Taylor Swift, that Grammy-winning superstar who croons hit after hit about love, life, and her delicate reputation, has finally broken her lengthy bout of silence on politics and created some bad blood doing it. In an Instagram post Sunday evening, Swift said she’ll be backing two Democrats for office in Tennessee because their values align with hers. Shocker: Nice to meet you Taylor, where you been? Could you show us incredible things?
Her post reads, in part, (are you ready for it?):
Some conservatives weren’t happy she finally broke her political silence and said she did something bad.
NRSC press release: “If you haven’t heard, multimillionaire pop star Taylor Swift came down from her ivory tower to tell hardworking Tennesseans to vote for Phil Bredesen.”
— Sam Stein (@samstein) October 8, 2018
Should we take it as a compliment that Taylor is talking to everyone here but us? It’s true, Swift usually remains mum on politics but as anyone could guess walking a tightrope between Hollywood and Nashville – her boyfriend is actor Joe Alwyn – Swift’s views lean left. Although Phil Bredesen, who Swift endorsed, is more of a moderate Democrat (he supported Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court) and more fiscally conservative than many of his Democratic colleagues, in terms of social policies he does not fulfill many conservatives’ wildest dreams.
Swift’s announcement shouldn’t be surprising or hard to shake off, although it is somewhat disappointing to see yet another star who is supposedly pro-woman and pro-#MeToo actually vote against women because their ideology differs so much. I thought we were supposed to back women because they’re women? Of course, this is Swift’s right and most people vote for politicians who align with their values, but this comes at a delicate time in our nation’s history, when all women are supposed to be heard and respected, regardless of ideology, and politics as a getaway car or “get out of jail free” card is supposed to be eschewed.
As November looms, we’ll no doubt be inundated with stars voicing their views and promoting their politicians of choice from their star-studded platforms. If I had to guess, we won’t be out of the woods on this until after Election Day. Until then, time will tell whether Swift’s endorsement is persuasive with local voters, if her opinion holds any sway at the ballot box. If so, we’ll all wonder if this is what we made her do – and if not, we’ll be glad politics isn’t her end game.
Either way, we can still love the music she makes – maybe her next album will include a love story to a politician?
Nicole Russell (@russell_nm) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. She is a journalist who previously worked in Republican politics in Minnesota.
