ArcaMax

Republicans handed Usha Vance the unenviable task of cleaning up her husband's history of hostile comments regarding women. Alas, she tried.

Specifically, Usha attempted to dismiss J.D. Vance's trashing of "childless cat ladies" as a "quip." A "quip" is a witty or clever remark, often characterized by its brevity. Had Donald Trump's running mate left it at that, one could make that argument, however stretched. But, no, J.D. went on to say that they "are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they've made, and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too." That was not brief, and humor is not J.D.'s strong suit.

Usha then dug the hole deeper.

"What he was really saying," she explained, "is that it can be really hard to be a parent in this country."

There may be truth in that, but he said no such thing.

Usha said her husband "would never" want to offend people who are struggling to have children while acknowledging that some people choose not to start families for "very good" reasons.

Oh?

The reason people choose to start or to not start families is no business of hers or of J.D.'s. Vance is one of those tech bros who believe their pile of money makes their opinions on how others, especially women, conduct their lives very, very important.

Three years ago, Vance produced a fundraising email stating, "We've allowed ourselves to be dominated by childless sociopaths - they're invested in NOTHING because they're not invested in this country's children." Oh, "childless sociopaths" is not insulting, right?

Our military cemeteries are populated by men who invested everything in their country before they were old enough to start families. These are Trump's "suckers and losers," a reason he gave for skipping a planned visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery -- burial ground for American soldiers who died in World War I. It was also raining.

To quote from Project 2025, the wish list for Trump's second term closely tied to Vance, "Married men and women are the ideal, natural family structure because all children have a right to be raised by the men and women who conceived them."

The first half of that sentence is OK. The traditional family is an ideal. But then we get into the conception part. Just suppose the source of the sperm or of the egg is a violent alcoholic or druggie. Adopted children can do just fine, as can children raised by a grandparent. In sum, children have a right to be raised by responsible adults.

Birth rates are falling in most of the industrialized world. The reasons are complex. Even societies that offer ample child care and guarantee parental leave are seeing fewer babies. But Project 2025 would actually take away supports. It would kill the Head Start program, designed to help low-income children prepare for school and free parents to go to work.

The tech bros can sit around their ski chalets in Utah and "phone it in." A nanny may be with their kids, wherever their kids may be, assuming they have any. Most working Americans, male and female, do not have that luxury. The nurse doing the hospital night shift has to stay till dawn. Police officers must show up at grisly scenes at all hours. Buses still need drivers.

Topping off J.D. Vance's longtime critiques of women is his singling out of Simone Biles in 2021 for withdrawing from competition over mental health issues. He accused the media of supporting Biles, America's greatest gymnast ever, during her "weakest moment." Somehow, the words "weak" and Biles don't go together.

Usha has her work cut out for her.

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Follow Froma Harrop on Twitter @FromaHarrop. She can be reached at fharrop@gmail.com. To find out more about Froma Harrop and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators webpage at www.creators.com.

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