Politics in Minnesota
June 16, 2010
by Paul Demko
Gordon Hensley is a serious Deadhead. He also happens to be a veteran GOP political operative. His resume includes a stint as communications director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, as well as similar posts working for former New York Gov. George Pataki and former Louisiana Gov. Buddy Roemer.
As recounted in a piece for The Daily Caller, Hensley’s twin passions came together when he sat down with then-U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman to discuss electoral strategy near the end of the 2008 campaign season. Coleman, of course, was an anti-war protester, band roadie and Woodstock-attendee in the Sixties.
As Hensley recounts the gathering, the pair met at Bistro Bis, a popular Capitol Hill haunt, and vetted the latest polling numbers for Coleman’s re-election contest against Democrat Al Franken (another acknowledged Deadhead). But the conversation eventually turned to rock and roll. After the meeting, Hensley caught a train to New York City for a three night stand by former Dead guitarist Bob Weir’s band RatDog.
Later that night at the RatDog show in Manhattan, I told my buddies about the meeting, and we were in a perpetual state of hilarity conjuring up hypothetical 30-second negative ads to run against Franken. How ironic it would have been to execute this faux plot against Franken with ideas generated at this very crucible of contemporary “Grateful Deadness” — ostensibly part of Franken’s base vote. It was decided then and there the poll must be completed.
Sure enough, Hensley has made good on his promise to commission a poll studying the general public’s views of The Grateful Dead. The key finding: the band is much more popular than most politicians, whether Democrat or Republican. Nearly 40 percent of those surveyed expressed a favorably view of The Dead, while just 16 percent indicated an unfavorable opinion of the jam band.
What’s more, support for The Dead cut across partisan lines. Republicans, Democrats and independents all held a net favorable opinion of the musical group.
The only demographic group not down with The Dead: old people. Just 18 percent of survey respondents over the age of 65 indicated a positive view of the band.
The poll — assuming this is not a joke — was conducted by the Mellman Group. The survey sample was 1,016 adults, with a 3.1 percent margin of error.