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Lieberman has famously implored the industry to "draw some lines and stop profiting from music that is so repulsive that no newspaper in America would reprint the lyrics."
Monday, August 7, 2000

LIEBERMAN: BLOOD AND GORE FOR THE MUSIC BIZ?

Democratic Veep Choice A Longtime Critic Of Record Industry
Maybe it was to nab that crucial 1/10 of an electoral vote that Connecticut brings. Maybe it was to woo the eleven Jews who weren't already planning to vote for him.

Whatever the reasoning behind Al Gore's choice of Senator Joseph Lieberman as his running mate, the Democratic candidate has selected a politico whose criticism of the music business has been as fierce as Tipper's ever was.

Lieberman, one of the first Democrats to publicly criticize President Clinton over the Monica scandal, has reserved some of his harshest rhetoric for the purveyors of recorded music. The veteran senator helped spearhead the call for warning labels on CDs, famously expressing his concern, in a 1998 statement, about "the easy access children have to hyperviolent, degrading and ultimately damaging rock and gangsta rap music."

The Orthodox Jewish VP aspirant shares the belief of many public figures that music plays a role in motivating violent behavior, and has implored the industry to "draw some lines and stop profiting from music that is so repulsive that no newspaper in America would reprint the lyrics."

Reaction in the entertainment world to Gore's selection has been mixed, with most viewing Lieberman's moralistic status as part of a symbolic attempt to distance the frontrunner from Clinton's checkered legacy.

In a related story, the Texas Republican delegation bowed their heads in prayer today after accidentally viewing part of a "Teletubbies" episode.

 
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