Walz v Vance

In my last post I said I would dedicate the next one to JD Vance. I have decided a better approach is to compare the Vice-Presidential candidates in the coming election. Both JD Vance and Tim Walz came from humble beginnings. Vance had the more difficult start with the divorce of his parents and his mother's drug addiction. Both opted for military service, Vance joining the Marines as a combat correspondent and Walz the Minnesota National Guard. Neither saw combat. Vance served for four years, Walz for twenty-four. Vance then went to college on the G I Bill. Walz also went to college. At this point their paths diverged, Vance going to Yale Law, joining a law firm before becoming a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley. Walz chose to teach social studies and geography in high school while continuing to serve in the National Guard. When he decided to run for Congress, Walz resigned from the Guard, months before his unit was deployed to Iraq. After 3 terms in the House, he decided to run for Governor of Minnesota and won. Meanwhile, Vance wrote his best-seller "Hillbilly Elegy" which allowed him to claim understanding of and sympathy for the middle class and the suffering of drug addicts in the Appalachians. So far, as they say, so good. There's nothing wrong with people identifying opportunities and taking advantage of them; right?

Here's where it gets interesting. JD Vance decides to run for the Senate from Ohio in 2022 and finds himself in a crowded Republican primary field. Trump's endorsement is enough to give Vance the nomination with 30-some percent of the vote and he goes on to win the seat by a small majority over Tim Ryan, his Democratic opponent. We may never know what Vance did to convince Trump to endorse him, but there is no doubt that he underwent such a metamorphosis that those who had known him for years could not recognize the new Vance. And it appears most did not approve. But Vance had cast his lot with Trump and there was no going back. Two years later Trump picked Vance for Vice-President and the transformation of Vance was complete. Vance now blames the childless, especially women, for society's ills, for some reason calling them cat ladies. As if that's not bad enough, when challenged on this radical view he doubles down saying their vote should count for less or the vote of people with children should count for more. Still not satisfied, he says the childless should be taxed at a higher rate! Can you say "Taxation without representation"?

For comparison, there's Tim Walz. Over a lifetime of teaching high school geography, he has stayed true to his progressive liberal views while coaching his high school football team- which had a winless season when he took the job- to the state championship. As a member of Congress Walz voted to increase the minimum wage, fund stem cell research, allow Medicare to negotiate pharmaceutical prices and to advance the Affordable Care Act, and opposed the Iraq war. As Minnesota Governor he oversaw the response to the murder of George Floyd and the ensuing riots, signed legislation protecting reproductive rights and approved funding for school lunches for indigent students. Disagree with his politics if you will, there is much to be said for having the strength of your convictions. Of course, when you are in public life long enough, people opposed to the policies you espouse are going to find things to criticize you for. Vance's accusation against Walz of "stolen valor" over an old quote taken out of context is an extreme case of such criticism.

Between JD Vance and Tim Walz, the choice is clear. I get that people change their minds on issues or make an inaccurate statement in the heat of debate. But if your new positions are so radically different from your old ones that your old friends can't recognize the new you, it raises questions about what is going on with you. This is especially true about Vance since he now obviously supports Trump and his policies after having been an outspoken critic just a few years ago. Trump certainly has not changed; but Vance has. I suppose he could claim he had an epiphany on the road to political power to explain how this came about. The more credible explanation is that he is an opportunist who will say and do anything to get ahead. Middle-of-the-roaders would be justified in asking "What does JD Vance really think or stand for"? No one questions what Tim Walz stands for or believes.