Hey Ho, Let's Go To The Polls: The Ramones and the 2008 Presidential Election

Without getting overtly political, I want to urge everyone to get out and vote tomorrow.

This election has more interest than any election I can remember in my voting career; it seems like every celebrity, even the ones you wouldn’t expect to be involved, has something to say.

This includes the Ramones.

This weekend, I received a press release from Mickey Leigh, the president of Ramones Productions and brother of Joey Ramone. It seems that longstanding feuds between members of the band now continue, long after the deaths of those members.

For those who were unaware, offstage, the Ramones were known to argue about a myriad of things from songwriting to politics. Guitarist Johnny Ramone was a conservative, while singer Joey Ramone was a liberal.

While Johnny and Joey are both gone now, statements are still being issued in their names.

Linda Cummings, Johnny’s widow, has been campaigning for McCain and Palin, using the Ramones name to drum up Republican support. This is something that Ramones Productions vehemently disagrees with.

In Leigh’s press release, he states:

As a President of Ramones Productions, and brother of Joey Ramone, I just want it to be clear that Linda Cummings does not represent the political views of the Ramones. Surely, as for Joey Ramone, the only Ramones song he would sing at a Republican campaign event would be “Glad To See You Go!”

Again, I don’t want to tell you which Ramone to agree with, or which candidate to vote for; I’m just urging everyone to vote tomorrow. (Although, in the interest of full disclosure, I will once again note that our official endorsement for president on this site is Agnostic Front guitarist Vinnie Stigma.)

Photo courtesy of Sire Records