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Neil Peart: Great Drummer, Questionable Thinker

PLAY '2112' YOU HOSER / AP
June 17, 2015

Before we start discussing Rush drummer Neil Peart's silly comments on Republicans, you should know that I'm basically Fry from Futurama:

Or, alternately, Paul Rudd from I Love You Man:

So, yes, I'm a Rush nerd. I'm also the executive editor of a website that routinely (and accurately) refers to George W. Bush as our greatest living president. Needless to say, I was a bit sad when I read Rush frontman* Neil Peart saying this:

Peart outgrew his Ayn Rand phase years ago, and now describes himself as a "bleeding-heart libertarian," citing his trips to Africa as transformative. He claims to stand by the message of "The Trees," but other than that, his bleeding-heart side seems dominant. Peart just became a U.S. citizen, and he is unlikely to vote for Rand Paul, or any Republican. Peart says that it's "very obvious" that Paul "hates women and brown people" — and Rush sent a cease-and-desist order to get Paul to stop quoting "The Trees" in his speeches.

"For a person of my sensibility, you're only left with the Democratic party," says Peart, who also calls George W. Bush "an instrument of evil." "If you're a compassionate person at all. The whole health-care thing — denying mercy to suffering people? What? This is Christian?"

First off, it's always funny when non-Christians like Peart try to tell Christians the true meaning of Christianity. "Your sky man is dumb and not real but you're disobeying him so who's the real fool?" Hokay broseph.

But secondly, if Peart is concerned about aiding impoverished Africans he should be a huge fan of George W. Bush. Seriously! Don't take my word for it; here's noted non-neocon Eugene Robinson writing in 2012:

All week, more than 20,000 delegates from around the world have been attending the 19th International AIDS Conference here in Washington. They look like any other group of conventioneers, laden with satchels and garlanded with name tags. But some of these men and women would be dead if not for Bush’s foresight and compassion. ...

When the Bush administration inaugurated the program in 2003, fewer than 50,000 HIV-infected people on the African continent were receiving the antire­troviral drugs that keep the virus in check and halt the progression toward full-blown AIDS. By the time Bush left office, the number had increased to nearly 2 million. Today, the United States is directly supporting antiretroviral treatment for more than 4 million men, women and children worldwide, primarily in Africa.

If Peart doesn't want to listen to a boring old columnist, maybe he'll listen to a fellow musician. Bono—who no one would doubt loves to help Africans—is also a fan of the compassionate Dubya:

U2 front-man and activist Bono, who criticized Bush on the Iraq War, nonetheless expressed his admiration for the Republican president on an appearance on the Daily Show last year, telling Stewart that Bush did an "amazing" job in the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa.

"I know that's hard for you to accept," Bono said to a surprised crowd and host, "but George kind of knocked it out of the park. I can tell you, and I'm actually here to tell you that America now has 5 million people being kept alive by these drugs. That's something that everyone should know."

It's no skin off my nose; Peart's peevishness isn't going to stop me from enjoying "By-Tor and the Snow Dog." But he's a smart, open-minded guy. I figured he'd at least like to know what the so-called "instrument of evil" has accomplished for the world's most vulnerable people.

*I once got into an argument with someone who said that a drummer can't be a frontman. Generally speaking, this is true. In the case of Rush, however, it seems like a silly thing to say, given that Peart is not only considered to be one of the best rock drummers out there, he also writes the band's famously dense lyrics.