By all accounts JD Vance is a perfect reflection of the modern United States. Mr. Vance, born and raised in Ohio, is married to a California-born woman by the name of Usha Chilukuri Vance (née Chilukuri) - she is the child of Indian immigrants. The marriage is mixed faith with Mr. Vance being a practicing Catholic while his wife of Teluguvaaru extraction is a practicing Hindu. The couple is raising culturally disparate children in a mixed-faith household, influenced by multiple languages, multiple cultures, and a highly political environment.
Senator Vance grew up in rural post-industrial Ohio, a subject which he covered in his book entitled Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis. This book has since become a Netflix film by the same name and was positively received by critics and audiences. Vance, who by all measures grew up in a disadvantaged town in a disadvantaged region and with a disadvantaged (White) background has made something impressive of himself. Rising from rural Ohioan to author to United States Senator all before the age of 40.
Now Vance has been selected to run as Donald Trump’s vice president and the ticket will likely be on course to the White House after the November election. For this reason, I want to take a look at Senator Vance’s politics, where he stands on the issues, and where his stances might intersect with nationalist political preferences.
The first heading on Senator Vance’s campaign page reads “American Decline was a Choice” and in this he is correct. He points out, in great detail, that our leaders have chosen to allow mass immigration, crime, radicalism, foreign espionage, and economic strife to take hold of the nation. Vance even mentions that nearly every person in his hometown of Middleton, Ohio, is a US citizen in a nod to the desirability of at least some form of homogeneous community.
Yet, he does not expand on this concept and instead immediately launches into other issues, leaving immigration and identity as later discussions.
Under “spending and inflation” the senator takes aim not at social welfare programs, healthcare, or social security (like most Republicans would) but instead squarely blames the frivolous diversity and inclusion agenda that drives much of current Federal policy. He asks why the US needs a transportation equity agency and what is the problem with most truck drivers being men. Vance also asks why American tax dollars are being invested in overseas companies and governments, such as Chinese battery manufacturing.
These are great questions, and this is a great attitude. Rather than attacking Social Security or Medicaid the senator wants to slash the ridiculous amount of ideologically driven sprawl that has overtaken the American government while protecting seniors and attempting to reduce inflation. This is a healthy and relatively pro-working class position to take.
The senator is also an “advocate for energy independence” and states that the country should be extracting, refining, constructing, and utilizing its own vast energy resources rather than leaving Americans to the whim of the global market.
This is an inherently nationalist position and one which I can not endorse more fully. White Papers has an entire policy paper on energy security and nationalism which would fit extremely well with this particular policy area of Senator Vance.
In a similarly nationalist style line of thinking Senator Vance is dedicated to “Restore(ing) America’s Manufacturing Base” and ending the free trade era of globalized economic thinking. Mr. Vance understands that the working class of his home state and the country as a whole cannot simply be retooled like machines and instead must be provided with good jobs which their communities are familiar with and can be steadily trained to undertake.
Most importantly, however, Vance demonstrates a profound understanding of the United States immigration system and the crisis that has taken hold of both it and the country. In addition to acknowledging the massive toll of illegal immigration (which virtually all Republicans do), JD Vance also goes far beyond most other Republicans. He recognizes that most people come to the United States not to work or to otherwise economically contribute but as family members of immigrants. Often these family members are quite extended beyond the nuclear family. Immigrants bring in parents, siblings, nieces, and nephews; and soon entire villages have relocated from Vietnam to Sacramento.
The senator recognizes that this type of immigration makes integration and assimilation virtually impossible and also comments on how our leaders have abandoned the pride of the country that would be necessary to even begin the process.
What Mr. Vance does not do, however, is recognize that these massive levels of immigration are changing the demographic composition of the United States in profoundly negative ways. In fact, Vance has explicitly denied that he believes in the Great Replacement when on stage debating Tim Ryan for the senate seat that he (Vance) now holds. This is a great shame, considering that demographic replacement is the well from which springs most other issues of contemporary American politics.
In another sad display of only a partial understanding of the issues, Senator Vance claims to want “A Foreign Policy That Puts America First” yet his actual policy positions on the issue are incredibly mixed and send incoherent signals.
Mr. Vance calls out the faulty nation-building projects that America has embarked on for the last 20 years. He calls out those leaders who just use American foreign policy as an excuse to impose social justice-style morality on the world; and he explicitly states that the military should have no care for diversity or equity, only fighting and winning wars in the national interest.
Vance shines a light on the fact that we have taken in countless refugees from the very countries the US elite have targeted in these wars of choice and he bemoans the fact they have been settled in working and middle-class American neighborhoods.
But, sadly, Mr. Vance seems incapable of fully appreciating where America’s national interest lies. It seems that, at least originally, Vance understood that war with Iran would be of no benefit to the American people and he has called on the United States to not agitate conflict with that nation on its (Iran’s) soil. But, mere hours after becoming the GOP nominee for Vice President, Vance changed his tune. He called for peace between Gaza and Israel (or rather a stop in the fighting) so that the nations of the Middle East could focus on countering Iran. However, Vance also agreed that the Biden administration has done an insufficient job supporting the Israel war effort.
Contradictions abound.
Vance is also a staunch social conservative. He opposes same-sex unions, is against abortion, believes family formation is key to the survival of any nation and takes a dim view of issues such as divorce and separation.
Conclusion:
Vance is a rising populist star with the youth and the intellect to be a major player in American politics for decades to come. Many of his views, policy preferences, and beliefs intersect quite well with those of a true American nationalist but this does not mean that there is universal agreement.
Senator Vance does not appear to care about demographic change and he seems to embrace diversity with a great deal of enthusiasm despite claims that it has no place in institutions such as the military.
I hope that Senator Vance plays a strong role as vice president. Keeping Trump on track when it comes to dealing with issues such as immigration, border security, and the fundamental constitutional right to freedom of speech which all Americans should enjoy. I would also like to see the senator push the GOP further into the pro-worker camp and push Donald Trump to enact serious industrial and energy policies that detach America from global markets and keep prices low at home and our exports strong abroad.
But, I am not hopeful that Mr. Vance will be an icon for the cultural preservation of American identity. It does not seem that he cares in any particular manner for American culture, faith, or heritage despite using them as buzzwords in his campaigning and electioneering.
This VP is a mixed bag and will likely continue to be.
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