Childlessness is now a political issue, thanks to JD Vance, who has held forth against "a bunch of childless cat ladies who 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.
I hadn't realized Vance praised Clinton and Obama in any way whatsoever. Interesting. But he has sold his soul entirely these days--which I imagine explains how he's not pro-union. That certainly wouldn't fly with the extreme right wing. And bucking them is something he clearly has no desire to do.
As I remember it, Ronald Reagan was the first president to approve of working mothers as a valid workaround when his trickle-down economics failed to reach many American families. However, Bill Clinton was the first president to support a child tax credit, which was only $500 at first and did little to offset the increase in payroll taxes during the 1980s. Given JD's expressed admiration for presidents Clinton and Obama as people raised by single moms and his presumptive support for other urban hillbillies, it is hard to understand why he is not pro-union.
I hadn't realized Vance praised Clinton and Obama in any way whatsoever. Interesting. But he has sold his soul entirely these days--which I imagine explains how he's not pro-union. That certainly wouldn't fly with the extreme right wing. And bucking them is something he clearly has no desire to do.
Brilliant essay! Well done!
Thanks, Sam! That's meaningful to me. It's good to know you're out there, good to know I have such sensitive readers as I know you are.
As I remember it, Ronald Reagan was the first president to approve of working mothers as a valid workaround when his trickle-down economics failed to reach many American families. However, Bill Clinton was the first president to support a child tax credit, which was only $500 at first and did little to offset the increase in payroll taxes during the 1980s. Given JD's expressed admiration for presidents Clinton and Obama as people raised by single moms and his presumptive support for other urban hillbillies, it is hard to understand why he is not pro-union.