Left Melts Down Over Oliver Anthony, Suggests Success Is Part of Wacko Conspiracy Theory
The left is completely baffled by the sudden and meteoric rise of Oliver Anthony.
In case you are not familiar with the phenomenon, last week, Anthony released a song titled “Rich Men North of Richmond” in which he lambasts the political elite for not caring about the concerns of ordinary Americans like himself.
The song became an instant hit, garnering millions of views on YouTube and shooting up to No. 1 on iTunes. In addition, eight of Anthony’s other songs also cracked the Top 25.
But, of course, leftists cannot fathom how someone outside of their small orbit could possibly gain such popularity overnight. So, instead, they have suggested that his success is part of some nefarious conspiracy.
The theory is that Anthony’s popularity is being “astroturfed” — that is, artificially boosted — by music industry forces.
In essence, the left is claiming that there is no way a former factory worker from rural Virginia could have this kind of success without inside help. Their evidence is that he has an expensive guitar and uses a stage name.
The theory was best summed up by Variety on Tuesday:
“Some progressives suspect he is an invention of behind-the-scenes forces, though there’s little evidence so far that he is not who he says he is: a factory worker turned farmer with a not-obscenely-expensive resonator guitar without a ton of industry connections waiting in the wings. (‘Oliver Anthony’ is a nom de plume; still, nothing that turns up under his real name suggests that he was actually financed by a PAC or major label or doesn’t really know what a deer blind is.)”
WARNING: The following video contains language that some viewers will find offensive.
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The left is also attacking Anthony over his conservative fans.
The fact that famous people on the right like Matt Walsh, Kari Lake and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene have voiced support for Anthony is unacceptable to them, so they are trying to quash his stardom.
And, naturally, Variety also had to try to associate him with the fringe elements of the right, pointing out that Anthony has commented on child trafficking, a “key bugaboo” of QAnon.
In short, the left is claiming that Oliver Anthony is an artificial phenomenon created by the music industry to appeal to conservatives.
What this really shows, however, is that the left simply does not understand the frustrations and concerns of everyday Americans.
With crime soaring and the economy in shambles, Americans are more worried than ever and are becoming increasingly angry at the seeming unwillingness of politicians in Washington to do something about it.
“Rich Men North of Richmond” is merely pointing out a simple fact that many heartland Americans have already realized — the political elites do not care about them.
If progressives took some time to put themselves in the shoes of ordinary Americans, maybe the Oliver Anthony phenomenon would make more sense to them.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
