I think J.D. Vance’s ideas about foreign policy are irresponsible. His position on abortion is extreme. His plans for tariffs and illegal immigrants make no economic sense under today’s conditions. He completely disregards climate change as a problem. He defends Trump’s actions on January 6. And yet, I find his selection as the GOP VP nominee to be slightly encouraging. Why?
Because my concerns about Vance are purely about policy. He understands the concept of public service; I haven’t seen any kind of authoritarian streak in him; he’s not an obvious racist; he’s driven by ideology, not personal hatreds or arbitrary whims; he’s not a habitual liar; he has some history of working across the aisle; and he seems to have some genuine concern about the welfare of working people. Making him the automatic frontrunner for 2028 in a sense normalizes the MAGA movement; we can examine his ideas and agree or disagree with him instead of viewing him as an existential threat to liberal democracy in America, which is the way the system is supposed to work.
Besides, how are the alternatives better? Ron DeSantis made his name by depriving us of our First Amendment rights. Tom Cotton would start wars abroad and shoot protesters at home. Josh Hawley is–well, you remember the photo. And we don’t have to worry about a Trump monarchy, with Don Jr. as his successor.