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We Conservatives are always wringing our hands about the fact that Liberals seem to control American Pop Culture.

Most of us don’t even realize that when rock ‘n roll began in the 1950’s, the Left wingers hated it because they understood that it was a by product of American post war prosperity.

They preferred Commie folk music, the most un-glamorous, un-sexy, scolding music ever made. The musical equivalent of a lecture about what a rotten country America is.

Contrast that with the image of a teen aged kid, cruising down the highway, listening to Chuck Berry, and thinking that the world is his oyster, and there’s nothing he can’t accomplish, because he lives in America, the greatest country in the world. It’s no wonder why the Leftists hated rock ‘n roll.

In those days, rock songs were all about girls, cars, dancing, and hanging out with friends.

But then a funny thing happened. Bob Dylan, who loved early rock music from the 50’s, got sick of the Commie folk scene and wanted to make rock ‘n roll music, after hearing the Beatles and the Rolling Stones on the radio. But while he abandoned the overtly political tone of his early folk music, the lyrics of his rock songs were still much more intellectual and artsy than any other rock music that had come before it.

The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, and every other popular rock artist of the day were in awe of Dylan’s lyrical skills, and wanted to emulate him. This was the beginning of rock ‘n roll drifting towards the Left wing social consciousness of the Commie folk scene. In his attempt to abandon the Commie folk scene, Dylan inadvertently infected rock ‘n roll culture with the virus of Left wing thought.

Within a few years, every rock band was writing songs that expressed the same anti-American sentiment as Commie folkies like Joan Baez and Phil Ochs.

And that’s when we Conservatives totally blew it!! Rock ‘n roll culture was ours. It was pure Americana at it’s best. It rose from the rural heartland, not the urban coasts. But as soon as Conservatives saw all those long haired, flag burning, pot smoking hippies, they decided that they didn’t want any part of rock ‘n roll culture, and were happy to hand it over, gift wrapped, to the Left wing America haters.

By the mid to late70’s people were burnt out on socially conscious rock music. That’s when bands like Lynyrd Synyrd, AC/DC, and Van Halen created a renaissance of good old fashioned “cars and girls” rock ‘n roll. But by that time, social Conservatives had already condemned rock ‘n roll culture as decadent and downright Satanic.

This wrongheaded attitude on the part of my fellow social Conservatives, is why I take exception to the ridicule that they heap on marijuana smokers. I’m a long haired, pot smoking, rock ‘n roll loving, small government, pro-America patriot. And there’s plenty of other people out there just like me.

The bottom line, is that if we Conservatives want to take back American Pop Culture, then the first step is to stop associating rock ‘n roll culture with Left wingers, and reclaim it as our own.

There’s been a battle between the Country Club Republicans and the hard hat Nixon/Reagan/Trump Republicans.

But you make a great point. There’s also a battle between social conservatives vs. libertarian (socially do what you want as long as you don’t hurt other people).

Trump is an interesting guy. He’s super rich but is more at home with the six pack of beer Republicans. He’s also more libertarian on social issues. Don’t see him going after pot or touching the one-issue voter issues (abortion, homosexuals) other than appointing the judges he’s already listed.

There’s a ‘sweet spot’ for the Republican party right where Trump is: Big tent, avoid social divider issues, America first, practical, non-PC, libertarian, and focused on results.