[bjcrazycpa]

I think this article was from August 1996. It was posted on backstage as there was a thread posted on Jon sometimes responding to posts on message boards. Any way, thought it was funny to read again. Oh and Dave Marsh, is the guy that wrote Bruce Springsteen's biography.

Jackass' Bon Jovi sticks it to critic

Edited by Scott Roesch

The way we see it, a person's entitled to change his or her mind. But not everyone is so magnanimous. Rock-and-roll superjournalist Dave Marsh, for example, took offense when Jon Bon Jovi performed at Bill Clinton's fiftieth-birthday bash last month at Radio City Music Hall. The Jersey rocker, you see, had been a high-profile Republican supporter; he backed the Bush campaign in 1992. But Jon's had a big change of heart since then, which was evident as he gyrated his way through "That's All Right, Mama" for the commander-in-chief who, as you know, is a huge Elvis fan. On August 18, the day of Bubba's birthday party, Marsh posted this message to the Velvet Rope, an online newsgroup:

I wonder if anyone backstage will have the guts to walk up to the talentless little Jersey opportunist and say, "Hey, Bon Jovi! Remember back in '92 when you turned up at the Bush party and were quoted on the front page of the New York Times saying, 'I'm normal. I'm a Republican'? Are you doing this as a spy, a traitor, or just because you're a jackass who can't stand to turn down a high-profile gig? What a useless pud! (And that goes double for the birthday boy.)
Well, Jon just began dabbling on the Net this summer, but he seems to have already grasped the finer points of flaming. His response?

dear dave,
being Gods Gift to journalism must be tough.
Why don't you stick to writing Kiss Ass bios
It's America and you can change your mind GROW UP.
And if you got something to say do it in person.
Jon Bon Jovi

Naturally, when we bumped into Jon last week, the first thing we asked was whether he and Marsh really did duke it out online. (This may come as a surprise, but people do occasionally make stuff up on the Internet.) "That was my letter," said Bon Jovi. "I answered him. You bet I did." As for his political about-face, "I don't vote for the party," said the actor-musician, "I vote for the man, and for the platform." Besides, "I had too much respect for the office [of the president] to consider partisan politics. Why don't people respect the office enough to say, 'Wow, what an honor, to sing at the president of the United States' birthday party'?" Jon added that he likes Clinton's stances on abortion and gun control, and he likes Hillary too, which is why he plans to vote for the Democratic ticket come November. "You know," he concluded, "I just don't think Bob Dole is the answer."

Reached for comment Tuesday morning, Marsh wasn't overly impressed with Bon Jovi's explanation. "I hate to escalate matters," he said, "but is he running for office? Most of the people I know who are telling lies that bald are running for office. What does it mean, saying 'I'm normal. I'm Republican' one year, and this respect-for-the-office stuff the next? He wasn't endorsing George Bush [in 1992], but the Republican party. The guy is extremely dishonest or stupid or both."

It doesn't look like there's an easy answer to this feud, so perhaps it's appropriate to leave the final word to a neutral third party. The Johnny Cash song "The One On the Right is On The Left," a ballad about a band that disintegrates due to political feuding, may sum up the situation best. The advice given to folks in the music business is--take note Dave and Jon--"If you have political convictions, keep 'em to yourself."

[Last_Man_Standing]

Great, GREAT, GREAT!

[bjcrazycpa]

The thing is nearly 10 years later Jon still types like that with no regard for puncutation, lol!

deb

[Kathleen]

I sort of remember that flap. And I have heard him say (within the last 18 months) that he would vote for Arnold (Gov of Calif. - can't spell his last name LOL) and he's a republican. So it seems to me that Jon is pretty consistant - it's the man and the platform, not the party.

BTW Dave Marsh is a jerk and he writes poorly too.

Kathleen

[nova]

It's good to see Jon give it back. I think if I was a celeb I'd be obsessed with being on the net and replying to the crap people write. I remember watching the video Keep the Faith, an Evening with Bon Jovi which came out just before they released KTF- so we are talking about 1992-3ish. Anyway between songs Jon talked passionately about how important it was for people to vote and to think about who they vote for. I was surprised at the time to realise that he was so interested in the topic. So what I'm getting at is that I think he does take it very seriously and it's not just that he's jumped on the political bandwagon to be fashionable. He was on it long before. So I think it would be very insulting to him to read the rubbish this guy wrote.

[† ÀžžÀ †]

I'm currently studying American Politics and one of the overriding factors of the topic is diversity. Unlike here in Britain, cross-over in beliefs between the two parties is frequent, neither really stand for completely distinctive policies. Therefore, there is definately substance to what Jon is saying. It's important to remember, President Regan (Republican) was once a Democrat.