Ann Coulter's Evil Twin
In recent month, a very popular figure has started to become more involved in contemporary politics. Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, you probably know this woman by her stage name “Lady Gaga”. Entertainer, Musician, pop icon and most recently political activist can be added to her list of gigs. Lady Gaga is an interesting character, not because of her wild music or her eccentric outfits but because she has been able to easily organize her fans into what will eventually be a political force. According to musicmetric.com, the majority of Lady Gaga fans are over the age of 18. And those that are under the age of 18 will eventually be old enough to vote in 2012. One of Lady Gaga’s most influential moments came at a concert in Manchester, England in June of 2010. Many of her fans showed up in costume, emulating their icon who they lovingly call “Mother Monster”. One of the most popular (and probably the least expensive way to look like Gaga) was to use soda cans like hair rollers similar to the “Telephone” music video. However, security at the MEN center refused entry to any ticket holder who happen to have soda cans rolled in their hair. Within minutes, a furious Lady Gaga tweeted her concerns and her intended action to all five million of her Twitter followers. It was not long before the venue’s managers had security reprimanded and all of her ticket holding fans were allowed entry in the way they were dressed. To most people, this is nothing more than an artist appealing to her fans since they spent money to see her. However, further looking into this it can be argued that Lady Gaga’s influence run deep in the hearts of her faithful followers.
2010 is what I call the “Year of the Gaga”, The most memorable being nominated for 13 awards for MTV (it’s a big deal for Generation Yers) but there are subtle hints of this woman’s influence. One that is not so well known is Rush Limbaugh’s infamous dance to “Poker Face” You can see it here : http://www.examiner.com/social-media-in-national/rush-limbaugh-dances-to-lady-gaga-poker-face-at-miss-america-2010-video [8]
Rush could have been a poor sport and not bother, Rush also knows how liberal Lady Gaga really is. But she’s so talented even the hardest of conservatives (Yours truly included) can’t help but to dance to her music.
Another influential event came in May 2010, a video that was made by members of the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne, parodied “Telephone” and it went viral (thanks to Drudge Report) (as of today, Lady Gaga nor any of her publicists have yet to comment on the video)
In August 2010, during her concert in Phoenix, Gaga joined the bandwagon to oppose SB-1070. Instead of boycotting, she stated "I will not cancel my show. I will hold you, and we will hold each other, and we will protest this state." (Cancelling would have meant thousands of dollars in lost revenue, violation of a contract and hundreds of pissed off fans)
Now in September, Lady Gaga has Tweeted members of the US Senate and also posted a video on YouTube to the US Senate to repeal the military’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy. (She’s a great musician, but a lousy speaker, sorry girl) She has also expressed thanks to Harry Reid who probably appreciates any help he can get in his election campaign. She was also critical of Senator McCain’s filibuster attempt, Tweeting to her followers about the possibility of a filibuster. In minutes, her followers began to Tweet to Senator McCain with less than flattering comments.
Lady Gaga has now reached a status that few celebrities have achieved, she now has the ability to sell records and become politically involved to a point that she’s taken seriously. We’re talking about over three million people who are eligible to vote and respond to the wishes of “Mother Monster”.
When Camille Paglia wrote a negative piece about Lady Gaga and basically called her a “manufactured product” her legions of fans responded, HARD. To a point where a lot of her followers began to make death threats over Twitter and slandering her Wikipedia page.
What’s the point I’m trying to make? Here’s the point, Liberal politicians now have a powerful ally who can greatly influence voter turnout and voter action. Conservative critics of Lady Gaga must not combat her, but take the Nixon approach and come to a compromise on this issue.
Lady Gaga is a social Liberal, but her success in music could have only been done by the spirit of the free market and her spirit of contention against unfairness in government is the rallying cry of the Tea Party. It’s a shame that Lady Gaga is a registered Democrat, because I think she would have made a great Republican. (there’s always time to change it Gaga)
To Lady Gaga and any fans who may read this, she’s a talented musician but she’s letting her passion dominate her actions. I sure hope that she realizes that Democrats are guilty for not bringing this up during their time of dominance between 2006 and 2010 when they controlled the Congress. This last minute attempt is purely political (I’ll save this for another blog)
Fellow Conservatives, lest we not forget other celebrities such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Al Franken, Sonny Bono and of course Ronald Reagan who were celebrities and became holders of high a high political office. I would much rather have Lady Gaga, than Senator Germanotta.
