Hillbilly Eulogy

It's your Sunday show rundown!

Current US Senator from Ohio and former executive producer of certified rotten movie Hillbilly Elegy was on CNN’s “State Of The Union” Sunday with Jake Tapper.

Vance, who traded any unearned goodwill for MAGA bootlicking long ago to become a senator (with the help of a libertarian tech billionaire), got some mixed results when trying to bullshit Tapper.

Vance tried making a case to cut military aid to Ukraine, essentially endorsing Putin’s invasion, but Tapper pushed back with the possibility that Putin’s next move could then be the invasion of an actual NATO ally. Vance tried to minimize this while somehow making a case against his own argument.

VANCE: […] Putin has showed he’s much weaker than a lot of people feared. The Ukrainians have fought bravely. They have also stalled Putin at a very small amount of territorial gain relative to the entire country. The idea that he can march to Poland or Berlin is preposterous. […]

TAPPER: Right, but Russia has been proven to be something of a paper tiger because the US has been helping Ukraine, right? I mean, that's the reason.

VANCE: Well, it’s also because, of course, the Ukrainians have fought very bravely. […]

So, let’s get this straight:

• Putin is weaker than most feared.

• Ukrainians have fought bravely.

• With our assistance, Ukrainians have stalled a much larger invading force.

• JD Vance’s solution to this conflict is to cut funding and give Putin’s shambling Russian empire a victory through our concession?!

This type of military strategy is why Vance’s Marine Corps career was as combat correspondent for the Public Affairs Office (PAO) rather than leading actual Marines in combat or combat support. It’s easy to say shit this stupid when you have never been one of the lives put at risk at the whims of a US senator’s political gains.

Speaking of making decision’s regarding other people’s lives/deaths for political whims, Tapper asked Vance about the Texas Supreme Court blocking a woman in Texas from obtaining a medically necessary abortion. Vance tried to obfuscate his party’s draconian position on reproductive care.

VANCE: Well, I don't know the details of that story, Jake, but I will say that we have to accept that people do not want blanket abortion bans. They just don’t. And I say this as a person who wants to protect as many unborn babies as possible. We have to provide exceptions for the life of the mother, for rape, and so forth. That is just a basic necessity.

Katie Cox, the Texas woman, is currently being forced to carry a fetus that has a rare genetic condition that is almost always fatal. Her doctors have said that carrying the unviable pregnancy to term could prevent her from ever having a child in the future. This is the clearest example of the Republican Party’s blanket abortion bans that Vance is lying about.

Vance tried making an economic argument against abortion by talking about the economic burden of having children as possibly a reason people seek abortions and how Republicans should help. But when Tapper tried push on that, Vance resorted to lying again.

TAPPER: Does — is birth control part of that policy, empowering women to be able to make those decisions before they get pregnant?

VANCE: Look, obviously, people need to be able to make those decisions. I don't think that I know any Republican, at least not a Republican with a brand, that's trying to take those rights away from people. […]

TAPPER: I mean, I could provide a list for you, if you wanted.

This is why Republicans’ whole “pro-life” rhetoric always falls apart. They believe in the “sanctity of life” … UNLESS it gets in the way of owning an AR-15. They “care about babies” … UNLESS they have to be fed or clothed or educated. Republicans can’t sell what they really believe, so they wrap it in centrist/progressive ideology to sneak into power.

Speaking about trying to get back into power, Vance was asked about the former insurrectionist-in-chief joking about upgrading to dictator. Wanna guess what strategy Vance tried to employ in his answers?

TAPPER: Do you really have no concerns that Donald Trump might try to abuse his power if reelected?

VANCE: No, Jake, I don’t. […] The idea that Trump is going to be radically different than what he was four years ago is just preposterous. He was an effective, successful president. I think he will be an effective, successful president again. That's why I have endorsed him. And I think this desire to make the election all about the past is indicative of the fact that Democrats don’t have much to run on, and I think Republicans do.

BTW, If you said “lie again” as your response to how Vance would respond, you win an OFFICIAL Wonkette No-Prize!!!

Tapper felt the same way and pushed back real time (again).

TAPPER: Well, with respect, the one talking about the past more than anyone is Donald Trump, and he’s out there talking about how the 2020 election was stolen from him. […] I mean, he’s really the one focused on 2020.

When Vance tried to rehash “Deep State” conspiracies to excuse Trump and his allies’ dreams of authoritarianism, Tapper pointed out the logical fallacy.

TAPPER: Well, Donald Trump was president at the time that any censorship was going on, so nobody in government — I mean, any Biden people were not — that were asking that were not in the government at the time.

Vance’s attempt to rise up on Trump’s scumbag shortlist to be VP, according to Axios, is as transparent as the beard he uses to fake a jawline.

Or spine.

Have a week.

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