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That was … um … interesting.
My overall impression was that it was much more like debates of a bygone era. I was relatively collegial and congenial; each candidate acknowledged agreement with certain of the other candidate’s positions. Consequently, there were no knock-out punches.
Unlike the presidential debates of this year (and of the last two presidential election cycles), this VP debate was much more about issues.
Now, let me see. What do this year’s presidential debates and the presidential debates of the last two election cycles have in common? Three election cycles, three different Democratic candidates. Oh, yes. I know. It must be that weird orange guy whose only debate techniques consist of verbal pyrotechnics, absurd accusations, and lies. The issues in those debates took a back seat to Trump’s ego-satiating performances.
Tim Walz continued to be Tim Walz — an avuncular “what you see is what you get” candidate with a firm grasp of the issues. In contrast, we witnessed J.D. Vance working really hard to “humanize” himself in a not-very-successful attempt to soften his public image. I counted four times that he mentioned his “three beautiful children.” You could practically hear some campaign advisor telling him, “Talk about your children!” He took that advice and ran with it, clumsily blurting it out at every opportunity, whether it was pertinent or not.
Vance presented himself in about as palatable a light as I have seen him. He’s clearly skilled at debating, but his willingness to say whatever he thought he needed to say, true or not, was quite obvious.
If Vance made any headway, we can be sure that Trump will undermine it in the next 34 days.
Some thoughts on a few of the issues covered in the debate:
Reproductive Health
At one point, in a moment of unexpected candor, Vance said “The American people don’t trust us” on issues of reproductive health. Yet he and Donald Trump still won’t commit to making abortion legal and safe and available. He talked about “winning back people’s trust” but still wants state-by-state decisions regarding access to abortion, which does nothing to gain people’s trust.
Vance also oddly claimed he never supported a national abortion ban, when surely he knows there is plenty of video and audio tape of him advocating for exactly such a ban on multiple occasions.
Immigration
Vance was asked a question on the logistics of mass deportation, and he immediately attempted to make a connection between border security and the fentanyl crisis. That completely ignores the fact that much of the fentanyl enters the U.S. not with immigrants swimming across the Rio Grande but on airplanes and in cars and shipping containers. Additionally, fentanyl doesn’t just come across our southern border; the vast majority of it comes from China and it arrives in international mail. (By the way, why does Vance insist on pronouncing it fentanALL?)
Vance also completely dodged the question of how the purported 22 million undocumented immigrants would be able to be deported. In response, he suggested that we start by deporting approximately a million criminals, but he had no answer on the other 21 million. He gave no answer about the logistics of deporting that many humans. He glossed over family and spousal separation.
By the end of the debate, Vance was claiming the total number of undocumented immigrants was 25 million. Did 3 million more immigrants enter the U.S. during the debate?
He also insisted on referring to Kamala Harris as the “border czar,” even though no such title exists nor was she ever assigned duties commensurate with such a title. The responsibility assigned to her was to be the liaison between the U.S. and a few of the countries that immigrants were fleeing from. Of course, all of the details around her actual assigned duties get lost in the haze of right-wing media misinformation.
Gun Violence
The only solution to gun violence that Vance offered was to put stronger locks and “stronger windows” on schools. School shootings are horrendous, of course, but they represent only a fraction of the gun deaths that happen every year. “Stronger windows” in schools won’t stop the gun violence in the streets of those liberal cities that Republicans love to criticize.
Gun regulation is the third rail of GOP orthodoxy, and no candidate wants to get zapped by that third rail. So Vance did what all good Republican candidates do. He stuck to the standard talking points. He attempted to shift the discussion to a mental health crisis. We’re supposed to forget that, over the years, Republicans have regularly voted against the very health care reform that would include mental health care and address what they claim is at the root of gun violence.
On the other hand, as a gun owner, Tim Walz talked about common sense gun safety measures — such as enhanced red flag laws and universal background checks — that the overwhelming majority of Americans support. But, then again, Tim Walz isn’t beholden to the NRA, like Vance and most other Republicans. He even criticized the current day NRA, despite previously being a member.
There’s so much more that could be said, but I’ve already broken my vow to myself about instant analysis. I don’t want to have to hold myself responsible for further violation of my own standards for myself.
All in all, I doubt if this debate moved the needle very much for anyone. But, if you watched this debate and came away from it thinking that J.D. Vance should be a heartbeat away from the Presidency, I would suggest you dig a little deeper into the issues the nation is facing. Vance presented some slick, surface level answers, but there was very little actual policy or any practical measures that would make the lives of everyday Americans any better.
Election Day is now 34 days away. Please vote.
so well done! my favorite part:
"If Vance made any headway, we can be sure that Trump will undermine it in the next 34 days."
Love to read your beautiful writing. I did like, also, that the Moderator/Commentator kindly reminded JD that no cats were being eaten in Springfield. Love that kind of stuff. 🐈 😻 🐈⬛️ 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙