”PLAY BY THE RULES,”
JOHN CHAFFEE’S
JAB AT POLITICAL CORRUPTION AND
THE SOCIAL ILLS THAT PLAGUE US,
PROVES MORE PROPHETIC THAN EVER
A YEAR AFTER IT WAS RECORDED

Perfectly Capturing The Public’s Growing Frustration,
The Popular Anthem And YouTube Sensation Won
“Best Country Song” At The Hollywood Music In Media Awards
And Earned The Cleveland Based Singer-Songwriter An
Appearance On Fox’s Live Webcast “The Strategy Room”

            Fed up with political corruption and so-called “leaders” who refuse to “Play By The Rules”? Meet John Chaffee, aka “Uncle Sam”!

            Driven by the same fiery spirit as Toby Keith’s classic “Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue (The Angry American)” and with infectious country-bluegrass flare to spare, the Cleveland based singer-songwriter’s biting, socially conscious song is quickly becoming the anthem of American frustration.

            Months after its initial release, Chaffee’s High-Def YouTube video for “Play By The Rules ^[1]” is still a major online sensation, and the track has received substantial airplay across the country. It also won “Best Country Song” at the recent Hollywood Music In Media Awards, and earned Chaffee a spot on Fox’s Live Webcast “The Strategy Room.”

            Chaffee gives voice to millions of his fellow frustrated Americans with a concept that grew out of his growing anger over a daily dose of stories of corruption and scandal, not only in our nation’s capital but also in communities across the country.

            A year after it was written and recorded, its pointed lyrics seem more prophetic than ever—for bad behavior has no expiration date. A few real-life examples, as observed by Chaffee:

• “Everybody’s layin’ off, Government’s hirin’ more” – As unemployment rises and stays in double digits, more companies are laying off employees every day, while Uncle Sam is hiring new workers at a rate of nearly 10,000 a month, and at higher salaries than in the private sector. Government must shrink, not grow.  Families know how to do that.
• “Bribes and payoffs now the norm, freezer full of cash” – There were 25 congressional ethics inquiries last year, ten of which are still pending. Some get to investigate themselves. And the blatant deal making to secure yes votes on the Health Care bill has angered people on all sides of the political spectrum. 
• “Cut me in, bail me out, failure’s not my fault” – Four letters: GMAC!
• “Devil’s in the details, which you and I won’t see” – How many of our 535 representatives have actually read the details of the Health Care Bill? And how many special interests contributed to its language? It should be mandatory that everyone who has a vote, not only reads, but comprehends what is in any piece of legislation, especially one as mammoth as this. That’s called playing by the rules.
• “Stimulus or stickin’ us, one more shamockery” – The stimulus bill, not a success by any measure, was only a temporary band aid, much of it going to states and cities.  What happens this year and next, when that money doesn’t come back again? Deficits will still be deficits. States and cities will remain in deep financial trouble.
• “Superstars on steroids, docs dispensing drugs” – Three newly announced names come to mind: Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, and at long last, Mark McGuire.
• “In the new math of our leaders, 9,000 equals zero” – After promising no more earmarks, our representatives included 8,500 pet projects worth $8 billion in the February stimulus bill and then again in December when 5,000 earmarks worth $3.9 billion were added to the Omnibus spending bill. Now is not the time, when we have no money, to spend more.
• “Corruption, waste and civic wrongs, it sparks my cynicism” – In the Medicare system alone, it’s estimated there is as much as $2.8 billion a year in waste, and as much as $60 billion a year in fraud. And the government wants its hands deeper into our health system? Where is the accountability, anywhere in government?  Who’s the boss? Oh, that’s right, the people are. It’s time to advise them of that.
• “How much longer will we take it until it takes us down?” – We’ve gone from disbelief to being upset to anger to rage. Fed up with the “lower standards, lower morals, lower expectations,” a groundswell of protest, a louder voice is being heard. 
• “How much longer will we sit and never make a sound?” – Voters in Massachusetts made a very loud sound, which, hopefully, can help alter the ugly, barren political landscape. Perhaps, in our nation’s capital, those long hidden human traits of common sense, honesty, and public interest may be revived.

“Is there anybody out there, who’ll just play by the rules?” asks Chaffee.