They ticked off thier fan base, not the chattering classes. and they didnt get insta-punted like Phil did.
It is the same ******* situation. You think Limbaugh was a Dixie Chicks fan? He spearheaded the boycott of them.
And what happened to them?
Yes, they lost sales, yes there was a kinda sorta boycott. What did not happen was the instant dropping of them by thier label the second the controversial issues came to light. It took time for people to show thier displeasure, and it was mostly via the fans themselves.
GLAAD released an "i'm pissed off" statement, and BOOM, phil was thrown under the bus. There hasnt even been enough TIME to see if the fans of the show run away, he's been punted simply due to a pressure groups spouting off.
Note GWB's response, to a direct comment, as opposed to GLAADs, which was a general comment:
President Bush responded to the controversy in an interview with Tom Brokaw on April 24:
The Dixie Chicks are free to speak their mind. They can say what they want to say ... they shouldn't have their feelings hurt just because some people don't want to buy their records when they speak out ... Freedom is a two-way street ... I don't really care what the Dixie Chicks said. I want to do what I think is right for the American people, and if some singers or Hollywood stars feel like speaking out, that's fine. That's the great thing about America. It stands in stark contrast to Iraq ...