Dropkick Murphys slam GOP prez hopeful for using their song

When will politicians learn to stick to classical music?

The New York Daily News reports that the Dropkicks became enraged when they discovered that the Republican politician had used their iconic song, “I’m Shipping Up to Boston,” as background music at a recent political event.

The band took to social media to issue its cease-and-desist notice. And they didn’t mince words.

“@ScottWalker @GovWalker please stop using our music in any way...we literally hate you !!!” they tweeted on January 24.

The message, which has been retweeted almost 8,000 times so far, is signed, “Love, Dropkick Murphys.” Because while they may be Celtic punks with a fondness for exclamation points, they still have nice manners.

It is an old complaint from bands. First, there was Ronald Reagan’s campaign using Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” as a rallying cry back in 1984. More recently, conservative gadfly Sarah Palin thought Heart’s “Barracuda” would make nice background music (doncha know?). And who can forget Hillary Clinton’s handlers spinning the Billy Joel classic “Captain Jack” during a campaign stop, completely missing the bit about how he’ll “get you high tonight.” File all of those under: Oops!

The latest bust-up between an elected official and a rock act involves Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and Boston’s Irish house band, the Dropkick Murphys.

The Dropkick’s main beef with Walker stems from his efforts to put an end to collective bargaining for public workers in his home state. The band is adamantly pro-union, so this marriage of politics and music was never going to work. But it’s nice publicity for the band.