Rock Star Whose Song Has Played at GOP Rallies Rails Against 'MAGATS'

Dee Snider, who enjoyed success in the 1980s as the lead singer of heavy metal band Twisted Sister, has been devoting much of his social media activity in recent days to criticizing the Republican Party and its policies.

"DO NOT LET THE POLLS SHOWING NO CHOICE MAGATS WINNING THE MIDTERMS DISCOURAGE YOU FROM VOTING! Let it motivate you to get out & show the polls they are wrong!" Snider wrote on Twitter Sunday.

The rock star's political expression has seemingly become more pronounced this year following the use of his hit song "We're Not Gonna Take It" at GOP rallies. Snider was especially upset when Kari Lake, the Republican gubernatorial candidate in Arizona, played the track at a gathering in July. After raising his objections on Twitter to the song's use by Lake, he became involved in a back-and-forth exchange with the politician's social media team.

Former President Donald Trump used the Twisted Sister song in the past, but Snider claimed that ended when the Republican was asked to stop playing the tune.

More recently, former Trump adviser Michael Flynn played "We're Not Gonna Take It" at an event in upstate New York in August. He even encouraged the crowd to sing the lyrics along with him, according to an Associated Press report.

Snider, though, has taken to using the song as a rallying cry for his drive to shore up support against the GOP. He tweeted recently, "SAY WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT, GET OUT & VOTE FOR CHOICE!!"

Snider has also replied directly to tweets from people seeking to engage him in debate.

"I love you man. Your testimony before congress years ago fighting for free speech and freedom of expression was awesome. But, im more of a Constitutionalist. What I see with this administration, they are leaning towards communism and socialism. We fought wars against that," one person wrote, referring to Snider's anti-censorship testimony before the U.S. Senate in 1985.

"We've fought BIG wars against fascism too. But that slipped your constitutionalist mind?" the New York-born rocker replied.

Elsewhere on his Twitter account, Snider retweeted a pic that was originally posted by Richard Marx, another singer popular in the 1980s whose music is decidedly mellower than Snider's.

"Which one is the Christian again?" Snider wrote in the caption of a graphic that accused Trump of being guilty of the seven deadly sins taught in Christianity.

On Monday, Snider tweeted that he believes opinion polls on the midterms aren't necessarily accurate.

"THE POLLS ARE ONLY COUNTING 'LIKELY' VOTERS - PEOPLE WHO VOTED BEFORE," he wrote. "Remember all those young women and men who registered to vote after the MAGAT overturn of Roe v. Wade? Yup. First time voters. THE POLLS DON'T KNOW S***!"

When contacted for comment, a representative for Snider provided a statement from the singer.

"What the Right (Wrong) is calling the GOP today is anything but. I have been an independent voter my entire life and supported Republican candidates in the past. I rode in a [John] McCain Motorcycle procession in Sturgis in 2008 (before he added [Sarah] Palin to his ticket!)," Snider wrote.

He continued, "What we have today is the TOP (Trump Oppression Party) whose primary goal seems to be to bring the United States back to the 50's and take away the American people's freedom of choice. This is a battle of 'Pro Choice vs. No Choice.' Pro-Choice must prevail."

Update 11/08/22 1:00 p.m. ET: This story has been updated to include a statement from Dee Snider.