Even staunch establishment figures such as former VP Dick Cheyney and his daughter, former Congresswoman Lynn Cheyney, have thrown in their lot with Harris and Walz as well. Then there’s the former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and the 100 former national security officials and lawmakers who, according to the Guardian, have also jumped onto the Harris bandwagon. They may not all agree on how the country should be run, but they all agree there’s one person who should never get anywhere near the White House again.

And then . . . Billie Eilish, Oscar-winning singer/songwriter, and her brother Finneas recently announced: “We are voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz because they are fighting to protect our reproductive freedom, our planet, and our democracy.”

Finneas added: “We can’t let extremists control our lives, our freedoms and our future.

Billie tied the ribbon on it: “Vote like your life depends on it, because it does.”

Endorsements like these from Taylor and the Eilish siblings are of great importance. The youth vote is coveted by both parties and could well make all the difference on Election Day.

– YouTubewww.youtube.com

Original Post 9/10/2024:

You gotta give it to Taylor Swift.

Moments after the Presidential debate on September 10 ended, the billionaire popstar / singer / songwriter announced on Instagram that she’s endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris in her bid for the presidency.

– YouTubewww.youtube.com

“I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights

and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them. I think

she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can

accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm

and not chaos. I was so heartened and impressed by her selection

of running mate @timwalz, who has been standing up for

LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body

for decades…” __Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift urged her fans to do their research, make up their own minds, visit vote.gov, and take action. A spokesperson from the General Services Administration told CNBC that her post drove over 337K visitors to the site where visitors can register to vote.

This is a big deal because celebrities wield massive influence. This time, however, Swift isn’t merely endorsing a shoe or perfume or charity. She’s telling the world that she thinks Kamala Harris and Tim Walz should be in the White House.

Naturally, this rubs certain people the wrong way. Highly accomplished women like Swift and Harris often serve as lighting rods for sexism and misogyny. The Republican Party’s nominee for Vice President, J. D. Vance has notoriously condemned “childless cat ladies” for having the audacity to not have children and to assume that they should have a say in how the country is run. Evidently, thoroughly-subjugated barefoot and pregnant women are the only women Vance thinks matter:

Bear children. Make supper. Shut up.

Powerful women – especially powerful women of color – frighten aging white males who see their hegemony slipping away from them. Their attempts to hold onto power and exclude those who aren’t white, straight, elderly, wealthy men are floundering and doomed to fail. One suspects they know this, though they’d never admit it to themselves. As their desperation grows, they escalate their hateful attacks on women, minorities, immigrants, and the poor.

What a losing battle. As another pop legend, Paul Simon, once put it: “You can’t out-run the history train.”

The glorious diversity of America demands recognition, support, and encouragement. Kamala Harris is the public face of a real change in the zeitgeist.

Extremists have no sense of humor, so one doesn’t expect to them to enjoy the photo that accompanied Swift’s endorsement of Harris and Walz.

The unmarried Grammy-winning billionaire poses with her cat. Like karma, poetic justice is sweet, ain’t it? Damn straight.