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Many pundits are saying last night’s debate was ‘normal’ but what was so normal about not defending democracy, writes John Casey.
There is a scene in Netflix’s wonderful new documentary Will & Harper, where Will Ferrell dresses up in an outlandish costume so he can go out to dinner in public without being recognized. His bizarre look, equally loutish behavior, and phony mustache — that keeps falling off — eventually fails, revealing who he really is.
That’s what happened to Republican Vice Presidential candidate Ohio Sen. JD Vance last night. He showed up at the debate, cloaked in an over-the-top costume of normal, uttered falsehoods like a calm charlatan, all while displaying a compassionate character reminiscent of the proverbial a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
And when it came time to defend democracy, to say that former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, and condemn the insurrection of January 6, Vance revealed who he really is - America’s next insurrectionist. That’s when it all came apart, and his fake mustache fell off.
In the film Ferrell creates a fictitious character - at first - to an unsuspecting waiter. He’s David Abernathy. He was Bette Midler’s former manager, and as he keeps opening his mouth, the waiter finally catches on that something is not right. That’s what happened to Vance. The more he opened his mouth, the more you said, “What did he say?” The more you Googled “Vance and abortion,” the more the real Vance was revealed.
Then, Vance pushed beyond outrageous, spouting that the real threat to democracy is — are you ready for this — when you’re censored on Facebook.
Vance’s Abernathy said he never called for a national ban on abortion — it was on the home page of his 2022 Senate election website. He said bad door locks at schools, not guns, were the cause of school shootings. He said — and this sounded more like a Jimmy Kimmell punch line — that Donald Trump fixed Obamacare.
But when confronted about the 2020 election Vance blathered that he was focused on the future, and in the next breath, cried about Facebook’s censorship during the 2020 pandemic, and then Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Wildly, Vance tried to blame Democrats on both counts, as if Hillary Clinton was helping Russia help Donald Trump, and that Joe Biden made the rules for Facebook. If Vance was so keyed in on the future, he would have talked about preserving democracy for our kids and grandchildren.
Did you ever think, in your lifetime, that a vice presidential debate would be lost, not because one of the candidates wasn’t Jack Kennedy, or Joe O’Biden, or even a “knucklehead,” but because they were an authoritarian? So many pundits are saying that last night’s debate was “normal.” But what was so normal about Vance's shunning democracy? It was disgraceful.
Yes, all of the lies from Vance through the first 80 minutes of last night’s debate were shocking, but it was his truth at the end, that he would first defend Trump before a free and fair election, that should disquality Vance, and Trump, from the race. Twenty-years ago, it probably would have. How did we get to this moment where democracy is akin to being a backseat driver? To be dismissed, waved off, ignored.
Say what you want about VP candidates of the past, the “pretty” Sen. John Edwards, the “dopey” Gov. Sarah Palin, the “potato-head” Dan Quayle, and the “Who am I?” running mate of Ross Perot, Admiral James Stockdale, but they all fervently believed in upholding our strong, yet delicate, democracy.
Vance came into last night’s debate famous for childless cat ladies, for urging women to stay in bad and violent marriages, and saying drinking diet Mountain Dew came with a label for racism. Yet, Vance’s off-the-wall words seem trite compared to him saying that Trump told Jan. 6 insurrectionists to march “peacefully” and that Trump “peacefully” gave over power on January 20, 2020.
In reality, Trump told the insurrectionist crowd on Jan 6 to fight like hell. And, Trump became only the third president, and the first since Andrew Johnson in 1870 not to attend his successor’s swearing in.
Trump and Vance’s refusal to acknowledge Trump’s 2020 election loss and their reluctance to commit to accepting the results of the 2024 election pose a direct threat to the core of American democracy, because, at its very heart, election results reflect the will of the people, and not the warped whims of budding autocratic leaders.
When Trump and Vance refuse to accept these outcomes, they undermine public trust in the electoral process, stoking division and encouraging baseless claims of fraud. This erosion of trust destabilizes the system and encourages political violence, as witnessed during the January 6th Capitol insurrection. And if their charade of phony elections continues, there’s a good chance that we’ll see more political violence after this year’s election if Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz win.
By perpetuating the "Big Lie" and refusing to commit to accepting future election results, Trump and Vance signal to their supporters that elections only matter if they win. For democracy to thrive, leaders must respect and honor election outcomes, even when they lose. Even. When. They. Lose.
Anything less endangers the very foundation of the republic, opening the door to chaos and conflict rather than peaceful and legitimate governance. And if you think about it, Trump and Vance are not only chaotic, but the very definition of unpeaceful and illegitimate.
Trump and Vance are also sociopaths, and last night Vance proved he is one of the highest order. His refusal to stand by the truth revealed his real character, stripping away any pretense of integrity like the emperor’s new clothes, exposing him as someone more committed to political expediency than upholding democratic principles.
And no costume could ever hide the depravity of who JD Vance really is.
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