Political Parodies
Political candidates have run ads that parody Big Bad John, retaining the music while substituting lyrics that support their particular political bids.
In Texas Senator John Cornyn's 2008 parody, he presented himself as a maverick politician, seeking a return to the Senate to fight to set things right. "You see I'm from Texas and we do things quick / And the way this place is run is about to make me sick", the ad states. Several ads were released by Democrats refuting some of the claims made in the song.
In the same year, the Democratic National Committee parodied the song in an ad that targeted presidential candidate John McCain. The ad dubbed McCain "Exxon John" while highlighting $2 million in contributions by Exxon-Mobil to McCain's campaign, as well as the supposed role of Big Oil lobbyists in his campaign.
The song is also used in the closing credits of the UK politics show This Week when having discussed the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow. It is used to humorous effect due to Bercow's short stature and deemed weak control in Parliament.
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Famous quotes containing the words political and/or parodies:
“A political place with no power, only influence, is not to my taste.”
—Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards (1842–1911)
“The parody is the last refuge of the frustrated writer. Parodies are what you write when you are associate editor of the Harvard Lampoon. The greater the work of literature, the easier the parody. The step up from writing parodies is writing on the wall above the urinal.”
—Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961)