






























  Opinion: Vance couldn’t even defend democracy | News, Sports, Jobs - Lawrence Journal-World: news, information, headlines and events in Lawrence, Kansas







 




























































newslink





News
Sports
Opinion
Health/Living
Obituaries
Jobs
Classifieds
Contact Us
 





SUBSCRIBE















			February 18, 2025		
|
Today's Paper
|
Submit News
|
Subscribe Today
|














 




Opinion: Vance couldn’t even defend democracy



Opinion 
Oct 3, 2024 - 12:17pm

Froma Harrop 



















 






photo by: Contributed
Froma Harrop 
	He could summon all the oily debate tactics needed to evade questions and renovate lies. But one thing that J.D. Vance couldn’t find in his toolbox was the courage to say something that is totally obvious: Donald Trump lost the 2020 election.
	Until that point in the vice presidential debate, Donald Trump’s running mate had gussied up some of the Trumpian malevolence and appeared less repulsive than the miscreant who admittedly spread racist lies at the expense of an Ohio city he represented.
	Vance fell apart at the end of the debate when asked whether he agreed with the results of an election certified by every governor and upheld by 63 courts. “I’m focused on the future” was his weasel response. And that enabled Tim Walz to come back with his strongest rejoinder of the evening: “That is a damning non answer.”
	Walz then turned to the audience. “America, I think you’ve got a really clear choice on this election.”
	Vance was trying to gaslight the entire nation, to make people doubt what they saw on Jan. 6, 2021. He said that Trump “peacefully gave over power on January the 20th.” Like no one remembers what happened 14 days earlier, when Trump sent gangs of thugs to invade the Capitol, resulting in several deaths. 
	That was when Trump’s then-vice president, Mike Pence, courageously certified the vote as the MAGA mob threatened to hang him. Trump passively watched his goons beating Capitol police with flagpoles on a White House TV, ignoring his own allies’ entreaties to call it off. It was too good a show.
	The running mate rarely matters as much as the presidential candidate. But it does matter when the presidential candidate is 78 years old. Were Trump to be elected, he would be the oldest person to enter that office. Furthermore, he’s in serious cognitive decline.
	And so there are times when the public cares deeply about the vice presidential pick. That was certainly a factor in John McCain’s 2008 loss. War hero McCain was an attractive conservative who might have defeated Barack Obama, charismatic as Obama was.
	But McCain was 72 and had suffered serious bouts with cancer. He had undergone several surgeries and required close monitoring. And he had chosen the poorly vetted Sarah Palin as his running mate. 
	When a president dies, the vice president automatically becomes the commander in chief. Palin revealed in an interview that she had no idea what the “Bush Doctrine” was. (It was the foreign policy principles set forth by President George W. Bush, mostly in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack.)
	We can assume that Vance has a stronger grasp on world affairs than did the dimwit Palin. But his general hostility to women will continue to burden this ticket. That goes behind his calls to ban abortion, something he lied about at the debate. It goes beyond the “childless cat ladies” comment or bro opinions that there’s something wrong with women who don’t conform to his requirements. 
	The proof came in his indecent mocking of a young woman who got tongue-tied at a Miss Teen USA contest. Seventeen years after her humiliation, Vance reposted video of the teenager’s halting response, writing, “I have gotten ahold of the full Kamala Harris CNN interview.” He wouldn’t have done that to a man. 
	Set aside the misogyny, the racism, the slavish need to wrap himself around Trump’s most ghoulish concepts. The threat to the democracy is the reason so many Republicans and independents who don’t like everything on Kamala Harris’ menu will vote for her. 
	The sanctity of the vote is the beating heart of American democracy. And J.D. Vance couldn’t even defend that. 
	— Froma Harrop is a syndicated columnist with Creators.




Show/Post Comments







National Columns 



Opinion: Pushing back on Trump-Musk deals




Opinion: Parents, overstressed and overburdened, need help




Opinion: Compare: 2025 Greenland & 1938 Czechoslovakia




Opinion: Tom Brady offers a very bad lesson




Opinion: The upside, risks and limits of DOGE




Opinion: We can’t rely on others to solve our drug crisis













 



Newsletter
The latest headlines from the Lawrence Journal-World and KUsports.com, delivered straight to your inbox.


SIGN UP NOW!





 


 


















Contact Us

Staff phones and emails
Submit news
Advertising inquiries
Facebook
Twitter


News

All news
Public safety
City government
State government
Town Talk column


Sports

All sports
KU men’s basketball
KU football
Staff columns
Lawrence High
Free State


More

Submit a vacation hold
Pay your print subscription bill
E-Edition
Weather
Obituaries
Couples announcements
Classifieds
Jobs
Deals
Circulars


 




Copyright © Lawrence Journal-World: news, information, headlines and events in Lawrence, Kansas | https://www2.ljworld.com | 1035 N. Third Street, Lawrence, KS 66044 | 785-843-1000 | Terms of Service


















My account
Subscribe today
News

All
Public safety
City government
State government
Town Talk column
K-12 education
KU
County government
Statewide news
National news
Old Hometown


Sports

All
Sports columns
KU men’s basketball
KU women’s basketball
KU football
KU volleyball
KU Sports
Lawrence High
Free State
Seabury
Veritas


Opinion

All
Letters to the editor
National columns
Local columns
Editorials
Your Turn


Health
Living

Lifestyle columns
Home and Garden
Arts and Entertainment
Food


Photos
Weather
Life Events

Obituaries
Births
Marriages, Divorces and Bankruptcies
Couples Announcements
Real Estate Transfers


Contact us

Phone and email
Submit news
Submit letters to the editor
Submit obituaries and celebrations
Statement of Values


View e-Edition
Subscriptions

Submit a vacation hold
Subscription Online Bill Pay
Missed Paper Form


Advertise
Community Organizations

News from The Chamber
News from Lawrence Public Library
News and Information from the Lawrence Police Department


Classifieds
Jobs
Customer Service FAQ
























Opinion: Vance *wouldn't* even defend democracy