And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate …
House Speaker John Boehner never misses a beat. In a blog post on Friday, the top Republican leader used 12 images of pop icon Taylor Swift to depict his displeasure with President Barack Obama’s newly proposed community college plan.
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Boehner explains his feelings about the program by using “GIFs” of Swift dancing and singing in music videos, and clapping at awards shows. He called the proposal, “exciting at first,” until he said he thought about the meaning of the word “free.”
“Turns out,” he wrote, “when President Obama said ‘free’ what he meant was ’60 billion dollars over 10 years.’ Not even all the Taylor Swift album sales in the world would cover that bill,” as a confused Swift appears in an image. Boehner questions if the president is trying to pay for the program with a tax increase on millions of Americans or by piling up more debt on young college students.
Last week, Obama unveiled his plan to present Congress in the coming weeks with an ambition to make a two-year community college education free for all Americans. The goal, one of Obama’s most sweeping secondary education proposals ever, could help about 9 million students each year reach what the president called an “essential pathway to the middle class.” Deemed “America’s College Promise,” the program would cost the federal government $60 billion over 10 years, according to the White House.
The free-education proposal is the latest in a year-long series of education efforts made by the Obama administration aimed at low-income and nontraditional students, as well as women and minority youth.
Swift, a 24-year-old self-proclaimed feminist, is one of the music industry’s most charitable pop stars. She recently made public her plans to donate the proceeds from her hit single, “Welcome to New York,” to public schools in Manhattan. She also has supported other causes, ranging from children’s literacy to gay rights.
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In the post, Boehner referenced lyrics from Swift’s recently released hit songs, “Shake It Off” and “Blank Space,” from her fifth album, “1989.”
Will Swift “shake it off,” or respond to the way her image and stardom were used?
Michele Richinick