The Manchurian (Vice Presidential) Candidate!

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2024

We still say, Pity the child: A few years back—we're not sure how many—we watched The Manchurian Candidate (1962 version) maybe four or five times.

We came away thinking that it's a very deep, complex film. More and more, we find ourselves thinking about that film as we watch JD Vance in action.

We still recommend that you pity the child—the child who grew up in the profoundly dysfunctional family culture Vance described in his best-selling 2017 memoir, Hillbilly Elegy.

After Vance was selected to run for vice president, we scanned his memoir again. It wasn't as well written as some people are inclined to say, but it describes a culture of neglect and abuse dumped on the head of a child,

That child grew up to be JD Vance, who increasingly strikes us as one of the biggest demagogues we've ever seen. 

As we noted as the time of the Republican Convention, childhood trauma, and resident anger, may emerge later in life.

Is that what's happening in the matter described below? Dual headline included, this is the start of a New York Times news report:

Vance Says He Will Keep Calling Haitians Legally in Springfield ‘Illegal’
The immigrants are mainly in the United States under temporary protected status, which the executive branch can grant to people whose home countries are in crisis.

Senator JD Vance of Ohio, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, said on Wednesday that he would continue to describe Haitian residents in Springfield, Ohio, as “illegal aliens” even though most of them are in the country legally.

The immigrants are mainly in the United States under a program called temporary protected status, which the executive branch can grant to people whose home countries are in crisis. Mr. Vance claimed falsely that this program was illegal.

“If Kamala Harris waves the wand illegally and says these people are now here legally, I’m still going to call them an illegal alien,” he said in response to a reporter’s question after a rally in Raleigh, N.C. “An illegal action from Kamala Harris does not make an alien legal.”

Pity the child—but defeat the man! Increasingly, he strikes us as thoroughly damaged.

Increasingly, there seems to be nothing this guy won't say, especially on TV. For example, are Springfield's Haitians in this country thanks to "an illegal action from Kamala Harris?" 

That's what Vance is quoted saying in the Times report. We highlight one particular statement as the report continues:

Congress created the temporary protected status program in 1990 and presidents from both major parties have used it in response to wars, natural disasters and other humanitarian crises in various countries. The program allows people from countries designated by the Department of Homeland Security to live and work legally in the United States for 18 months, a period that the department can renew indefinitely. It does not include a path to permanent residency or citizenship.

The Obama administration granted the temporary protected status to Haitians living in the United States illegally after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake devastated Haiti in January 2010. Under President Biden, the Department of Homeland Security has granted or renewed temporary protected status to immigrants from a number of countries, including Haiti, Ukraine and Venezuela. Ms. Harris did not make those decisions.

Interesting! The Obama administration made a decision concerning Haitians in 2010.  Under President Biden, the Department of Homeland Security made certain additional decisions concerning Haitians.

"Ms. Harris did not make those decisions," the Times report says. As a general matter, that may be the most obvious observation available in the world. 

Duh! As a general matter, vice presidents don't call the shots! That's a blindingly obvious observation, but much of our journalistic discourse is devoted to blowing right past it when vice presidents run for the White House.

That said, no one plays this particular card quite like Candidate Vance. Here he was at the start of his interview with CNN's Dana Bash on last Sunday's State of the Union:

BASH (9/15/24): Before Donald Trump talked about eating dogs and cats on a debate stage, it was you, Senator, who first elevated this baseless rumor. These are your constituents. So, why are you putting them at risk by continuing to spread claims about Haitian immigrants, despite officials in your state saying that there's no evidence and pleading for you to stop?

VANCE: Well, Dana, first of all, what's putting the residents of Springfield at risk, which was a town completely ignored by the American media until Donald Trump and I started surfacing some of these concerns, is that they can't afford housing, they can't afford health care.

The schools have been overwhelmed. The hospitals have been overwhelmed. And they're overwhelmed because Kamala Harris allowed 20,000 Haitian migrants to get dropped into a small Ohio town of about 40,000 people, and it's completely overwhelmed the services. 

That was the first Q-and-A! Just like that, right out of the box, Vance was saying that Springfield is overwhelmed "because Kamala Harris allowed 20,000 Haitian migrants to get dropped into" that city.

During the interview, Vance played that card early and extremely often, as we'll show you below. But while we're at it, when was Springfield ever "a small Ohio town of about 40,000 people?" Here are the recent figures from the Census Bureau:

Population of Springfield, Ohio
2000 census: 65,358
2010 census: 60,608
2020 census: 58,662
2023 estimate: 58,082

Springfield is located in the state Vance represents in the Seate. When did its population drop all the way down to 40,000? Inquiring minds want to know!

At any rate, are some unknown number of Haitians living in Springfield, Ohio "because Kamala Harris allowed it?" In his session with Bash, Vance quickly cast himself in the victim's role, then proceeded to play that card again and again and again.

Seriously! Here's what he soon said:

VANCE: What we have said is that this town has suffered terribly under the problem—under the policies of Kamala Harris. Now, you just accused me of inciting violence against the community, when all that I have done is surface the complaints of my constituents, people who are suffering because of Kamala Harris' policies.

Are we not allowed to talk about these problems because some psychopaths are threatening violence? We can condemn the violence on the one hand, but also talk about the terrible consequences of Kamala Harris' open border on the other hand.

Now, let me just fact-check a couple of other things that you said, Dana, because it's important. You said that all of these migrants are in the country legally. They're in the country through what's called temporary protective status.

BASH: Right.

VANCE: That is when Kamala Harris waved a magic amnesty wand, taking people and giving them legal status. That is not a—that is not to say that they're here legally. That is a terrible indictment of her amnesty policies that have further opened the border and further caused terrible migration into this country.

BASH: But they're not—but it's not illegal. You might be—you might not agree with the policy and, obviously you don't, which is totally fair and legitimate. There are policy disagreements all the time. But the fact is, it is the law because President Biden and Vice President Harris are—

VANCE: Dana— The point is, Dana—

BASH: But I don't want to get— I don't want to, frankly, go down this conversation about policy, because—

VANCE: No, no, no, Dana, I— I— You made—you made a point. You don't—I agree, you don't want to talk about policy, Dana, which is why you're talking about other distractions, instead of about the fact that—

BASH: No, what I want to talk about—what I want to talk about— Senator, it was your distraction! You were the one who started talking about eating dogs and cats.

VANCE: —Kamala Harris, Dana, granted amnesty at a mass level. She granted amnesty at a mass level.

He said it and said it and said it again. Every decision of the past four years was made by Kamala Harris! 

Candidate Vance kept this up all the way to end of the session. Believe it or not, "murders are up by 81 percent because of what Kamala Harris has allowed to happen to this small community!" 

When you get right down to it, there's very little that Kamala Harris hasn't specifically done! Bash never challenged this sleight of hand. There was no sign that she even noticed.

In our view, one major problem was working here—Vance is quite good at this sort of thing. In our view, Bash unwisely began interrupting and arguing with Vance, but he's more skillful at this game. It's like the old saw about the wrestling match:

You don't want to get into a wrestling match with a pig. You'll each get muddy, but the pig will like it.

In The Manchurian Candidate, Raymond Shaw gets dragged away and gets brainwashed by the Chinese Communists. He has his soul (almost) taken away. The Frank Sinatra character sees that he deserves to be pitied.

It looks to us like a certain person emerged from a profoundly dysfunctional upbringing but, as it seems to have turned out, he didn't emerge unscathed.

We'll suggest that you pity the child. But we get the feeling that a whole lot of damage was done to that child and that it has begun to emerge.

Final point:

Looking back at that Times report, how many of the Haitians in Springfield, Ohio were actually in this country "illegally" when protected status was first declared back in 2010?

("The Obama administration granted the temporary protected status to Haitians living in the United States illegally after a 7.0-magnitude earthquake devastated Haiti in January 2010.")

The Times report blows past that question. Because facts are no longer a part of our discourse, the answer will never emerge.