It was a silly statement to begin with (especially since he isn't from Texas), though hardly controversial. What gets me is that, as far as I can remember, every American musician I've seen in concert since at least the 2000 American elections has made some anti-Bush joke. And not just the political types. It's a thing that goes over very well with Canadian (and presumably UK) crowds.

What I didn't realize was how drastically different the country scene is in the U.S. Country albums apparently outsell rock albums. And while there are a lot of leftie (or at least populist) old country artists, modern country radio is a right-wing thing.

I'm trying to remember back to the kd lang controversy here, and I don't remember anything she said having such an impact on her popularity. It mostly shifted her audience from rednecks to CBC-listeners.