From Red Hot Chili Peppers to Jon Fishman, musicians continue to expound their support for presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. Most recently, R.E.M. frontman, Michael Stipe, told Rolling Stone why his vote would go to the Democratic candidate. “In art and in music, I seek out and listen for honesty and realness. That’s why I’m backing Bernie Sanders for President of the United States. In politics, he is the person who is offering me the most honesty and the most realness.” Well said, Mr. Stipe, well said.

He further explains himself off-camera:

“I’m a feminist. I’ve marched, supported and fought for black rights, privacy rights and LGBTQ rights. I’m deeply concerned about the environment. I’m completely freaked out by fracking. Sanders takes positions on all of these issues that have [outshone] any other candidate that I’ve seen — and I have looked, believe me. I identify with him. I’m a proud liberal, but I also lean more center when it comes to policy. I get it that there are people who don’t see things exactly the way I do.

“I’ve been around long enough to see when a politician is waffling or dodging hard questions, or trying to alter or rewrite the positions they have taken. Sanders is refreshingly not that. Listen, politics is not easy, and America is so vast — there are lots of different viewpoints out there. It’s refreshing to have a candidate who speaks his mind, who makes sense, who isn’t demagogic. His appeal and his honesty — once people see who he is and what he stands for — is perfect for now. It’s very 21st century. It is idealistic, but also realistic.”

You can read more about his political opinion in this interview, or watch Stipe’s endorsement below:

[via Rolling Stone]