One Democrat called a Trump-Vance ticket “a corporate CEO’s dream and worker’s nightmare,” while likely Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris compared Donald Trump to the “perpetrators” “predators” and “fraudsters” she dealt with as a prosecutor (citing court rulings to align with those claims).
Personal character, competence and attitude absolutely matter in elections. Policy ideas should too.
Here’s a brief look at the some of the policy issues JD Vance listed as priorities during his speech Monday in Middletown, along with some context, and information on where Democrats stand. All of these are deep, complex issues that go far beyond the paragraphs here, but here’s a start.
Energy policy
VANCE: Combining two comments at the rally, Vance said, “Kamala Harris and Joe Biden want to buy energy from tinpot dictators all over the world, but won’t buy it from our own citizens, and from the hands and from our own lands. … Unleash American energy (and) drill baby drill. … You can’t manufacture anything unless you’ve got low-cost energy, which, we’ve got it. We are sitting on the Saudi Arabia of natural gas. The next 100 years we could be energy-dominant, which helps our people pay lower energy costs. It helps our citizens who work in the energy sector, and it helps our manufacturers make more of our own stuff and become more self-reliant in our own country.”
CONTEXT: Energy policy is complex, touching on economic issues, environmental and climate change debates, world geopolitical issues, and corporate desires vs. government regulation. Legislative decisions made in a month might affect decades of our nation’s future.
DEMOCRATS: Democrats point to Vance’s desire to slash much of the recent Inflation Reduction Act, which led to major investment in clean energy and Ohio manufacturing. Half a billion dollars went to Middletown’s Cleveland Cliffs steel plant. Democrats are mixed on energy production, as the Biden administration committed billions to incentives for moving away from fossil fuels, while at the same time, U.S. crude oil production has hit all-time highs with Biden in office.
‘Made in the USA’
VANCE: Vance said, “We ought to make more of our own stuff in this country. And I know President Trump agrees. Do you know where 95% of the ibuprofen, Advil … is manufactured? China. Do you know where the gross majority of the antibiotics we put in the bodies of our children come from? China. … I don’t trust a damn plastic toy coming from China (so) I sure as hell don’t trust the drugs that we put in the bodies of our children.”
CONTEXT: Ohio and the Rust Belt certainly know about jobs moving overseas in the automotive sector. And as the world economy has “flattened” to use a common term, American jobs in call centers, finance and IT services have followed. A Japanese company has a pending acquisition of U.S. Steel. But as corporations chase lower production costs, what combination of policies will reverse the trend?
DEMOCRATS: The Ohio Democratic Party did not respond specifically to questions about policy issues. Spokeswoman Katie Seewer said, “While JD Vance held his rally in Middletown, Ohioans in Appalachia and around the state are still waiting for the help he promised the last time he was on the campaign trail.”
Voter ID laws
VANCE: In a brief comment Monday, Vance said, “We need voter ID in this country ladies and gentlemen. If you’re going to cast a ballot, show a piece of identification.”
CONTEXT: Ohio already has voter identification requirements, and they were toughened in 2023 to require use of a photo ID for Election Day voting. For years, Republicans have generally cited worries about fraud in pushing for stricter voting security measures, while Democrats have cited studies that voter fraud is very rare, and said that tougher voter ID laws may unnecessarily disenfranchise some voters.
DEMOCRATS: In a 2021 interview, Kamala Harris said of voters, “Of course people have to prove who they are. But not in a way that makes it almost impossible for them to prove who they are.” The Biden administration issued a 2021 “Executive Order on Promoting Access to Voting” that said Black voters and other voters of color “are disproportionately burdened by voter identification laws.” The Order calls for federal agencies to evaluate “as appropriate and consistent with applicable law,” whether “any identity documents issued by the agency to members of the public can be issued in a form that satisfies State voter identification laws.”
Schools and politics
VANCE: Vance said Monday, “We’re going to fight for every single parent to send their kids to a school where they get a good education and not an indoctrination … the federal department of education is trying to lean into indoctrination at our schools instead of teaching reading, writing and arithmetic at our schools. Let’s get back to common sense for our teachers and the students they depend on.”
CONTEXT: This issue traces back to recent debates over the teaching of racism in American history, access for transgender students, and parents’ rights to disclosure when sex or gender issues are discussed in schools, among other topics. Numerous states have passed laws in this area. Ohio Republicans’ House Bill 8, referred to as a “parents’ bill of rights,” passed the House but not the Senate. As with most school issues, there is a difference between the actions of individual teachers, which often vary, and an official policy by a school, state or The US Department of Education.
DEMOCRATS: The Biden-Harris campaign did not respond directly to questions about schools and Vance’s other issue priorities. Spokesman Joseph Costello called Vance an extremist, and said Vance “is trying to distract from the fact that he is bought and paid for by Elon Musk and Silicon Valley, and has promised to raise taxes on working families and give handouts to corporations and billionaires.” Many Democrats have focused on the Project 2025 agenda, created by many people with ties to Trump, which would cut funding for public schools.
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