Walz versus Vance

Thanks to those of you who came and joined the debate chat tonight!

Governor Walz seemed nervous starting out but closed strong. He scored points when J.D. Vance refused to disavow family separation and pretended that his ticket would support shaking hands and “coming back together” if they lost the election. But Vance was slick, rehearsed and had a good presentation. He had obviously been coached to highlight areas of agreement with Walz so he could appear reasonable, and the absence of all but the most basic fact-checking during the debate meant he was able to get away with attractive but untrue claims about issues like never calling for a national abortion ban and support for the Affordable Care Act.

Vance’s anti-abortion views are well documented, as in this article

J.D. Vance did all he could to pretend January 6 never happened and that Donald Trump was a normal political candidate. If only voters would forget the 2020 election, Vance might get away with it. Walz asked him if Trump lost the 2020 election. Vance responded, “Tim, I'm focused on the future. Did Kamala Harris censor Americans from speaking their mind in the wake of the 2020 COVID situation?" Walz responded perfectly: "That's a damning non-answer."

Vance said they want to win women’s trust and that voters want Trump to restore common sense. He sounded good saying it, but there wasn’t a lot there for voters who are interested in more than surface level appeal.

At the end of the debate, the issue is: Will it move the needle in any way? The answer is, not likely. The kind of folks who self-selected to watch it are largely already decided. This was the kind of traditional debate that is more likely to lock voters into their preconceived picks than to change their minds. Perhaps the awkward, painful minute where Vance tried to mansplain the moderators, repeatedly talking over them as they tried to limit him to the time he was allotted by the rules, might have some impact. What mattered so much to Vance? He wanted to lie some more about immigrants in Ohio.

Even if no minds are changed, the debate was still illuminating. J.D. Vance is as uncommitted to the truth as Donald Trump is.

The election is in thirty-four days. Make sure you’ve got plans to vote.

We’re in this together,

Joyce