House Speaker John Boehner (R) sent out an article Friday that used GIFs of Taylor Swift to illustrate an argument against President Barack Obama's plan to offer students two years of free community college.
The article, which was written by Boehner's deputy communications director Michael Ricci and digital communications director Caleb Smith, highlighted the fact the college plan would cost $60 billion over the next decade. Ricci and Smith argued that this plan would most likely lead to "a tax increase on millions of Americans" that would actually harm young people.
Ricci and Smith also suggested it would be better if people "worked together to lower costs for folks across the board and improve our children's education." They punctuated this point with a link to Boehner's five point economic plan and a GIF in which Swift is clapping.
Business Insider reached out to Boehner's office to ask whether he was a Swift fan and, if so, which song was his favorite. Boehner spokesman Michael Steel responded with a statement that did not reveal the speaker's stance on Swift.
"We are always looking for fun, effective ways to communicate with the American people about President Obama's failed policies, and our better solutions. As Speaker Boehner says, 'you have to reach people where they are,'" Steel said.
Read Ricci and Smith's full article below.
Exposing the truth about the President's 'free' college idea
1. Last week, President Obama announced his latest idea to provide "free" community college to millions of Americans. It sounded exciting at first…
2. But then, we got to thinking…
3. Free?! Is he using magic money? Nothing is free. So we did a little math.
4. Turns out…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.
5. Still, 60 billion dollars is a lot of money...you can't just shake it off.
6. And the president knows full well there’s no blank space in the taxpayers' checkbook.
7. Does that mean he intends try to pay for his "free" plan with a tax increase on millions of Americans?
8. Or does it mean he wants to pile up more debt on the very young people this idea is supposed to help?
9. Even then: college STILL wouldn’t be free – there are all kinds of other fees and costs – not unlike all the higher costs we’re seeing in this tough economy.
10. Wait, wouldn’t it be better if we just worked together to lower costs for folks across the board and improve our children’s education?
11. Looks like an apology is in order, Mr. President…
12. We're not mad. We're just disappointed.
BONUS GIF: Thank you for reading.
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