MORGAN: Conservatives must take a lesson from Taylor Swift!

Usually, celebrity endorsements in elections are of little consequence and are disregarded by most people. The case with Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris is different. Swift has hit a level of stardom that’s unprecedented in revenue, and more importantly in fan loyalty. The self-styled “Swifties” who follow her are legion and cult-like in their loyalty. Swift’s endorsement of Harris won’t change many votes among those who have already decided where to place their mark on the ballot, but it could bring out hundreds of thousands if not millions of people to vote who would have stayed home otherwise. Those kinds of numbers can swing an election.We wish people were more moved by policies than herd mentality but that’s just not the case. With left-leaning people dominating the narrative from public figures, the public can feel inclined to drift toward what they feel is a majority view. That’s why lawn signs are such a priority for political campaigns. It’s not that candidates need people to recognize their names so much as they want to create an impression that they are enjoying popular support. If a cul-de-sac is dominated with signs from a particular candidate, folks can be inclined to go with the flow and join their neighbours.There are many prominent people who are conservatives. You just don’t hear from them very often.The best way to tell if an actor in Hollywood is a conservative is if you don’t know what their political leanings are. They keep it to themselves as breaking ranks can greatly reduce casting opportunities. The leftist actors never shut the hell up about it however. Think of it like vegans. Vegans are in a tiny minority, but they sure aren’t a quiet one. People with normal dietary habits don’t feel compelled to announce it to the world at every opportunity. But, one can’t get through more than five minutes with a vegan before they find a way to slip it into a conversation. It would seem almost as if vegans were in a majority, when measured by who brings it up and who doesn’t.Conservatives win when they just come out and be conservative.Look at the recent release of the movie Reagan. Actors Dennis Quaid and Jon Voight are among the few outspoken conservatives in Hollywood and they happily took parts in a movie celebrating one of the greatest presidents of all time. Despite little to no hype about the film from conventional media, the movie had a fantastic opening weekend. Citizens were eager to watch it.Critics then panned the film and this is where things become more telling. There is a popular website site called Rotten Tomatoes which aggregates film ratings. It has two types of ratings. The ratings from critics, and the ratings from audiences. Reagan only got positive reviews from 21% of critics. The movie got an incredible 98% positive review rating from audiences. Try as they might, critics couldn’t convince people that a fantastic movie is a bad one.The critics are part of the establishment and the establishment in our current culture wars swings left. They are in the fringe though and we should make note of that.Looking closer to home, look at the trajectory of Ralph Klein. He was one of the most popular premiers of all time in Canada. Yet, the establishment relentlessly attacked him. Pundits assured us all Klein was committing political suicide when he told the unions to go to hell and shrunk government. But, he then won a bigger majority. Critics howled when Klein continued to cut the budget. Klein then won an even larger majority. When Klein started getting tired and began throwing money at problems rather than standing up for taxpayers, his popularity began to wane and he was encouraged out to pasture by his own party.I have heard the phase “I wish I could have said that” so many times when in candid conversations with business leaders and politicians when referring to something I wrote in a column or on X. Well guess what? They can say that!In fact, they must say that! What is that? Pretty much anything unapologetically conservative though perhaps a bit less abrasively than I do.In staying silent, or quietly speaking of conservative principles as if they are something to be ashamed of, prominent conservatives are allowing a minority of leftists to own public discourse. When conservatives dodge questions on conservative stances, it makes them look sneaky and implies there is something wrong with the stance.Call for small government. Call out the unions. Don’t shy away from the need to cut spending and lay off bureaucrats.Don’t be afraid to say we can’t handle the current volume of immigrants.Point out the utter failure of the Indian Act and the reserve system.Call a man a man and a woman a woman. It's common-sense principles and when conservatives own them, the voters reward it. Come out of the closet and be who you are!A conservative.You will feel so much better being yourself, in the open and without shame or apologies.

MORGAN: Conservatives must take a lesson from Taylor Swift!

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