Having your career go south will embitter many a celebrity. If they don't start off conservative, a great many blame "liberal Hollywood" or whoever for their talent not being recognized.
Ray wanted to do serious country music after all those years of novelty songs, and "Everything Is Beautiful" is probably the closest he got to that.
But the fans wanted his silly stuff, not this serious stuff, and that seemed to be the catalyst that made him the angry wingnut he is today.
But he can't even do the political music seriously. He's still wearing stupid costumes and making silly faces, but he thinks he's thinking the political edge makes his music more sophisticated. It reminds me of when I was a teenager and started claiming myself as a libertarian. I thought I was so damned grownup.