Poor Barry Goldwater; he was just born too early. Much has been written about Goldwater’s historic wipeout in 1964; the conventional wisdom, which held for many years, was that America could only go so wingnut. Once a guy started to be associated, fairly or not, with the John Birch Society and unrepentant neoconfederates from the deep south, he would not only lose, but lose spectacularly, in the general election no matter the opponent.

Rock and roll has been the music of rebellion and social change since the 1950s, and each successive wave of youths have discovered its power (chords) and embraced its do-it-yourself aesthetic. Punk rock and technology, from cassette tapes to MP3 and file sharing have made music the most easily understood and easy to identify mode of rebellious self-expression. The music, lyrics, and yes, fashion have been and are still threatening to the powers that be: Los Angeles Police chief Daryl Gates viewed punk rock, especially the band Black Flag, as a major threat, regularly sending in riot cops for their shows and says Black Flag drummer Greg Cameron:

There are many alternative names you might consider. In honor of Sen. Linda Menard’s hallmark legislation from the 2009 session, you might consider the new name “Winged Marmot”

Other suggestions already put forward by Patriotic Americans have been “Freedom Fowl” and ‘Pilgrim Pullet.”

Is 2012 going to be Sharia v pot?