VICTOR JOECKS: What Vance gets right even when he’s wrong

Donald Trump is the most entertaining man in politics. J.D. Vance may be the most interesting.

During the Republican National Convention, Sen. Vance made his debut on the national stage. He accepted the vice presidential nomination and shared his rags-to-riches story.

He was raised in the small, poor town of Middletown, Ohio. His father wasn’t around, and his mom struggled with addiction, which led to his “Mamaw” raising him. He’s a self-described hillbilly.

After 9/11, he joined the Marines. After serving four years, he graduated from Ohio State University and then Yale Law School. In 2016, he wrote a bestselling memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy.” He was a lawyer and venture capitalist before winning an Ohio Senate seat in 2022.

It’s a story so remarkable that Hollywood turned it into a movie.

If you want proof that America remains a land of opportunity, Vance’s story supplies it. No matter the trauma in your past, a better future is possible if you make good decisions. Sure, you may not be a U.S. senator, but you can break free from generational poverty.

Unfortunately, many of those Vance grew up with didn’t.

“Things did not work out well for a lot of kids I grew up with,” Vance said in his RNC speech. “Every now and then I will get a call from a relative back home who asks, ‘Did you know so-and-so?’ And I’ll remember a face from years ago, and then I’ll hear, ‘They died of an overdose.’ ”

Perhaps it’s this background that makes Vance acutely aware that success is more than boosting GDP. Statistics are important, but they aren’t everything. Even though tax cuts have economic benefits, there are some problems they can’t solve.

Vance talked about the country in an important way, too.

“America is not just an idea,” he said. “It is a group of people with a shared history and a common future. It is, in short, a nation.”

In a 2021 speech, he provided more details. Patriotism isn’t just flag waving. “American patriotism (is) about appreciating where you came from so you could know where you were going,” he said. “That to me is what’s at risk in the culture wars that we find ourselves fighting today.”

Look around and see how right he is. On Wednesday, a crowd of pro-Hamas rioters tore down and burned American flags in front of Penn Station in Washington, D.C. A few Democrats, including a White House spokesman, issued perfunctory condemnations. But as President Joe Biden’s subsequent Oval Office address highlighted, the left views Trump winning as a greater threat than terrorist supporters wreaking havoc in America’s capital city.

This isn’t a one-off. Antifa and BLM rioters caused billions in property damage in 2020. Democrats have removed statues of Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln. Critical race theory-infused curriculum teaches students that America is fundamentally racist.

Vance also knows the country’s dropping fertility rate is a major problem.

“The fact that we’re not having enough children is a crisis in this country,” he said in 2021. He continued, “It’s a crisis because it doesn’t give our leaders enough of an investment in the future of their country. And it’s a crisis because we know that babies are good.”

That’s a “civilizational crisis” Vance wants to solve, not ignore. And he has creative ideas for doing so. One example is the government giving loans to newly married couples that are forgiven if they stay married and have kids. Or giving parents an extra vote for each child.

You may not agree with all of Vance’s proposals, such as his affection for tariffs. But even when he’s wrong on specific policies, he’s thoughtfully trying to fix the right problems.

Contact Victor Joecks at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on X.