Progressive journalist Judd Legum has taken a look at some of the past statements about American families made by Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) and has found that they go beyond his widely criticized comments about Vice President Kamala Harris being a "childless cat lady."
Writing on Twitter, Legum brought receipts to show that Vance has some "weird" views about American families, including his claim that the American news media is comprised of childless journalists who are "miserable and unhappy" because they never started a family.
On his Popular Information website, Legum further breaks down assorted contradictions in Vance's proclaimed desire to support American families, including his attacks on policies aimed at helping working families afford childcare.
Specifically, he notes that Vance "called the concept of universal daycare 'class war against normal people" and said that "'normal Americans' do not want to 'shunt their kids into crap daycare so they can enjoy more 'freedom' in the paid labor force.'"
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This is despite the fact that working parents have routinely cited the cost of childcare as one of the biggest hardships when it comes to raising a family.
"In the United States, the cost of childcare is a barrier to many couples starting a family," writes Legum. "One recent study found that the average cost of childcare is $1,984 per month, higher than the cost of a typical mortgage."
Elsewhere, Legum points to Vance's comments about it being a mistake to allow for easy divorces in America, even in cases where a woman is suffering physical abuse at the hands of her spouse.
"This is one of the great tricks that I think the sexual revolution pulled on the American populace, which is the idea that like, 'Well, OK, these marriages were fundamentally, you know, they were maybe even violent, but certainly they were unhappy. And so getting rid of them and making it easier for people to shift spouses like they change their underwear, that’s going to make people happier in the long term,'" Vance said during a speech at a Christian high school.
"And maybe it worked out for the moms and dads, though I’m skeptical. But it really didn’t work out for the kids of those marriages."
Vance was given the opportunity to clean up his remarks and was asked directly about whether he believed it was wrong for women to divorce abusive spouses, and he responded by accusing the reporter of asking a "ridiculous and loaded question."
