If John Kerry was swift boated in 2004, the GOP appears to be Swift voted in 2016. In a measure of the power of celebrity status in our culture, Taylor Swift has reportedly caused a massive registration after she endorsed Tennessee Democrats. For the GOP hoping for a “Brett bounce” of Republicans going to the polls (with money pouring in for both parties after the Kavanaugh confirmation), Swift appears to have blunted the impact, particularly in Tennessee, with a single posting on Instagram. We remain a celebrity driven society.
Swift dropped her apolitical persona in a big way in urging her 112 million followers to get out the vote. She noted her neutral history but noted “I feel differently about that now.”
She endorsed two Tennessee Democrats–Democrat Phil Bredesen for Senate and incumbent Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper. Donald Trump has been campaigning hard for the Senate GOP candidate Marsha Blackburn.
Swift’s post supporting Democrats contrasts with the views
The response? Some 65,000 Americans ages 18 to 29 registered to vote in the roughly 24 hours — a surge attributed by various officials to Swift’s posting.
Taylor Not-So-Swift is quite the needle mover. Trump needs her to endorse his Democratic opponent whoever that mashocist might be :
http://www.informationliberation.com/files/swift-endorsed-dem-down-14.png
Taylor Swift found a way to re-ignite her feud with Kanye West. Time to pump up the publicity and smell the cash.
Ben Franklin, we gave you “…a republic, if you can keep it.”
Franklin’s was a restricted-vote republic.
________________________________
The Farmer Refuted, 1775
“The true reason (says Blackstone) of requiring any qualification, with regard to property in voters, is to exclude such persons, as are in so mean a situation, that they are esteemed to have no will of their own.”
“If it were probable that every man would give his vote freely, and without influence of any kind, then, upon the true theory and genuine principles of liberty, every member of the community, however poor, should have a vote… But since that can hardly be expected, in persons of indigent fortunes, or such as are under the immediate dominion of others, all popular states have been obliged to establish certain qualifications, whereby, some who are suspected to have no will of their own, are excluded from voting; in order to set other individuals, whose wills may be supposed independent, more thoroughly upon a level with each other.”
– Alexander Hamilton
She did that to enhance her career.
“We remain a celebrity driven society.” So, we remain a country of idiots?
“Swift appears to have blunted the impact, particularly in Tennessee, with a single posting on Instagram.” Haha, sure she did.
Jean Lafitte asks for a general better than Patton in WWII. Easy: George C. Marshall, who had the hardest task.
David B, Benson says George C. Marshall was a better general than George Patton. That’s a total non sequitur. Marshal was an able administrator, but without tacticians and masters of the operational art such as Patton, the Allied offensive in Europe would have stalled out much longer than it did when Montgomery got the forces which might have broken the encirclement at Bastogne tied up in the Low Countries in a vain attempt to seize the Ruhr valley. David, come back when you can show who was a better tactician and field commander (on the Allied side) than George S. Patton.
As luck would have it, Patton was assigned the 3rd Army which ended up having the most glamorous role. His staff appointments were up to the tasks required and so Patton obtained the glory.
That doesn’t mean that he was “best”.
DBB:
You remind of the infantry soldier who declares his targets only after his rounds reach their stopping points and then concludes he’s an expert marksman for hitting them.
David Benson is the King of Making Stuff Up and owes me twelve citations (one from the OED) and the source of a quotation, after nineteen weeks, and needs to cite all his work from now on. – it is clear you know nothing about military history. George C. Marshall did not take one foot of territory during WWII. He did not have one shot fired at him in anger. As a matter of fact, Pearl Harbor could have been warned earlier if he had not been out for his morning horse ride and out of contact. He did not come up with the plans for Anzio, or D-Day.
During the European campaign, there were two generals everyone kept an eye on. The Germans wanted to know exactly where Patton was and what he was up to. The Allies wanted to know exactly where Rommel was and what he was up to. No one, except Eisenhower, cared where or what George Marshall was up to.
I’m sure Republican celebrities will come forth to drum up votes for the GOP. Like Ted Nugent, for instance. Yeah, Ted’s bigger than Taylor Swift. Not that he sells any records anymore. But back in the 70′ s, Ted was pretty big for a year or two. Yeah, I’m sure Ted will go to Tenessee to offset Taylor Swift.
Charlie Daniels would do a better job in Tennessee. I saw him post in Twitter regularly until the last couple of weeks, and know he is NOT aligned with Taylor Swift or the Democrats. I hope he’s well and that this absence from Twitter isn’t either a gratuitous shadowban (I got hit under all three categories in the past week for Tweeting while Not a Democrat) or something worse.
Swift gloats
“She endorsed two Tennessee Democrats–Democrat Phil Bredesen for Senate and incumbent Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper. Donald Trump has been campaigning hard for the Senate GOP candidate Marsha Blackburn.
Swift’s post supporting Democrats contrasts with the views
The response? Some 65,000 Americans ages 18 to 29 registered to vote in the roughly 24 hours — a surge attributed by various officials to Swift’s posting.”
*********************
Well, let’s assume correlation is cause. Victory is yet an elusive thing, nonetheless. Ask the master historian about the longevity of triumps:
Add the “h” for me!
mespo…………l LOVE that scene…and loved the film. I saw it in Okla City ( 1970?)
It was part of a double feature with ……….M*A*S*H!!!
That’s a daily double, Cindy!!
LOL mespo………….but seriously, that scene is one of the most powerful, even though filmed almost as an afterthought for such an epic film. Just exquisite : the script, music, cinematography.
Cindy:
“but seriously, that scene is one of the most powerful, even though filmed almost as an afterthought for such an epic film. Just exquisite : the script, music, cinematography.”
******************
It was a poignant depiction of Patton’s disappointment at being discarded after the war was won, in large measure by his efforts in the western theater. The drawing back shot of the mountains, so descriptive of the man, stand in mute witness to the great general accompanied only by his loyal friend for his “triumph.” A damning indictment of how we treat martial heroes compared to the more genuine treatment meted out by the ancient Romans who justifiably feared a conqueror might conquer them, yet still instinctively knew you that if want a desired quality you have to subsidize it. We seemed to know a lot more about being human then even with all the barbarity. We’ve cloned humanity out of humans. Patton was an anachronism even in his own time. I know what he feels like sometimes.
Patton was far from the best of the WWII generals but certainly played for the applause.
David Benson is the King of Making Stuff Up and owes me twelve citations (one from the OED) and the source of a quotation, after nineteen weeks, and needs to cite all his work from now on. – Would you like to list the best WWII generals in order of “bestness” and give your reasons for placing each at that place?
Like most successful people he had an ego. He was a brilliant field commander and the most respected general of the US contingent for his tactical prowess. Even Ike acknowledged that.
Tell me now, David, who in the European Theater of Operations was better than Patton at seizing the initiative and pressing the advantage. Take your time. And consider that the real glory hound, one worth more to Hitler than all his own generals, was one Bernard Law Montgomery, whose running of Operation Market-Garden cost the Allies gravely in lives and opportunity for an earlier victory in Europe. Patton did his job well. Montgomery, not so much.
I don’t see where David in any way limited his opinion commentary to Allied generals, or generals in the ETO. Typical wackjobbery: can’t listen, can’t understand, and can’t synthesize or internalize external concepts. Is this why your ilk luvs them some hannity so much?
this is to “I used to read war comic books” jeannie
Marky Mark Mark – as someone who has studied military history and has a great interest in it, there is no one outside of the ETO who is worth considering as exceptional generals. There are naval officers who are top of the class, but then you are comparing apples and oranges.
8eautiful assessment, mespo. I concur, but could never articulate as well as you.
Patron’s son was at Ft Hood about an hour from us. I always wanted to meet him…….don’t know if he is still alive.
This auto correct is making me crazy……… Patton. Not Patron!
Cindy Bragg – turn auto correct OFF!!!!
Paul C……..the irritating thing is that it shows it to be off! Seriously, it is trying to drive me mad! Or madder.
I’ll have my 10 yr old grandson look at it……Btw, he explained to me what Release the Kracken means..LOL
I can sit at the Cool Kids lunch table now!!
Cindy Bragg – I am impressed your grandson knows who the Kraken is, much less the importance of releasing him. 😉 I have a Verizon store about 3 blocks from me and I make them fix my phone. 🙂 Who is your provider? Go to them and have them do it. Play Chrissy Blasey Ford’s little 4-year-old helpless me. They will be happy to help you. 😉
Paul C……..yes! I’ll do my Chrissy best! LOL
That grandson reads on level of Freshman in college….we go to him for everything!
Sure you could. Words are heartbeats on paper. Everybody beats.
😊
Swift confirmed our knowledge that Women only stand up for women of the right political persuasion. All of this Pro-woman crap is just B.S. Being a conservative woman myself, I know this to be true. I have been a political guru for nearly 40 yrs. Most women I meet on the other side just parrot the mainstream media and are completely clueless beings with a with a massive need for social attention. Trust me, women are vicious to other women, who don’t wear the right shoes, don’t hate men, don’t vote the right way, don’t believe all of the social construction/indoctrination. Actually they are horrible to ANY woman they deem a THREAT. Sorry for the rant.
Question. If T.Swift was the winner of a write in ballot for Senate in all three of the States where she lives by the DNC would she
a. take California
b. take New York
c. take Tennesee
A: None of the the above but Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton would immediately start a push to change the age requirement -retroactive and Bill Clinton would start lickingi his …
I can only imagine what her first initiative would be?
“Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing”
(also known simply as Shut Up and Sing) is a 2006 documentary film produced and directed by director Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck (daughter of actor Gregory Peck).[1]
The film follows the Dixie Chicks, an all-woman Texas-based country music trio, over a three-year period of intense public scrutiny, fan backlash, physical threats, and pressure from both corporate and conservative political elements in the United States after lead singer Natalie Maines publicly criticized then President of the United States George W. Bush during a live 2003 concert in London as part of their Top of the World Tour.
_____________________
Hopefully, history will repeat itself.
Studies have demonstrated convincingly that there’s an inverse correlation between the likelihood of an eligible voter responding to the political recommendations of celebrities and the intelligence of the eligible voter.
Not really comforting news, but Barack Obama’s 2012 win after the clusterhump in and palpable lies about Benghazi, his lethal diplomatic fumbling in Egypt and Syria, creating ISIS and the open mike incident with Putin’s flunky Medvedev in South Korea show those studies you cite are right.
As a girl singer, she can’t compare with Peggy Lee:
True.
Cindy B.,
Your earlier comment about Patton’s son motivated me to do a quick search.
He died at age 80 in 2004. Retired as a Major General, heavily decorated for service in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
His son Benjamin has written a biography of his father and grandfather.
Now I gotta check to see what happened to MacArthur’s son.
I don’t think he had a military career, but I’m curious about his life too.
Cindy B.,
MacArthur”s son, Arthur MacArthur IV, is 80 years old.
He did not have a military career, and seems to go have tried to avoid the spotlight for most of his adult life.
Like his father😉😊😂, he’s publicity-shy and not interested in glory or self-promotion.
Interesting that MacArthur’s son was “the IV”, and Patton’s son was “George Patton IV”.
This girl’s voice gives me chills:
Fake news!!! JT is clcik baiting readers!
Here is the real story.
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“Midterm election increasing voter registration interest in Tennessee, say officials
Holly Meyer Updated 3:13 p.m. CT Oct. 9, 2018
Today is the final day to register to vote in Tennessee if you want to have a say in those Nov. 6 races.
Historically, the last day before the deadline is the state’s biggest for voter registrations and that is not expected to be any different this year, said Mark Goins, the coordinator of elections for Tennessee. But overall, this midterm election is motivating more people to sign up, he said.
“Interest is definitely higher without a doubt,” Goins said.
But with so many contested races, including those for governor and the open U.S. Senate seat, Goins expected this would be a high-interest midterm.
“It’s a different midterm,” Goins said.
https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/tn-elections/2018/10/09/election-officials-say-midterm-election-increasing-voter-registration-interest-taylor-swift/1576500002/
Taylor Swift America’s great political pundit and brain trust. Yes kids Taylor supports all women, umm except Marsha Blackburn. What hypocrites celebrities are.
No support for the victims
Of the two Clintons
Nor those that felt fingers
Of Booker, Biden and more
They live in glass house
Poor as a church mouse
Pieces all over the room
Shattered and Scattered
But what does it matter
Who gives a damn
For those DNC victims
Just pieces all over the room
What’s important to them
Is be in control
And a fat bank account
Not pieces all over the room
There lay the words
Miss Taylor Swift
Only the tune is missing
Just pretend their Tim McGraw
When Donald J. Trump rants at his rallies about “fake news” and claims that the media is not just biased but lies, Americans wince — but now more so at the accuracy of his charges and no longer so much at the crassness with which he delivers them.
He’s learning fast. but the goal is the same to go down in history as the man who defeated the enemies of all free and independent citizens. President Terminator.
Haha. Maybe so in your little echo-chamber bubble of bedlam with all the other gullible rubes, dupes, klan wannabes, pocket-traitors and grifters on the make; but here in the real world occupied by authentic American patriots who revere our beloved country, we know it’s just more make-believe nonsense and blather from the day glo bozo which your ilk can’t seem to get enough of—or discern from the truth. So sorry for your handicap.
This is to “hey, what is that ticking sound?” richie
I’m wondering how best
To describe the left
Pitied, Pathetic
Or not worth the effort
Without George Soros the left would dissipate into a bunch of frothing white knight socialists and their dreams of conquering a nasty woman on the left taking her shirt off in protest of men gawking at women with their shirts off,