Dropkick Murphys Put Wisconsin Gov. Walker in His Place

Here’s some free advice for politicians looking to make a run for the 2016 presidential nomination–before choosing music to play at your public appearances make sure that the artist you are blaring to pump up your crowd doesn’t “literally hate you.”

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a staunchly anti-union Republican, is learning this lesson the hard way after crossing paths with the Dropkick Murphys. The hopeful presidential candidate walked onto the stage at the Iowa Freedom Summit accompanied by the band’s hit “I’m Shipping Up to Boston.” The Boston based band took note of the event and didn’t mince any words with their rebuttal.

https://twitter.com/DropkickMurphys/status/559170864420507648

One would think that the Republican governor would have known better than to use a song by the Murphys considering that this was not the first time Walker has butt heads with the band. In 2011 Walker was involved in a bitter fight over the state’s budget and supported a bill that would have taken away the collective bargaining rights of government workers. This would lead to workers and union supporters protesting at the state house in Madison; as the protests went on the staunchly pro-worker’s rights band got involved. The band sold shirts featuring the lyrics of their song “Take Em Down” with portions of the proceeds donated to the Worker’s Rights Emergency Response Fund.

Even if Walker was completely oblivious to the political stances of the Dropkick Murphys one still has to question his use of “I’m Shipping Up to Boston.” He was in Iowa, not Massachusetts when he gave the speech so he wasn’t trying to get the hometown pop with the song. Plus Walker is trying to ship himself to Washington D.C., not Boston, so that doesn’t quite work either. Perhaps Walker wanted to set himself apart from his Republican rivals by courting the punk vote while being the only member of the GOP to ever campaign with a song featuring lyrics by Woody Guthrie.

Or the people in charge of the appearance just put on a song that makes a person feel like a bad ass while if it plays while they walk into a room without considering the potential political ramifications. Props to the Murphys for keeping Walker in check this time, hopefully they won’t have to do so again.