Nobody is quite sure what’s going on in relative political newcomer JD Vance’s head. I get that he hasn’t been a career politician, but the way things are now, you could pull the bartender out of an Irish pub in Idaho and make him polished and perfected, ready for the podium.
Heck, I could probably do politics — it seems like all it takes is a point of view and the ability to read what’s in front of you. MAYBE you have to improvise once in a while. And you don’t even need your own point of view, you can just use somebody else’s.
So why JD is struggling so mightily to even look like a normal person in this race is a puzzlement to me.
You couldn’t hope to have someone else on the ticket it’s easier to look relatively normal in front of. Compared to Donald Trump, JD Vance is the guy who plays the dad on the sitcom where he’s always just reading the newspaper.
But it seems like JD is angling to alienate every single voting demographic, and he’s been methodical about it. Want to piss off women? Call all the ones with no kids “cat ladies [1].” Suggest that they never be allowed to teach if they don’t have kids. Want to piss off the working class? Drop in unexpectedly at a donut shop to harass the workers and keep filming them [2] after they’ve told you to stop.
And apparently if you want to piss off firefighters, you just have to show up and be JD Vance.
Now, this one, I have some experience with. My brother was a state legislator here in my state for multiple terms (since retired). But long before he ever ran for office, he was a firefighter. I’ve been to a lot of events with my brother, a lot of fundraisers and campaign victory parties, a lot of planning sessions…
The one truism that I learned alongside my brother all these years is that firefighters almost all vote for Democrats.
Now, that’s not every single one, of course. But most of them. And the reason for that is because they’re union, they’re constantly in contact with the public and see them in their times of distress, and they’re funded by people who fight for and vote for the levies and bonds they depend on. Those are Democrats, and as they say, you don’t sh*t where you eat.
JD Vance found this out the hard way.
Speaking to the International Association of Fire Fighters, the IAFF, Vance took the stage and obviously expected a different greeting than he got. I think most politicians believe that everyone in a room is going to be respectful of them because they’re Far More Important Than You™.
My friends, do not expect this from everyone. Especially from people whose livelihoods you regularly denigrate, fail to fund, and ignore in favor of the rich that line your pockets in election years.
If you’re from the party that Jon Stewart had to PUBLICLY SHAME into taking care of the firefighters who saved America’s soul on 9/11, maybe get ready to take it on the chin if you’re trying to win their vote.
Vance got roundly booed as he began to speak, and his pathetic attempt to pretend like it was a mixed reaction was cringe-worthy to see.
JD Vance calls audience “haters” as he is booed at firefighters union conference pic.twitter.com/J8TI94gAIt [3]
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) August 29, 2024 [4]
“Thank you guys, thank you so much [awkward smile].” Here come the boos, and the awkward smile gets bigger. This isn’t going as he planned. “Semper Fi, guys,” he says, mistaking them for Marines maybe, or just thinking that’s a cool tough guy thing to say.
“We got some – sounds like we’ve got some fans and some haters, that’s okay, lis – listen…”
Seriously, people, this is just ugly. I really hope, for JD’s sake, that this is just a learning phase for him. Because once his political career is over, if he’s still like this, he’s going to get booed everywhere he goes.