JD Vance said on Sunday that his proposal to give parents additional votes in American elections was not serious. It was merely “a thought experiment.”
It’s a creative retreat, you have to give him that. But I’m a skeptic. Here’s what he said before he was the vice presidential candidate, when he could speak more freely:
“When you vote in this country, you should have more power as a parent. You should have more opportunities to make your voice heard in the democratic republic than people without children.”
There’s not much room for maneuver there. Vance wants parents to control the nation’s destiny, not those desperate cat ladies and the senseless men who never father children. Childless adults, he helpfully explained, “have no direct interest in this country.”
The thought experiment apparently goes back years. In a 2020 podcast, he spoke about the mental health problems of childless adults: “You know, I worry that this will make people more sociopathic and ultimately our whole country a little less, less mentally stable. And of course, you talk about going on Twitter – my final point is that you go on Twitter and almost always the people who are the most disturbed and psychotic are the ones who don’t have kids at home.”
Vance supported this idea by suggesting that children should have a vote, but that parents should decide for them. Vance has three children, so he would have four votes. Miserable cat ladies and senseless men would only have one vote.
Five US presidents had no biological children, including George Washington and Andrew Jackson. The miserable cat ladies Oprah and Dolly Parton have no children. How many devoted aunts and uncles are there out there who don’t know they have no stake in the country’s well-being?
I have mixed feelings when I see Democrats use the term “weird” to describe things like this. It could backfire. But what would be a better word?
Vance attempted to dig his way out of that hole on ABC’s Sunday broadcast. This weekbut it was hopeless.
At first he blamed the Democrats: “Some Democrats said we were giving children the right to vote. And I said if we’re giving children these rights, then we should really allow parents to vote too, right? I trust a parent to make a decision like that more than I trust a 14-year-old. So it’s a thought experiment.”
No, Senator, the Democrats have not proposed granting 14-year-olds the right to vote. They have proposed federal legislation that would allow children to register to encourage them to vote in advance when they turn 18. This is now permitted in at least 23 states, including the Democratic strongholds of Texas, Louisiana and Florida.
Vance went on to say that his intention was noble, that Republicans were the party that wanted to support families. They loved children, that’s all. They wanted to take practical steps to help parents, such as reducing their medical bills and creating a more generous child tax credit.
“We want to do so much to make the country more family-friendly,” he insisted.
The hole is getting deeper. Donald Trump still wants to repeal Obamacare, which means insurers will go back to the bad old days and deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions like diabetes or cancer. That would mean the 40 million people who get their insurance through Obamacare would lose their coverage or pay more. How exactly would that help families reduce their medical costs?
As for the child tax credit, it took remarkable chutzpah for Vance to claim that Republicans wanted to increase the tax credit. That is the exact opposite of the truth.
During the pandemic, the federal child tax credit was expanded, lifting three million children out of poverty and increasing incomes for low-income families. At the end of 2021, the tax credit expired, thanks to opposition from Republicans and a handful of conservative Democrats led by West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin.
Republicans have repeatedly blocked attempts to raise the minimum wage. And they have blocked President Biden’s proposal to pour hundreds of billions of dollars into paid family leave, government subsidies for child care, and home care for the elderly and disabled.
Where is the part where Republicans support the family?
Vance is perhaps the biggest con artist in American politics today, and that says a lot about him. Donald Trump has named him the heir to the MAGA movement, and that says a lot about Trump, too.
More: Columns by Tom Moran
You can reach Tom Moran at [email protected] or (973) 986-6951. Follow him on Twitter @tomamoran. Find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.
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