Vice presidential debates seldom move the needle much, but the October 1st exchange between Tim Walz (D) and J.D. Vance (R) was memorable. For one, it was cordial, without personal attacks. Two, it was issues-focused; viewers saw how both candidates responded to a variety of real-life matters.
The overall impression was Vance looked calm and confident, while Walz had a terrified, deer-in-the-headlights look for much of the evening. One viewer of Dr. Phil’s video, “Vance vs. Walz: What their Body Language said during the Debate,” made this comment. “Walz looked like a kid caught in the cookie jar all night and JD looked like the parent who caught him.”
As I tell my students, bias can come in three forms. What they say. How they say it. And what they don’t say. And the third type is probably hardest to spot, because it’s not even mentioned.
Notably, in this debate, I heard no questions about China, the war in Ukraine, Russia, the riots and arson that Walz allowed in Minneapolis and that Kamala aided by bailing out lawbreakers, the dockworkers’ strike (since postponed till January), or Walz’s “stolen valor” claims to have had a military rank and combat experience that he did not have.
Hurricane Helene
Unfortunately, the CBS-run event was also a display of the dishonesty and smugness of state-run media. One of the first questions came from CBS’s Norah O’Donnell about Hurricane Helene, which had devastated much of the Southeast just three days before. But she voiced no comments or questions about what many have decried as a slow federal response, and instead O’Donnell morphed the issue into one of “climate change.”
This column does not intend to minimize the destruction or pain from Hurricane Helene, but hurricanes are an act of nature. Hurricane Camille that struck in 1969 was the second-worst such storm to his the US. Many are amazed how Helene caused such damage in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee, but that is not unprecedented either. Even though Camille made landfall in Mississippi, three days later its remnants dropped about 25 inches of rain in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, with the worst destruction between Charlottesville and Lynchburg. In all 114 people died and 37 remain missing. Incredibly, the flooding killed about 1% of the population of Nelson County, VA.
I’m no scientist, but if “all scientists agree” that “climate change” is causing more violent storms, then why do the Bidens have a beachfront house in Delaware and the Obamas have two: one on Martha’s Vineyard and one in Hawaii? Since presidents are privy to top-secret information, wouldn’t it make sense, if ocean levels are indeed rising, they would not buy mansions just a few feet above sea level? Have you ever heard of Democrat bigwigs buying homes on mountaintops in West Virginia?
Women’s Health Decisions
The issue of abortion came up, and someone made the comments “These are women’s decisions to make.” Since pregnant women carry two (if not more) heartbeats and sets of DNA, clearly there is more than one body involved. Moreover, the Democrats claim to speak for women, but think back just a couple of years ago to the Covid mandates. The Biden/Harris administration forced those in the military to get the Covid jab, and were notoriously harsh in denying requests for religious or conscience objections. They also tried to force the jab on all employees nationwide via OSHA, but were stopped only thanks to a US Supreme Court ruling. Where was the Democrats’ concern about “a woman’s bodily autonomy” when they were trying to force an experimental vaccine on unwilling subjects?
Infanticide
Vance called out Walz for essentially legalizing infanticide in Minnesota while governor. Walz vehemently denied it, but fact checkers pointed out that he opposed the “Infant Born Alive Protection Act” that would have mandated healthcare for babies who survived a botched abortion. Even more gruesome, such barbarity is not unprecedented. Virginia’s former governor Ralph Northam, who became a national laughingstock after his racist photo scandal made national headlines, calmly told a radio show about making a newborn “comfortable” while the adults had a “conversation” about what to do with it.
Where was Walz during Tienanmen Square Protests and Massacre?
One of the most bizarre exchanges occurred when the moderators asked Walz about a claim he had made as a Congressman at a Congressional hearing. He claimed he had been in Hong Kong during the pro-democracy protests and violent crushing of that movement on June 4, 1989. However, it’s since been proven Walz was in Nebraska then, and did not go to Asia until August.
(Have you ever wondered why “lying to Congress” can put you in jail, but Congressmen can lie to us and get off scot-free?)
For his response, Walz used his whole two minutes on a wild word salad that would put Kamala to shame. “Look, I grew up in small, rural Nebraska, town of 400. Town that you rode your bike with your buddies ’till the streetlights come on and I’m proud of that service.” You can read the transcript here. He sputtered on till he ran out of time, then the moderator, doing an actual act of journalism, gave him a follow up question since he had not answered it yet. To which he replied: “Sometimes I’m a knucklehead.”
This writer was living in Richmond in June 1989 and, like Walz, was planning to go to China that summer. This writer vividly recalls driving around Richmond hearing gripping news coverage from the massacre in Beijing, so it is impossible to confuse where one was at that historic moment.
Springfield, Ohio
Much has been made of the migrant crisis in that city of 60,000, which in recent years has added some 15,000-20,000 migrants from Haiti, increasing the population by about 25%. After the candidates spoke, one moderator added, with a smug look, that the Haitians are here legally. But before they could go to the next question, Vance spoke up claiming that since no “fact checks” were to be allowed in the debate but they “fact checked” him anyway, he wanted to clarify. The moderators kept saying “we have a lot of other issues to get to” but Vance prevailed and explained that technically many of the Haitians there are legal, but not by having gone through the normal, long process, but rather by a short-term loophole the Biden/Harris administration gave them.
Housing Costs
The moderators asked about plans to reduce the expensive prices of houses. No one mentioned the riots in Minneapolis, that Walz allowed to continue for several days before he let the National Guard restore order. Clearly, by letting some houses get burned to the ground, real estate prices will go up due to less supply. Vance also made the point that anyone should have learned in 8th grade civics, the Law of Supply and Demand. Biden/Harris have allowed in a flood of illegal aliens (which as Elon Musk has pointed out, were often settled in “swing states” in hopes of making them “blue states” and ending competitive elections from here on out.)
By bringing in new migrants without expanding housing stock, that drives up the demand curve and thus prices.
When asked for an immediate solution, Vance called for more domestic energy production and lower gas prices. He claimed diesel is up 40%, and that makes truckers charge more for everything. Several times during the debate Vance made the excellent point: “Kamala Harris is not running as a newcomer to politics; she is the sitting vice president.”
Childcare Costs
Both candidates had opinions on tackling the high costs of childcare. Vance said he promotes choice, like providing financial incentives for parents to get childcare from churches or neighbors. Neither mentioned another obvious fix: cut the tax burden on families, so many parents would not need two incomes to raise children.
“Attacks on Democracy”
O’Donnell, who has been pushing the “January 6 was an insurrection” line for years, asked Vance about J6. Masterfully, Vance reframed the issue and told the nation “the real attack on democracy is censorship.” Kamala wants to use censorship by labeling content she doesn’t like as “misinformation,” and Vance explained these attacks on Free Speech are a big reason former Democrats like RFK Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard now support Trump. Vance added: “Kamala is engaged in censorship on an industrial scale.”
Walz tried to make the excuse, “I don’t run Facebook,” but Vance countered that the Biden/Harris administration began ordering Facebook and other social media companies to censor Americans within hours of taking office.
Closing Arguments
Walz said he was proud of the coalition Democrats have assembled, including Taylor Swift and former Vice President Dick Cheney. (Walz didn’t mention that Democrats used to call Cheney a war criminal.)
Vance focused on practical matters, such as how it’s become more expensive to heat your home or just make ends meet in the past few years. He also exposed Kamala’s ruse of trying to run as an “outsider” even though she’s been vice president since January 2021. “She’s been saying what she’ll do on Day 1, but her Day 1 was about 1,400 days ago.”
–Scott Dreyer
