She’s got my attention now. Taylor is urging Tennessee voters to back Democrat Phil Bredesen for senator in her home state. Here are the strong reasons Swift gives, and some of my reasons I add afterwards to her own.
First, in Taylor Swift's words, for preferring Democrat Bredesen:
“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."
And she adds, “These are not MY Tennessee values. I will be voting for Phil Bredesen for Senate and Jim Cooper for House of Representatives. .... Happy Voting!"
Swift’s several reasons, including her wish to “fight for dignity for ALL Americans, no matter their skin color, gender or who they love,” are so worthy.
I will give you even a few reasons more to support your Democratic candidate for senator in your state. Here’s the first one.
- JOBS: the pace of jobs creation was actually faster under President Obama, then it’s been under Trump. However, Trump is much more boastful.
- Next reason: S-O-S-S(Save our Social Security). And our Medicare.
Every single plan that Republicans in Congress has had to repeal the Obamacare (Affordable Care Act) setup and funding would have had the additional drawback of removing funds from Medicare, and shortening the financial life of Medicare, by anywhere from 2-to-4 years. Here was the impact of the intial Obamacare repeal, if they had enacted it at the start of Trump’s term with a full repeal of Obamacare.
And here’s the impact of a scaled-back repeal by GOP, that holds off the tax reversals until 2023. That would shorten the solvency of the Medicare trust fund by only 2 years, instead of 4.
Republican leader Mitch McConnell in an October interview with Bloomberg has signalled that he believes Social Security and Medicare “entitlements,” as he calls them (although you’ve paid SS and Medicare taxes from every paycheck every single week you’ve worked), will need to be “reformed” (he means cut back) — because of the “disturbing” rise in deficits we’ve seen following the mega-deficit tax cut (has added $1.5 billon in debt).
Majority Leader McConnell is wrongabout needing to cut back, or “reform” SS and Medicare. In fact, Democrats in Congress have a proposed bill, “Social Security 2100” that will extend the life of the SS trust fund for 75 years, and preserve it for the next generation, as well as the current generation. So far, not a single Republican has signed on to the bill (spearheaded by Rep. John Larson in the House, and Sen. Dick Blumenthal in the Senate).
S-O-S-S. Make it another rallying call for your vote today.
Another reason to vote for your Democratic Senator today — I’m talking Claire McCaskill (Missouri), Joe Donnelly (Indiana), Jacky Rosen (Nevada), Heidi Heitkamp (ND), Bill Nelson (Florida), Joe Manchin (WV), Beto O’Roure (Tx) — is to address and redress the black cloud of bigotry, racism and nativism we see overtaking the GOP right now.
This gets to me, especially as I’ve learned — from the personal autobiography of Ivana Trump, Trump’s first wife — how women in Trump’s life have bent the immigration system to their advantage.
Ivana wrote, in her autobiography last year, Raising Trump, that she created a scam marriage to get an Austrian passport to come to North America, in 1971. In her own words, “The marriage wouldn’t be real.” [See current diary about this.]
The women Trump has married (excepting Marla, from the state of Georgia, of course) have bent the immigration system to their advantage. That might be okay — if we as a country weren’t erecting barbed wire at the border today, and ginning up hatred for aspiring immigrants.
So, I think we’ve got enough reasons, Swift’s and mine, to encourage people of all ages (and musical preferences) to vote for a Democratic Senate and House. For humane reasons and practical ones as well.