Neil Young has made no secret of his deep respect and admiration for Bernie Sanders over the past few months, and this weekend he wrote a long, glowing endorsement of the Vermont senator on his website and encouraged his fans to vote for him.
“I support Bernie because I listen to what he says,” he writes. “Every point he makes is what I believe in. Every one. In 2016, if Bernie had run instead of Hillary Clinton, I think we would not have the incompetent mess we have now.”
Young recently became a naturalized U.S. citizen even though he’s lived in the country for well over 50 years. “Outside the courthouse, after I was naturalized (funny word for it), there was a Democrat Party Registration booth,” he writes. “I registered. My first error as a U.S. citizen will be corrected now. I am registering Independent. The wheels are in motion. I don’t trust the DNC because I think the DNC is pushing their own agenda over the good of the country.”
He goes on to rip into Facebook. “Facebook is full of bots and trolls,” he writes. “It’s not America. Forget social media. Ignore it and replace it with truth. I don’t believe the Facebook social media cesspool of lies, disinformation from other counties and misleading comments. I believe Bernie Sanders. I think Bernie Sanders is the Real Deal.”
“Stand with Bernie Sanders,” he writes later. “Stand for the workers, stand for the teachers, stand for the students, stand up for Climate Justice. Stand for higher taxes on the super-rich to pay for all love the above! Stand for the American Future. Stand with Bernie Sanders.”
Young’s former CSNY bandmate David Crosby is also a Sanders supporter. According to a recent Tweet, Crosby reached out to Young about a possible CSNY reunion concert to support Bernie. “I asked Neil but I got no answer at all,” Crosby wrote on March 3rd. “Dead air. So my hopes for that are on hold, painfully.”
Young does plan on touring America arenas with Crazy Horse in the very near future. Once again, Nils Lofgren will be taking the place of Crazy Horse guitarist Frank “Poncho” Sampedro. “Poncho does not want to play,” Young recently wrote in response to a fan letter. “He has never wavered. We still want to play. I love Nils. When Nils goes back out with Bruce [Springsteen] again, we will not stop. We have a plan.”
