Singer-songwriter Jackson Browne is suing Republican presidential nominee John McCain as well as the Ohio and national Republican committees in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. The lawsuit came about after the Ohio GOP ran an ad using Browne’s song “Running on Empty” without his permission. Browne’s lawsuit claims the use of “Running on Empty” in the ad is an infringement of Browne’s copyright and will lead people to conclude he endorses McCain, and the suit says Browne is a lifelong liberal who is as well-known for his music as for being “an advocate for social and environmental justice.” Browne has donated thousands of dollars to Sen. Barack Obama over the course of several years.
Here’s the ad in question:
Republicans were quick to spin the lawsuit, with Robert Bennett, chairman of the Ohio party, calling the lawsuit a “big to-do about nothing.” McCain spokesman Brian Rogers also disavowed the ad, saying it wasn’t a product of the Republican presidential candidate’s campaign.
Here’s the point I find most interesting:
The suit notes that other musicians, including ABBA and John Cougar Mellencamp, have asked McCain to stop using their work.
What, the McCain campaign can’t find any respectable musicians that are willing to let them use some music for an ad? The fact that there’s been a pattern of copyright infringement on the part of the McCain campaign when it comes to their ads speaks volumes about the lengths Sen. McCain and his staff are willing to go to in order to get the good Senator elected president.
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