have a grand old party, but somehow their karma in the music world must be a little shaky. The plan is that after some spirited Republican-rousing speeches and fist bumps, everyone would head on over to the private concert fundraiser for Got Your 6 and Lifetime Television’s “Your Life. Your Time. Your Vote” campaign.

Organizers first went and booked the living legend that is Willie Nelson. It was down in ink and the t-shirts were being sent to the press or whatever makes t-shirts. When out of the blue the bandana wearing country singer backed out of the gig. He says he still supports the worthy cause of Got Your 6 but will not be performing.

But the RNC peeps didn’t stress. They booked another country singer who was sure to bring down the house! RANDY TRAVIS! Who hasn’t danced on a Friday night to “Honky Tonk Moon,” or thought that “a few ole country boys” was their anthem, or the iconic middle school slow dance song/wedding first dance/song you wish some cowboy would sing to you “Forever and Ever, Amen.” These are all gems. But sadly, Randy Travis had a little too much to drink in Texas, got arrested and subsequently dropped by the RNC.

This is the point where stress started to jack-hammer on the souls’ of Republican planners. Travis fought the law and the law won in late February, which meant that there was limited time to find a headliner. The third time was a charm though, they finally locked down hip-hop artist Wyclef Jean. Wyclef will be joined with Cindy and Meghan McCain, respectively the wife and the daughter of former presidential candidate John McCain. Meghan is a columnist at The Daily Beast and the author of America, You Sexy Bitch.    

These two need a good headliner. Got Your 6 is a non-partisan organization dedicated to helping military vets return and thrive in civilian life. “Got your 6” is military jargon for “I’ve got your back.” And Lifetime Television’s “Your Life. Your Time. Your Vote” campaign encourages and empowers women to vote and run for office. These two organizations have thrown events together in the past, and this year the Democratic National Convention up in Charlotte will be holding its own concert to help out these charities.

Not that this is a contest or a duel between the DNC and RNC, but itis. It’s like two kids are throwing a party on the same night and you are trying to decide whose to attend. You obviously want to go to the cooler party. While the RNC has the edge on location (Tampa > Charlotte) the DNC will be jamming with Rapper Flo Rida. Maybe we should have expected this because as we all know Chuck Norris will be attending the RNC, and Chuck Norris doesn’t listen to music; the music listens to Chuck Norris.