So, Taylor Swift Finally Broke Her Political Silence

UPDATE: Did T Swift's political PSA lead to a surge in vote registrations?

"Swift included the URL to vote.org, which reported nearly 65,000 people nationwide between the ages of 18 and 29 had registered since Sunday night when the post went live," NBC News reports. "The site also reported more than 40,000 people between the ages of 30 and 70+ registering since Sunday."

ORIGINAL POST

For so long Taylor Swift's fans wanted to know why she has never made a peep about her political leanings. It was her duty to use her platform to speak up, they insisted. Still, she kept mum. Until this weekend, that is. The popular pop star has broken her political silence to announce that she is endorsing Democrats Phil Bredesen and Jim Cooper in the Senate and House races in Tennessee. 

Why is she speaking up now? Because, she explained on Instagram, she has been so concerned by the decisions made in Washington in the past two years. In the lengthy social media post, Swift explains that while she typically tries to support female candidates, she can't support and is even urging voters to reject Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) because she has a voting record that "appalls her." 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

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! ??????

A post shared by  Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Oct 7, 2018 at 4:33pm PDT

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Swift is particularly "terrified" by Blackburn's voting record on LGBTQ rights and the Violence Against Women Act.

As for the latter vote, in 2013, Blackburn explained that she believed the bill had forgotten its main objective. She explained her vote as follows:

"I didn’t like the way it was expanded to include other different groups," she said at the time. "What you need is something that is focused specifically to help the shelters and to help out law enforcement, who is trying to work with the crimes that have been committed against women and helping them to stand up."

Blackburn, meanwhile, has earned the endorsement of President Trump. She is currently ahead of Bredesen, a former Tennessee governor, by 8 points, per recent polling.

Marsha Blackburn had a BIG win last night in the Tennessee primary for U.S. Senate. She is an outstanding person & great supporter of mine. Congratulations Marsha, we need you very badly in the Senate to vote for our agenda. Your next opponent will vote against all we are doing!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 3, 2018