David Pepper: False Narratives... on Vance...

And Exactly What Ails Red States

DAVID PEPPER
July 18, 2024

The media narrative on JD Vance has been absurd for years. As is the overall narrative about what ails the so-called “rust-belt.”

Both stem from a warped coastal view of the Midwest, looking for simplistic narratives, falling for the ruse. But those false narratives actually do deep damage over the long haul.

On Vance, just as an example: when he moved back to Ohio from San Francisco, the New York Times for some reason let him run this op-Ed, allowing him to frame his move back to the Buckeye State as if it was a patriotic sacrifice. He was giving up so much, he told us.

Huh?

When I moved back to Ohio right after (the same) law school, I saw it the opposite way. Sure, I could have gone to good jobs in other places as well; I had offers too. But there was great opportunity to be seized right in Cincinnati; I rented an apartment with a perfect view of the Ohio River; I could walk downtown from it; my first job was working for a civil rights hero; I joined the Cincinnati World Affairs Council to keep up my interest in global affairs; and I could decide to go to a Reds game at 6:55 and walk into the stadium by 7:05.

It rocked! Outside of the politics that’s holding our state back, still does.

If moving back home is a chore, don’t sweat it. Stay where you enjoy things, be it San Francisco (also a great place) and now Virginia (where Vance now lives).

But whatever you do, don’t run us down as part of your decision making process.

I mean, look at the cartoon the Times included with Vance’s op-ed. Makes it look like JD was moving to a small town. (Tying to capture the trade-off JD claimed he was making; switching out big-city opportunity for a small town).

That’s ridiculous.

He was actually a venture capitalist moving to Columbus, a modern city and one of the fastest growing in America. He next moved to one of Cincinnati’s nicest neighborhoods.

Many other young people are flocking to Cincinnati, by the way. And Columbus. Despite state-level regressive policies on almost everything, leaders of these cities and communities around them are creating communities young people and young families want to live in (just like I was excited to do), which is why both the cities and surrounding suburbs are growing. Not because people like Vance are sacrificing so much to move to them—but because they actually want to be there!

And as for the small towns in red states that are struggling (and many are), Republicans need to stop fingerpointing and politicking and start taking ownership.

After all, Republicans have run Ohio for decades, almost uninterrupted. Same with so many other states. They gerrymander the legislature to ensure that they stay in power in these places. They are largely the representatives of these very struggling communities.

And firmly in power, as in Ohio, what do they do?

Those state leaders and representatives raid local government funds which these small towns rely on (which forces them to cut services, public safety, and the like), so that the state can hand out tax cuts for wealthy Ohioans who largely live no where near these towns. (Ie. the benefit does not offset the local cuts). And those tax cuts have not even led to the general economic growth they’ve promised.

They hand out private school vouchers that go almost entirely to well-off families in wealthy suburbs to go to private schools they’ve always gone to, while urban and rural schools (which anchor these towns) struggle due to squeezed state funding.

They do the lobbyists’ business in state capitals like Columbus—short-shifting regulations and pushing any costs onto the people and communities—so that whether it’s a rail leak in East Palestine or a well leak in Athens County, small towns pay the price again.

Just like a generation ago, it was the lack of regulation of Big Pharma that sicced pain pill makers and pill mill quacks onto folks in our small towns, devastating them ever since. (By the way, another phony thing about the Vance op-ed: the non-profit he touted turned out to be a sham, siccing a Big Pharma consultant onto rural Ohio as an “addiction specialist”)

On and on and on.

The common denominator of the struggle of these small towns is that they are: 1) largely in states that Republicans have led for years; 2) largely in communities that Republicans directly represent; and are 3) enduring the outcomes of failed Republican policies all that time.

And rather than taking ownership of or accountability for these failures and changing course, Republicans like JD Vance double down on the same policies that have already generated literal and figurative train wrecks in communities all across these states.

Next time Vance is asked about the struggles of Ohio’s towns, don’t let him rail on Biden—data show that Biden policies have actually helped matters—or keep acting blame.

Ask him what Republicans have done so wrong that has led to the paltry results in so many communities. Ask him what should they do differently. Ask him if they should be held accountable.

They’ve been the ones in charge, after all. For his entire lifetime, whether he was enjoying life elsewhere or dropping into Ohio to run for office.

Let’s use Vance’s false narrative to highlight the broader false narrative that has dominated politics for far too long, and plays a role in holding so many communities back.