Obama campaign manager warns Dems not to squander Taylor Swift culture war
February 01, 2024
Former Barack Obama campaign manager Dan Pfeiffer is calling the new Republican culture war against Taylor Swift a gift for Democrats.
Writing Thursday, he explained that the GOP's freakout over Swift is another example of how "out of touch" they have become.
Swift, who began her career in the right-leaning world of country music, in the past has openly said she couldn't vote for Donald Trump. It comes after the pop star registered 35,000 people to vote with a single social media post. Then, she began dating a Kansas City Chiefs football player, infiltrating the conservative stronghold of the NFL.
The conspiracy theorists went wild.
READ MORE: A neuroscientist explains how Donald Trump exploits the minds of conspiracy theorists
"The Right Wing’s bizarre conspiracy theory about the Deep State scripting the Super Bowl so that Taylor Swift could help Biden win has been THE topic of the week; one of the few things that actually broke through in our disaggregated, chaotic, confusing media ecosystem," wrote Pfeiffer in his newsletter, The Message Box.
He explained that it brought the country together, mocking the idea that Swift is some "deep state" psyop.
"Beyond making fun of these yahoos, there is something notable about the Right Wing picking a fight with America’s most popular singer, one of its most popular athletes, and the most popular sport by far on the occasion of what will be the most watched television event of the year," Pfeiffer continued.
"The 'Taylor Swift is an op' accusation is an example of the Democrats’ continuing and too often unrealized opportunity to paint the Republicans as out-of-touch."
It's a similar take that Republican communications strategist Ana Navarro made on CNN Thursday, saying it "takes the cake as the stupidest conspiracy theory" that she's heard from "a group of people who have come up with some of the stupidest conspiracy theories we have ever heard."
Navarro explained that it has nothing to do with Swift and Travis Kelce, love or even football.
"Their issue is that the woman tweeted out and said, go register to vote, and she burst the internet. It blew up, that she has that kind of political influence. If she was a MAGA person, they would love all sorts — they would all be Swifties," Navarro explained.
Pfeiffer explained that the right-wing endeavors to "otherize" the opposing side. He used John Kerry as an example. Despite being a war hero, they painted him as an "elitist, wind-surfing Boston Brahmin who hated his fellow troops." The Obama "birther" campaign was another attempt by the right to "otherize."
"All of the 'Defund the Police,' Critical Race Theory, DEI bulls--t were attempts to make Democrats seem extreme," he said. "And all of this is why, dating back to Richard Nixon, Republicans have worked so hard to claim ownership of the words 'freedom' and 'patriotism.'"
"Democrats are often ahead of public opinion on issues of civil rights and reproductive and sexual freedoms and, therefore, on the defensive over these sorts of cultural issues. But those days are no longer. Republicans are on the wrong side of public opinion and backing themselves into a corner by picking some truly bizarre fights," Pfeiffer noted.
He named not only the right's Swift war, but baseball, football, Bud Light, Target, Disney and a slew of other big brands that they've tried to go after.
"While this whole Taylor Swift psyop thing has gotten some attention, most voters don’t know just how far from the mainstream Republicans have wandered. Therefore, it’s our job to tell them," he said, before detailing how to do so.
See the Navarro video below or at the link here.
Leave a Comment
