Last night JD Vance trounced Tim Walz. Period. Everyone seems to agree, even the Left. I only watched it once so here are my thoughts:
Vance came across as cool, calm, and polite.
The moderators as usual, “fact checked” only one side.
JD Vance didn’t take the bait when the moderators tried to goad him, as Trump has done far too often. Instead, he answered the questions HE wanted to answer. Rule Number 1 of good debating. Four examples:
When asked about “clean energy”, he talked about how dirty the environment is in other countries and how having more manufacturing HERE would help with so-called “carbon emissions”.
Speaking of “family separation” in the context of deportation, he pointed out how many kids were missing, trafficked, etc.
When talking about “affordable housing”, JD Vance brought up the point that has not been mentioned enough, which is the FACT that millions of illegals are taking up the affordable housing Americans need.
On fentanyl, he once again turned it back to the border, the easy availability of drugs, and his own mother’s many-year struggle with addiction. He also mentioned that most of the drugs we give our kids are made by foreign countries.
Those weren’t dodges - he was referring to legitimate aspects of the issues. (Just not the angles CBS wanted him to address).
At one point, just when it was getting interesting, one of the moderators tried to hurry them along, saying “We have much more to get to…”. WRONG. I have moderated many debates, and YOU as moderator don’t ever get to as many topics as you’d like to. YOU aren’t the candidate. YOUR questions aren’t as important as the candidates’ answers and interactions. You want to hear what they say when they’ve run out of “rehearsed answers”.
The moderators had to “help” Tim Walz by asking “if he wanted to respond to Senator Vance about….” and then outlined what he should respond to, because clearly they realized he needed help.
As always in debates, when Dems are losing, the Lib moderators go back to abortion. They spent an inordinate amount of time on that topic.
They spent way too much time on tax credits for childcare, family leave, etc, which is NOT an issue I believe is being discussed around most kitchen tables. No one is going to base decisions about having children on a three or six thousand dollar tax break. Give ME a break. No one can afford a home, a car, or groceries. How about THAT question? That was barely discussed.
They never mentioned Ukraine, and barely mentioned what’s happening in the South to millions of Americans.
Tim Waltz was forced to admit that he lied about when he was actually in China. Flat-out LIED.
The moderators’ questions about JD Vance’s past criticism of Trump were valid.
As to the topic of school shootings, instead of the question of whether parents should be charged in some cases, I would have liked more discussion about the disintegration of the family as contributing to school shootings. Tim Walz admitted to having guns in his truck at school as a kid, which many kids did, and there weren’t school shootings back then, or rarely. (In the 1960’s there were approximately 20 school shooting incidents nationwide). I would also have liked to hear about the role Big Pharma plays in turning kids into maniacs by drugging them from age five. But as always, we ignore the true causes.
When Walz talked about Sandy Hook, JD Vance should have mentioned that Adam Lanza’s MOM bought her mentally ill kid the guns he used. Another law doesn’t make you a better parent. Oh, and murder is still illegal. That didn’t stop Adam Lanza.
JD Vance never got nasty or personal, and never called Kamala or Walz any ridiculous names.
I really thought JD was going to come across as a smart-ass jerk, which he can at times. He did not. He exceeded my expectations.
I wonder if Trump will learn from JD’s performance and suddenly agree to another debate with Kamala?
Those are my thoughts. How did YOU see it? Let me know.
Heidi Harris
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