Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio (left), the ‘Loaf (right); Photo: Sait Serkan Gurbuz/AP (left), Vevo (right)
In a debate over the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, U.S. Senators quoted Meat Loaf lyrics to help make their arguments. Four Senate members pulled verses from two classic Meat Loaf songs, “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad” and “Life is a Lemon and I Want My Money Back.”
Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio started the diatribe with “Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad,” and argued that the acts have failed to meet expectations. “As Meat Loaf used to sing, ‘Two out of three ain’t bad,'” he said. “But this bill doesn’t even meet the Meat Loaf minimum.”
Enraged by the government’s inability to meet the “Meat Loaf minimum,” Louisiana Senator John Neely Kennedy followed up Brown’s statements with, “Meat Loaf also sang, ‘There ain’t no Coupe DeVille in the bottom of a Cracker Jack box.’ In other words, we live in a real world.”
Senator Thom Tillis from North Carolina added to the fracas with his own quote, “In that same song, he also sang ‘Baby we can talk all night, but that ain’t getting us nowhere,’ so I’m looking forward to processing the amendments.”
Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen ended the impromptu karaoke session by condemning Wells Fargo and Equifax, saying, “Meat Loaf also said ‘Life is a lemon and I want my money back,’ so, on behalf of all the consumers who got the short end of the stick from Wells Fargo and Equifax, I want a bill to make sure they get their money back.”
How the four senators came to the agreement that Meat Loaf lyrics are the best way to get their point across is a mystery. But the point was to seize headlines and add a touch of humor to what is normally considered to be a boring ritual full of routine proceedings. Whether or not it’ll make a lasting impact is another matter altogether.
Check out the audio from the Meat Loaf lyric quote-off via NPR below.