Swift response

How long have I known who Taylor Swift is? I don’t know. I haven’t been living in a cave for the past decade, so of course I’d heard of her. Some sort of pop superstar, idolised by a gazillion girls known as Swifites. Until recently I would not have recognised a single song by her if I heard it on the radio, which, as far as I’m aware, I haven’t. (I think she’s considered too commercial for CBC radio, which is the only station I ever have on.) Oh, and she’s currently dating a football player named Travis. (Somehow this is impossible not to know.)

Then, a few weeks ago, almost immediately after J D Vance’s appalling comments about cat ladies hit the news, this started circulating on Facebook.

I thought at first that Swift herself had put this out (and thought “Good on you, Taylor”), but it turned out to be the first of many, many memes.

Like this one.

(Vance really is the gift that keeps on giving.)

Then – KABOOM! – timed perfectly right after the debate.

And then the news that within 24 hours of this dropping, hundreds of thousands of new voters registered. Pretty bloody impressive.

Who is this Taylor Swift person? A friend recommended watching the documentary Miss Americana on Netflix, which I did last night.

The first conclusion I came to was that Kanye West is indeed, as Obama called him at the time, a jackass. (No idea what I’m talking about? Neither had I until I watched the documentary.)

You watch the young singer struggle to remain apolitical until 2018 when she found herself so appalled by the Republican senate candidate in her home state of Tennessee that she decided she had to say something. She made a post endorsing the Democratic candidate and encouraging her fans everywhere in the US to get out and vote. Voter registration skyrocketed in the aftermath. Not enough, it seemed, in Tennessee, where the Democrats lost, but it did establish Swift as a force to be reckoned with.  

Swift’s response, to help her and her young fans overcome the disappointment of Wankmaggot worshippers winning that year was to write this song.

Not overtly political, but the message was there: Younger voters will get their turn if they stay in the fight.

Jumping into the fray in 2018 didn’t prevent the horrible Marsha Blackburn being elected as one of Tennessee’s senators. Did Swift’s endorsement of Joe Biden help in 2020? Hard to say, but given the narrow margins in states like Pennsylvania and Georgia and the high youth turn out, it certainly might have done so. Will it help get Harris into the Oval Office? Hell, I hope so.