“Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” — Mr. Spock

Early in the decade the country took a wide swing to the right. Republicans had solidified control of the House and Senate. Bush was elected to a second term in 2004 and was poised to stack the Supreme Court with conservative judges. In their hubris, those that followed this ideology produced some of the most unintentionally hilarious music in history.

A deep economic recession and badly bungled wars in Iraq and Afghanistan put the Democrats back in control of both Congress and the Whitehouse by 2008. Power is fleeting, however, and who knows how long it will be before the pendulum swings towards the right once more?

So, I say to you, Madam Speaker, Mr. Majority Leader and mostly to you, Rahm Emanuel: keep on the winning side of history. Don’t let your attorney general sing. Learn from the Top 5 worst conservative anthems of the Bush-Cheney years

1. “The McCain-Palin Tradition,” Hank Williams Jr.

Not surprisingly, country/western seems to lend itself best to the good ol’ boy mindset of “if you burn my flag I’ll shoot your dog.” And who’s in a better position to shoot your dog than Hank Williams Jr.? No one, that’s who. Watch as Mr. Williams Jr. lays it down for Sarah Palin at this 2008 rally.

2. “Young Con Anthem,” The Young Cons

Supply-side economics and hip-hop don’t mix. They just don’t. This isn’t an indictment of trickle-down theory so much as a warning against allowing young white conservatives access to a mic and GarageBand.

3. “Have You Forgotten,” Darryl Worley

The long-since discredited link between Saddam Hussein and 9/11, even in the weeks leading up to the Iraq war, was a tenuous at best. It was a bad reason to go to war, and an even worse theme on which to write a song. That didn’t stop war profiteer/horrible lyricist Worley from cashing in on raw post-9/11 emotions. See you in hell, Worley.

4. “Let The Eagle Soar,” John Ashcroft.

Don’t let your cabinet members sing. Just … just don’t.

5. “Bush Was Right,” The Right Brothers

Much like The Young Cons, it’s difficult to believe this Billy Joel/Green Day rip-off is not parody, in part because the of the hopelessly flawed logic behing the terrible, terrible lyrics was suspect even when this was posted in 2006 (“Freedom-in-Afganistain/Say-goodbye-The-Taliban” … “Democracy-is-on-the-way/Hittin’-like-a-tidal-wave”). You half-expect to see them rocking out before a huge “Mission Accomplished” banner.

Listening to this makes me burp up the same queasy laughter as when reading Conservative Punk. (Know what’s not punk? Embracing political ideology.)

(Thanks to the AV Club.)