Poor House Republicans. They were pretty psyched yesterday about that new troops-rallying video from Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) that used Aerosmith’s “Back in the Saddle” to declare that “The House GOP is back” thanks to the party’s unanimous opposition to the stimulus.
But unfortunately, Aerosmith wasn’t feeling the love. Cantor’s clip has been pulled from YouTube after a copyright infringement claim made by Stage Three Music, which owns the rights to “Back in the Saddle.”
The GOP’s use of the tune “was something we, as the publishers, didn’t approve and would not have approved without going to the writers,” Connie Ashton, director of copyright and licensing at Stage Three, told me. “Aerosmith did not approve of its use and also wanted to have it taken down,” she added.
Ashton added that House Republicans never contacted Stage Three to put in a request for use of “Back in the Saddle.” Maybe they assumed it was okay because Joe Perry endorsed McCain last year.
