Carole King urges vote – especially for John Kerry

Singer/songwriter Carole King wants Idahoans to use their independent minds and really think about whom they want leading the country and their state.

And the answer isn’t another Republican, King told the hundreds of people who jammed between rows of CDs at The Long Ear record store Thursday to get a glimpse of the legend. King is on a different kind of tour these days that includes venues such as St. Maries, Kellogg, Grangeville and Arco. Today she will make a 10 a.m. stop at the Bonner County Fair in Sandpoint.

King, who has lived in Custer County along the Salmon River for 27 years, is on the road encouraging people, no matter their political affiliation, to vote. But her more specific goal is to tout friend, occasional Idaho neighbor, and Democrat presidential nominee John Kerry.

And no, it’s not a crazy thing to believe Democrats still exist in the Republican-dominated Gem state, she said.

“I’ve just been feeling a buzz of change,” King said while sitting on a broken down stool in The Long Ear’s cluttered back room before going out on stage – a small platform set up in a corner. “We’re not as big a minority as they think, especially because at one point we were a majority. Things go in cycles, and I feel a cycle.”

Pink Floyd and Bob Dylan posters created a familiar backdrop for an artist known best for her 1971 album “Tapestry” that stayed on the charts for six years. But her message was pure politics.

The Iraq war and George W. Bush’s presidency are helping people realize America is on the wrong path, King said. She accused Bush of causing class warfare and party warfare. As a result, she said, even some Republicans are voting for Kerry.

Most of the people gathering at these Idaho stops are Democrats, many of them who were disengaged out of dislike of the U.S. political system but now feel change is needed. She’s also hearing from Independents and undecided voters.

King knows her fame attracts people who are curious to see a star and hope she will sing, which she obliged by asking the crowd to accompany her with the last verse of “You’ve Got a Friend.”

But once the fans are cornered, she sounds more like a candidate than a singer.

“Vote,” King said after thanking television and movie star Patty Duke, who lives in Coeur d’Alene, for introducing her and providing years of entertainment.

Vote even if you feel the system is horrible or that your vote doesn’t count, especially in a Republican state like Idaho, she said – admitting that she often feels disenfranchised politically but still faithfully hits the polls.

“Your vote can’t possibly count unless you use it. Give it a chance.”

Holding old 45s, vinyl albums and newly purchased CDs, fans rushed for autographs as King slipped out a side door.

She escaped before Karen Oss could get her three records signed.

“It’s really nostalgic,” Oss said of seeing King and hearing her sing. “It just reminds me of a summer …”

There were a lot of those memories floating around the chirping crowd. One woman went on a cross-country road trip with her mother and a Carole King tape. Even Patty Duke told King that she was her only friend in the early 1970s.

Dan Bach, 17, was feeling more lucky than sentimental when he saw the jammed parking lot and stopped on a whim to check out the scene. He got to see Carole King, whom his mother loves, and register to vote for the first time because he will be of voting age by the November election.

“I feel kinda proud,” Bach said. “I have a voice now – finally.”

The North Idaho College Students For Progressive Change registered about 20 new voters during the event.

King’s visit coincides with the unofficial kickoff of the fall election season in Idaho, which often begins with candidates stumping at county fairs and the Labor Day holiday.

The Republican booth was hopping at the North Idaho Fair at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds on Thursday afternoon.

Most visitors were looking for Bush-Cheney signs and bumper stickers, but some took the time to register to vote and chat with the few local legislative candidates on hand.

“The biggest comment is, ‘I want a George Bush yard sign,’ ” said Frank Henderson, of Post Falls, who is running for the Idaho House against Democrat Lyndon Harriman. “They’re so popular we ran out yesterday.”

Fewer people were stopping by the Democrat booth, but that didn’t stop the volunteers from bantering with the Bush supporters who would launch quips such as “I would never vote for that Kerry.”

“Kerry might take Idaho with as many fiscal conservatives that are fed up with (the Bush administration),” Democrat Kristy Reed Johnson shot back at one Republican.

Johnson said most of the local Democrat candidates have opted to concentrate their campaigns and spend their fair week going door-to-door in their districts instead of staffing the fair booth. That’s why there’s more than 50 volunteers signed up for fair duty.

But the Democrats weren’t without visitors.

Both U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and U.S. Rep. Butch Otter, R-Idaho, stopped by to check out the competition.

“I look at all the booths,” said Crapo, who was headed to the Kootenai Medical Center display to talk about the importance of getting screened for prostate cancer.

Johnson happily showed him a campaign button that caused Crapo to shake his head as he walked away: “Republicans for Kerry.”