Cyndi Lauper on Hillary Clinton: ‘She Can Do the Job’
Cyndi Lauper gave a quiet, seemingly spontaneous, endorsement of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during an interview with Rolling Stone Country on Monday, pointing out the former Secretary of State’s record of pragmatism and bipartisan leadership during her time in Congress.
“She’s the person who can actually do the job,” Lauper says. “She can work with these guys on both sides. . . because we’ve already seen the government shut down and we’ve already seen the people who moan about the people, ‘We care about the people!’ And that’s why you shut the government down?”
The pop icon made no mention of Donald Trump — with whom she matched wits during the ninth season of Celebrity Apprentice — or any of the other remaining candidates, but did note her apprehension over the chaotic atmosphere of the campaign.
“I can’t figure out if I should be laughing or crying,” she says. “You can’t make this stuff up. You can’t write it down. Some of it’s a Saturday Night Live skit — come on.”
Long active in causes related to LGBT rights, Lauper co-founded the True Colors Fund in 2008 to end homelessness among LGBT youth. She stressed the importance of exercising one’s voice through voting, pointing out the unintended (and sometimes horrific) consequences that arise from apathy.
“I know if I don’t vote — I’ll tell you this, and I know it’s true — the way Hitler got into Germany was that only 30 percent of the people voted, OK? [Editor’s note: the Nazi party collected over 30 percent of the vote in 1932 — a majority for Germany’s multi-party system — but total voter turnout was slightly above 80 percent]” she added. “And that can’t happen. And not that anybody’s like Hitler, but if you want to be included in your country, you better include yourself and use your vote. Use your vote as your voice. Because you don’t want to walk around voiceless.”
Lauper’s country album, Detour, arrives May 6th and includes versions of songs made famous by Patsy Cline and Ray Price, plus guest appearances by Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, Vince Gill, Jewel and Alison Krauss.