If the real thing don't do the trick, you'd better make up something quick

(Heart [Ann & Nancy Wilson] with Fergie)

Republicans, especially around campaign season, have a long history of stealing. The party of personal responsibility, law & order, and property rights, seems to always forget that intellectual property matters too. Perhaps because they have no intellectual property of their own.

So last night and tonight, to celebrate the blood-thirsty cheerleader Sarah Palin, they used the song "Barracuda", by Heart:

Blasting through the Republican convention hall is the 1977 hit "Barracuda" by rock band Heart.

It's a shout-out to Sarah Palin. When she played basketball in high school, the soon-to-be Republican vice presidential nominee earned the nickname "Sarah barracuda" for her fierce competitiveness.

Some of her opponents revived the "Sarah barracuda" nickname after she became mayor of her hometown, Wasilla, in 1996, defeating a three-term incumbent.

Yeah. See, her fierce competitiveness won her 616 votes in a town of 6000. That's 10% of the vote. I got your mandate right here.

But as usual, the Right wants to use anyone's property in the pursuit of their own goals. Jackson Browne, Bruce Springsteen, John Hall, and John Mellencamp have all protested. Had they been asked, they still would have said no, because the above musicians vote Democratic.

But they were never asked, the songs were just used, as if they belonged to everyone. So how did the women of Heart respond?

This afternoon, Heart emailed out a statement regarding vice-presidential candidate Sarah "Barracuda" Palin's use of their similarly monikered song at the Republican National Convention: "The Republican campaign did not ask for permission to use the song, nor would they have been granted that permission," it read. "We have asked the Republican campaign publicly not to use our music. We hope our wishes will be honored."

But after McCain finished his speech accepting the GOP's presidential nomination tonight, Palin joined him on stage, and the song was used again: Heart's "Barracuda" played as balloons fell. With that elephant in the room, Heart's Nancy Wilson felt compelled to personally respond. "I think it's completely unfair to be so misrepresented," she said in a phone call to EW.com after the speech. "I feel completely f---ed over." She and sister Ann Wilson then emailed the following exclusive statement:

"Sarah Palin's views and values in NO WAY represent us as American women. We ask that our song 'Barracuda' no longer be used to promote her image. The song 'Barracuda' was written in the late 70s as a scathing rant against the soulless, corporate nature of the music business, particularly for women. (The 'barracuda' represented the business.) While Heart did not and would not authorize the use of their song at the RNC, there's irony in Republican strategists' choice to make use of it there."

And so the soulless, corporate, thieving nature of the Republican Party continues to steal, plunder, and pillage anything they want.

Bastards.

And Sarah? Your snotty, entitled, pep rally act will have little staying power. People tire of the cheap, and shallow. Except on soap operas, where we expect such drama.