As you’ve probably heard by now, vice presidential hopeful JD Vance is bizarrely and creepily obsessed with whether people have children. Among other things, he’s dubbed women who do not have biological offspring “childless cat ladies” (being a stepparent apparently doesn’t count). He’s claimed that child-free Americans are “more sociopathic” than Americans with kids, and that they make the US “less mentally stable.” He’s said that anyone without children does not have a “direct stake” in the country. At the same time, he’s suggested that people should stay in violent marriages for the sake of their children, citing his grandparents—one of whom tried to kill the other—as a good example of this.
So really, it should not come as much of a surprise to learn that the Ohio senator has also had deeply insulting things to say about teachers and whether they have reproduced.
In an audio recording from 2021, unearthed by Heartland Signal, Vance is heard saying at a Center for Christian Virtue forum: “So many of the leaders of the left, and I hate to be so personal about this, but they’re people without kids trying to brainwash the minds of our children, and that really disorients me and it really disturbs me. [American Federation of Teachers president] Randi Weingarten…she doesn’t have a single child. If she wants to brainwash and destroy the minds of children, she should have some of her own and leave ours the hell alone.”
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In a statement provided to Axios, Taylor Van Kirk, a spokeswoman for the VP candidate, said there are “a lot of great teachers across the country” at whom Vance’s remarks were not directed. The statement went on to say: “There is no bigger threat to American children than the left-wing indoctrination being forced on our schools by elites like Randi Weingarten, with the support of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.” (Incidentally, Walz is a former teacher and football coach whose onetime players have sung his praises.)
In response to Vance’s resurfaced remarks, Weingarten wrote on X: “JD Vance’s comments are sad and insulting to millions of modern families, and school teachers including Catholic nuns, none of whom should be targeted for their family decisions.” Later, she said in an official statement: “It sure seems like Vance lacks an empathy gene—thank goodness he’s not a teacher. He doesn’t get that you don’t have to be a parent to care about kids, our neighbors, our communities, and our country…. If he spent any time representing Ohio, for example, Vance would have seen this work in action from Cleveland to Medina to Toledo to New Lexington to Cincinnati. Teachers want what children need. I am blessed to be a mom by marriage, but it’s irrelevant to whether any of us care about children. This week, as teachers are digging into their pockets to pay for school supplies and welcoming kids and parents into their classrooms, we should all be celebrating the hope and promise of a new school year, not trashing it with gross, ridiculous comments like Vance’s. Vance should devote his energy to helping educators and school staff support students. Instead, he is making it harder for teachers to teach and children to learn.”
Meanwhile, at the top of the ticket
https://x.com/shannonrwatts/status/1828863961594507409
Roofers, truck drivers, and aircraft pilots would probably like a word
https://x.com/therecount/status/1828855137580073060
GOP Senate hopeful confuses Philadelphia, Mississippi with Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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