Posted by Nate Jones on 11/09/2012 at 5:32 PM News

The Popdust Files: Election 2012, politics, red, taylor swift

Earlier this week, we went deep on the issue on Taylor Swift’s politics, trying to figure out if the pop-country star was a Democrat or a Republican. We did the math and figured she’s probably an Obama voter—single women like Swift went to the Prez by a 2-to-1 margin—but there was plenty of evidence for the opposite conclusion, particularly the lyrics to Taylor’s “Red.” Now, a sitting Republican congressman has made the connection explicit, in an interview with GQ:

GQ: Give us one song that sums up your feelings about the end of the campaign.

Rep. Aaron Schock: “Red,” by Taylor Swift because the GOP has a lot of work in front of us if we want to turn this country red.

Noble goal, sure, and the color certainly fits—but is “Red” really the best song from Taylor’s new album to soundtrack the GOP’s rebuilding period? Let’s run down the tracklisting:

State of Grace: The classic rock sound of this is certainly in the GOP wheelhouse, and we can definitely see some conservative reformers getting inspired by “This is the state of grace / This is a worthwhile fight.” And the rest of it is vague enough to work!

Red: It certainly scans: “Loving him was red … losing him was blue.” But they might want to wait for a candidate first.

Treacherous: This is the rough sex song, so probably not.

I Knew You Were Trouble: This track might have worked as an anti-Obama campaign song, but can the GOP embrace dub step without looking silly?

All Too Well: “I was there / I remember it all too well.” Let’s hold onto this on the chance Obama has a really bad scandal in his second term.

22: LOL, no. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

I Almost Do: This is a soft-hearted ballad in which Taylor explains she’s only avoiding her ex because she’s worried about falling in love with him again, so it could definitely work as a model for the GOP’s efforts to woo back voters they’ve alienated in the past four years.

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together: Stand outside Donald Trump’s house and blast this on the speaker.

Stay, Stay, Stay: Football helmets + Men carrying women’s groceries = Traditional values! Hey voters in Georgia and North Carolina, why don’t you “stay, stay, stay” in the GOP fold?

The Last Time: The first and worst of the slow, droning ballads that make up Red‘s second half. This song’s not gonna inspire anyone.

Holy Ground: Will the new GOP victory coalition need to become more secular to appeal to independent voters? Possibly. Save this one for the primaries.

Sad Beautiful Tragic: Yeah, those are not words you want to associate with your political campaign.

The Lucky One: This story of a woman who gave up a life of fortune and fame to stay home and become a housewife (we think?) might be a little too retrograde for the GOP’s reinvention efforts.

Everything Has Changed: “Hey, remember those weird old guys who wouldn’t stop talking about rape? Don’t worry, they’re gone, and we’re totally different now!” We can dig it.

Starlight: Ethel Kennedy fanfiction does not a good Republican anthem make.

Begin Again: “Take a deep breath, look in the mirror / We used to not like it when you were a woman or undocumented worker / But now we do.” Nailed it!

[GQ]