Taylor Swift Breaks Political Silence, Endorses Tennessee Democrats

“I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country”

By Erin Nyren

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Taylor Swift has broken her long-held public political silence in an Instagram post encouraging her followers to vote in the November midterm elections and slamming Republican Tennessee representative Marsha Blackburn.

“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,” Swift began the post, which was accompanied by a moody, black-and-white photo of the superstar.

 

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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

“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,” she wrote. “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,” the post continues.

Swift went on to call out Blackburn, who’s running for Bob Corker’s open Senate seat, stating that although Swift supports having more women in office, she cannot vote for Blackburn due to her political track record. She goes on to list several policies Blackburn supports, including the idea that businesses have a right to turn away gay patrons, finishing with, “These are not MY Tennessee values.”

“I will be voting for Phil Bredesen for Senate and Jim Cooper for House of Representatives,” she wrote. Bredesen and Cooper are both Democrats. Cooper currently represents the fifth congressional district based in Nashville, and Bredesen is a former Tennessee governor and mayor of Nashville.

She included a plea to her followers to get engaged with the political process: “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.”

She finished the post by encouraging her followers to register to vote, including the registration deadline of Oct. 9 for Tennessee.

Swift has faced criticism in the past for not using her enormous platform to advocate for political and social causes, with some speculating that she intentionally stayed silent regarding politics so as not to alienate any of her fan base. She posted a since-deleted photo of herself voting during the 2016 presidential election, but did not state who she voted for.