If it seems like it’s hard to find conservatives in Hollywood, finding conservatives in the music industry can be an even rarer feat. John Ondrasik, the singer-songwriter of the band Five for Fighting, says it’s basically “me and Kid Rock.”
Ondrasik, known for hits like “Superman” and “100 Years” and now marking the release of his sixth album, Bookmarks, got some attention last week after he tweeted about his experience getting physically removed from the Jefferson Memorial during the government shutdown.
TheBlaze spoke with Ondrasik about that, the reaction from people when they find out he’s conservative, and his new song that takes aim at the Sean Penns of the world.
Credit: Jeremy Cowart
What’s been the reaction to your experience at the Jefferson Memorial?
It’s been wild, I never expected it to go viral, obviously it did. Next day, USA Today called me to write an op-ed, they told me my op-ed was the most-read piece on their site. A lot of people I think are passionate about what’s going on and maybe some of those pictures kind of just brought it all out to the front for some folks. So I never expected it to get the reaction it did — I literally just went out for a jog that morning.
Out of everything to do with the shutdown, closing the memorials and trying to keep veterans out seems to have resonated with people the most. Why do you think?
I think there’s one group you don’t pick on, and that’s the troops, and that’s the veterans. And you don’t use them as a political prop. And, you know, it seems obvious to me that there’s a clear strategy by the White House to create optics that unnecessarily pain the average American, that give shutdown horror photo ops for the media. I’m sure there are many “park closed” signs laying around, but someone had to make up the “park closed due to SHUTDOWN” in bold font with caps.
