When a celebrity endorsement can make a difference: Case in point, Taylor Swift

This is the Taylor Swift Instagram post that has propelled her onto the national political stage.

• taylorswift I’m writing this post about the upcoming midterm elections on November 6th, in which I’ll be voting in the state of Tennessee. In the past I’ve been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now. I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country. I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG. I believe that the systemic racism we still see in this country towards people of color is terrifying, sickening and prevalent.
  I cannot vote for someone who will not be willing to fight for dignity for ALL Americans, no matter their skin color, gender or who they love. Running for Senate in the state of Tennessee is a woman named Marsha Blackburn. As much as I have in the past and would like to continue voting for women in office, I cannot support Marsha Blackburn. Her voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me. She voted against equal pay for women. She voted against the Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which attempts to protect women from domestic violence, stalking, and date rape. She believes businesses have a right to refuse service to gay couples. She also believes they should not have the right to marry. These are not MY Tennessee values. I will be voting for Phil Bredesen for Senate and Jim Cooper for House of Representatives. Please, please educate yourself on the candidates running in your state and vote based on who most closely represents your values. For a lot of us, we may never find a candidate or party with whom we agree 100% on every issue, but we have to vote anyway.
  So many intelligent, thoughtful, self-possessed people have turned 18 in the past two years and now have the right and privilege to make their vote count. But first you need to register, which is quick and easy to do. October 9th is the LAST DAY to register to vote in the state of TN. Go to vote.org and you can find all the info. Happy Voting! 🗳😃🌈

Not knowing much about Kanye West, his music, and the controversies about him, I did some research and wrote a story about him after he became the first person ever to upstage Donald Trump. I suggested readers check out his Wikipedia page, then posted links to some of his woman degrading videos and to various articles focusing on controversies about him.

I knew that Taylor Swift was a country music superstar and songwriter, and that she is one of the most popular music artists of all time, and that she’s had a long-running feud with Kanye West, who jump onstage when she won an MTV Video Music Award, grabbing the microphone to praise Beyonce. I didn’t know much more. I decided it was time to learn about this woman who could actually influence an election through her endorsement.

Here’s Taylor Swift’s Wikipedia page which provides an impressive resume of her life and career.

Up until now, Swift has remained non-political. After all, many country music fans lean conservative. She had to know that some of her fans wouldn’t look kindly on her endorsing a Democrat. So it came as a surprise to many when she broke her silence and endorsed the low in the polls Democratic candidate for Senate in her home state of Tennessee. Here's how CNBC put it: 

How Taylor Swift's political endorsement could become the 'biggest ripple ever' at the polls

 Some political observers have their doubts, and history is littered with celebrity political endorsements — overwhelmingly in favor of Democratic candidates — that failed to translate into actual votes. Meanwhile, the latest polling data show incumbent Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn with a sizable lead over her Democratic challenger, Phil Bredesen, who Swift urged her followers to back next month.

If you have seen some of Kanye West’s videos, in contrast to his lyrics with his unabashed self-disclosure where he proudly reveals his misogyny, compare  just one example of Swift's heartfelt self-disclosing lyrics:

You're on the phone with your girlfriend—she's upset
She's going off about something that you said
'Cause she doesn't get your humor like I do.

I'm in the room, it's a typical Tuesday night.
I'm listening to the kind of music she doesn't like.
And she'll never know your story like I do

But she wears short skirts
I wear t-shirt
She's cheer captain
And I'm on the bleachers

Dreaming about the day when you wake up and find
That what you're looking for has been here the whole time.

If you could see
That I'm the one
Who understands you
Been here all along
So, why can't you see
You belong with me
You belong with me?

Full song

For your pleasure here’s Taylor Swift’s official YouTube video page.

Because Taylor Swift has been non-political and because she has broad national appeal even outside the country music world, while this endorsement may not prove enough to swing the Tennessee election if may have an impact in other races across the country.

Ken Thomas notes in his Capitol Hill Blue column today (Authenticity: Best campaign tactic?) 2018 may be the year where authenticity proves to be a potent remedy to Republican politics.

In an exchange that quickly went viral, the Democrat congressman and Senate hopeful was asked whether he found NFL players who knelt during the national anthem to be disrespectful. A passionate O’Rourke told the room of Texans, not necessarily a sympathetic crowd, that he could “think of nothing more American than to peacefully stand up, or take a knee, for your rights.”

Clips of his answer were viewed millions of times online, generating buzz in O’Rourke’s uphill battle against Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.

For national Democrats, it was the type of moment that epitomized a common buzzword in Democratic circles —“authenticity”— and the push to present candidates in a more open, unvarnished manner offering a window to their values.

Of course she’s not a candidate, however Taylor Swift is a model of authenticity and now she’s come over to our side.

Fact Check: She really hasn’t inspired 200 million fans to register to vote in Tennessee as the Onion satirizes:“‘Tennessee Democratic Party chairperson Mary Mancini, who applauded Swift for ‘getting her message out there,’ as well as helping to register the entire population of the state more than 30 times over. ‘We’ve never seen anything like this—definitely not in a 24-hour period at least.’“