By Grace Vuoto
Republican Sen. JD Vance showed America on Tuesday night that he is a gentleman—a class act, indeed. But was he too genteel for this moment in American history?
During the vice-presidential debate on CBS News, Vance exploded the media caricature of him: he is not “weird,” nor are his views alarming, demeaning or dangerous. Instead, he demonstrated that he is a proud family man, a loving father and husband, devoted to his community and country, compassionate and intellectually nimble. In many of the exchanges with his opponent, Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, Vance sought common ground and expressed his desire to find practical solutions to the nation’s problems.
Vance was most effective during the first half of the debate, especially in discussing the faltering economy, the border crisis, the nation’s drug epidemic and our loss of manufacturing jobs. He successfully addressed the utter failure of the Biden-Harris administration to keep the American dream alive for most citizens.
Thus, the Ohio Senator won the debate with a command of the facts and a kind, gentle disposition. He carried the night with his grace and stately composure.
Yet, ironically, his performance was also shocking in the many glaring opportunities he did not seize. Walz was not exposed as a dangerous, callous radical who allowed Minneapolis to burn during the George Floyd riots due to his passivity and weakness. Also, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris was frequently attacked—but not with the level of alarm and intensity required to awaken the nation to the threats we face.
Vance played pickleball. We needed him to be a heavyweight boxer who could deliver knockout blows. This is not just another election, ho-hum. We are confronting evil forces that seek to destroy the nation from within.
For example, when Gov. Walz was asked about his frequent trips to China, he proudly addressed these as culture moments to learn from other nations. Vance did not follow up with a vigorous prosecution of the case: Why China? What do we need to learn from socialist China?
Vance should have mentioned the nefarious influence peddling and bribery of the Biden administration, its ties to China, as well as the long fascination with communist ideology of both Walz and Harris. This was a golden moment to show Americans the grave threats lurking amongst us by progressives who devalue our free market system and who have little regard for our way of life.
Vance was especially mealy-mouthed when asked about election integrity. He refused to give a straight answer as to whether the 2020 election was stolen. He merely stated that some election problems have to be solved. But he was deliberately evasive, attempting to pivot to discussions about “the future.” The plain fact is: there is no future for America without election integrity. This is a seminal issue, not a topic to be too embarrassed to discuss.
Vance failed to convey, in a forthright manner, the anguish that the January 6 riots and its fallout has caused Republicans who believe Democrats have unfairly maligned them—and have sabotaged the electoral process with impunity.
In addition, Vance addressed the issue of Democratic censorship as a threat to democracy. However, he did not mention the historic and unprecedented prosecution of a former president of the United States, Donald Trump, who has been the victim of legal persecution resulting in 91 indictments, the raid of his home, attacks on his wealth and countless court battles.
Furthermore, Vance did not call out the Democratic Party for betraying even one of their own members: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. They rigged the electoral process to the extent that he left the party altogether, in utter disgust, and now endorses Trump. These are not normal times.
Trump was also recently the victim of two assassination attempts. Vance did not address the relentless, vile Democratic rhetoric, and that of their media allies, that creates an atmosphere where the killing of a former president is being actively encouraged.
Moreover, Vance did not pin Harris more forcefully to all the Biden failures and ask for a clear explanation: Is she renouncing the Biden-Harris record or embracing it?
Nor did Vance discuss all the flip-flops of Harris on gun buybacks, decriminalization of the border, healthcare for illegals, amnesty for illegals and defunding the police. Either Harris is lying to the public now with a more centrist approach or she was lying to her progressive base for years. Which is it? Vance did not unmask her as an opportunist who cannot be trusted. And worse, she is a determined leftist, not a pragmatist, whose policies are likely to be even more damaging to this nation than those of President Joe Biden.
In other words, Vance appeared as though we are not in an urgent, dire struggle with opponents who no longer abide by cardinal American values of honesty, free speech, fair play and democratic norms. They seek to abolish all of this in order to pursue an egalitarian utopia that usually turns into an actual daily nightmare full of economic stagnation and repression.
In summary, Vance won the night, but left Walz and Harris largely unscathed. He glossed over too many of the ill deeds of the left. By being a gentleman, ironically, he conferred a validation on them they do not deserve. As such, the public can view them as legitimate, sensible candidates—rather than as part of the malevolent forces who seek to overturn all our cardinal rights and liberties.
-Grace Vuoto, Ph.D. is a political commentator and columnist. She can be heard Wednesday mornings at 9:00 am on The Kuhner Report WRKO-AM 680.
-Photo courtesy of Getty images