By Scott Johnson
Spiked-haired and pierced-bodied rockers are getting together to rally their fans and trying to register half a million votes in this year''s presidential election.
'If you don''t find yourself in the voting booth you may find yourself in combat boots in the desert,' guitarist and singer for Anti-Flag, Justin Sane told the Associated Press Monday, Mar. 8.
Punk Voter, according to their Web site, 'is a grassroots coalition of punk bands, punk labels, and most importantly, punk fans coming together to form a united front in opposition to the dangerous, deadly and destructive policies of George Bush Jr.'
Punk Voter consists of 30 companies and more than 100 bands. The coalition of rockers started after the Florida recount in the 2000 election. Fat Mike, bass player for NOFX, began to rally friends in the music industry after Bush won the election. NOFX released its 'The War on Errorism' album in 2003 with several songs criticizing the Bush administration.
Luke Nichols, president of the BYU College Republicans, expects more groups such as this one to become involved because of the controversial issues Bush has faced the past four years.
'Just about anything could have swayed the 2000 Presidential Election,' Nichols said. 'I think you will see a lot of groups getting involved because they all realized if they had given just a little bit more in the right spot it could have made a difference.'
Punk Voter represents the mostly liberal fans. However, Conservative Punk, started in January 2004, gives a voice to conservative punk fans. Nick Rizzuto, a punk fan and conservative, started the Web site to represent more accurately the punk opinion.
While Nichols expects the election to be close, it is hard to say how much influence any one group will have.
'In order to have a lot of sway the group needs to have a very mobilized base and needs to have a very clear direction,' Nichols said. 'The crowd they are trying to reach out to is the most difficult crowd to mobilize when it comes to actually getting out and voting.'
Nichols doubts that Punk Voter will have much influence among BYU students. Nichols added there are many ways to become involved.
'If a student wants to get involved, probably the most exciting and effective way to do it is to go to their caucus meetings on March 23 and sign up to be a delegate,' Nichols said.