Tuesday, October 9, 2018
The Swift Effect?
We're not particularly believers in celebrities' ability to drive people to the polls, otherwise Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce and Bon Jovi would be saluting President Hillary Clinton. Willie Nelson's endorsement last month of Rep. Beto O'Rourke in Texas may yet have some effect, other than angering his right-wing fans. But, something may be happening after pop star Taylor Swift's Instagram blast at far-right Trumper Rep. Marsha Blackburn while endorsing former Gov. Phil Bredesen in the Tennessee Senate race along with Dem Rep. Jim Cooper. She urged her 112 million followers to go to "vote.org". Thousands apparently did, with the site reporting 155,000 unique visitors in the 24 hour period following her Instagram post, including 2,144 in Tennessee alone.
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4 comments:
I think the effect is potentially considerable. Remember, just because a candidate loses, that doesn't mean that every factor working in their favor was negligible. And turnout wasn't Hillary's problem. She got three million more votes than her opponent, despite vote-suppression laws. The problem is our weird electoral system which enables objectively-losing candidates to "win" because of how the votes are distributed geographically.
Just imagine the effect if Swift had endorsed the other side. In an instant millions of young people who don't follow politics would have been invited to see Republicans as "cool". Whether we like it or not, pop culture has a big impact.
infidel -- Well said. To have a mega star like Swift endorse your side is major, and to have her direct them to a voter registration site is even more impactful.
And the youth vote is crucial. Combined, hopefully, with the young adults who survived school shootings across the country and specifically the group from Parkland, Florida, young people can understand that their fresh, new votes will count. We cannot rely on our usual cast of voters; we need to engage groups who have been mistepresented.
Blue wave, people.
donnah -- The 18-30 year olds are much less likely to vote than seniors, and that has to change for their sakes if no one else's. Having social media influencers like Taylor Swift urge them to register and vote has to make a difference.
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