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"We've never had that much attention," says Willie Nelson. He sits on his bus, the Honeysuckle Rose, parked in front of the "Late Show With Stephen Colbert". " Nelson, lively and full of laughter, kills the time before hitting a weed pen and sipping coffee before performing "Summer Wind" of "My Way," his new tribute album to Sinatra. But the attention Nelson is talking about is his support for Texas Senate candidate Beto O'Rourke, who has a real chance to overthrow Ted Cruz in November. Nelson, 85, will play a rally for O'Rourke on September 29th.e at the Auditorium Shores in Austin, along with his sons Lukas and Micah, Leon Bridges, Carrie Rodriguez, Tameca Jones and Joe Ely. Some Nelson fans were unhappy with the singer's approval; Right sites quoted some commentators saying things like, "I loved you, but not more" and "I've always thought you were a patriot."
"People will sometimes be upset because I also have the right to vote," says Nelson, before saying an old saying: "Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one."
For anyone who was surprised by his support, Nelson says he's been involved in fundraising campaigns since cowboy singer Tex Ritter (born 1905) went to the Tennessee Senate. in 1970. "Jimmy Carter, Dennis Kucinich and Hillary and Bill, Obama," says Nelson. "Many people seem surprised that I support a candidate, but it's not my first rodeo."
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Nelson has even written a new song that he plans to play at the O 'Rourke Rally, titled "Vote Em Out." He begins to sing, "If you do not like who is there, vote them / it's what the Day Elections is all / the biggest weapon we have is called the". urn / if you do not like who is in there, vote them. He has already recorded the song, and his sons Lukas and Micah will add their parties when Nelson returns to Texas.
Nelson and O'Rourke had already attended Nelson's last July 4th Annual Picnic. At the time, O'Rourke had just finished visiting the 254 counties of Texas while holding town halls, recording hundreds of thousands of kilometers. That immediately impressed Nelson, a guy who knows something on the road. "I like the way he's trying to get elected – he's been to every county in Texas. He knocked on every door. And it's hard work. And it looks like it may have paid off a bit.
Nelson also likes O'Rourke to be a musician. Although he has not yet heard the candidate's former punk rock band, Nelson loved to sing songs like "Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die" with him at the July 4th picnic. "He seems to be very good," says Nelson. O & # 39; Rourke said that his musical days prepared him for politics: "A bunch of friends in a van … and we have all our equipment here, and we're just going from one town to another, we're telling both our story. and listen and learn from others' stories. Nelson nods after hearing this quote. "He seems to have a good attitude." Are Texans ready for such a progressive candidate? "Oh, you know," said Nelson. "Texans are ready for anything."
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Nelson becomes more passionate about talking about issues, particularly about immigration. It has been disturbing to see children separated from their parents at the border – some of whom have not yet been reunited. "[O’Rourke] was at the border and he saw the bad things happening again. The zero tolerance is wrong. This kind of judgment has always been bad. What do we say in the good book? "Do not judge that you will not be judged?" If you say zero tolerance, you will get a zero tolerance. Many things are not going well now.
"It's horrible to see children torn out of their parents' arms when our Statue of Liberty said," Bring us tired and weak, we'll make them strong, "says Nelson, paraphrasing. "Once, I made a song called" Living in the Promiseland ". Why do we love more people coming? This is not fair. Our borders have always been: come in, we need you.
At the same time, Nelson expresses his sympathy for Ted Cruz. He felt uncomfortable to see him seeking help from President Trump – the same guy who invented a nasty nickname about him, spreading conspiracy theories linking Cruz's father to him. Assassination of Kennedy and once tweeted"Why would the people of Texas support Ted Cruz when he did absolutely nothing for them? He is another all talk, no pol action. "
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"I feel really bad for Ted because he got a bad deal," Nelson said, echoing the president's insults: "I just can not imagine that he's still feeling the same love or the same love." of his disciples. His followers also had to feel hurt, to hear about their guy.
until Nelson can not help laughing at Cruz's recent blows, like when he said, "If Beto wins, BBQ will be illegal" after PETA apparently put grilled tofu back at a rally. Cruz. "Well, I can see that happen, guitars too," joked Nelson. And then, there was Cruz's recent statement that Democrats "want us to be like California, up to tofu and silicon and dyed hair." "Well, cool!", S & # 39; exclaims Nelson. His wife Annie speaks: "He forgot that soy is [a major] culture in Texas, and that's how you make tofu. He was hammered for that. Has he ever been to Whole Foods? They started in Austin – they sell tofu! "
"He's not that bad, you know," said Nelson about Cruz. "But for the whole process and what we are looking for, Beto is the best man."
Annie has created several cannabis-based chocolates for Nelson's marijuana company, Willie's Reserve. Legalization remains at the center of Nelson's concerns, and he is pleased to talk to O'Rourke about it. "There are two other things I want to talk about. I want to talk about the electoral college and how it happened. I want to talk about gerrymandering, how did it go? I want to talk, how can you be president of the United States and not show your income taxes? I can not go anywhere without showing mine. (Nelson had fiscal problems in the early 1990s.) "There are a lot of things that interest me in having answers. I'm not sure Beto has all the answers, but he could do it.
Long before Trump, Nelson was introduced as a presidential candidate over the years. His shows even featured "Willie For President" stickers. "I thought about it," he says of the race. "The first thing I would do is kiss a word."
"I do not want work," he says. "It's too hard – it's too many people screaming at you – no matter what you do, someone's not going to like it because it's not supposed to do it. But with music, you can put them all together – Cruz and Trump and Beto and me – and we'll sing "Amazing Grace," and it'll be cool. "
But with the renewed interest in his politics, Willie is a little tempted to compete with Trump?
"Oh, I could make so many people crazy," he says. "It would be almost worth it."
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