Well, now, doesn't look like a barrel of fun? With less than three hours to go before the sole vice presidential debate of this campaign, your friends at the AFL-CIO have released a "bingo card" -- the better, presumably, to keep track of the latest verbal outrages that Trump's poodle of a running mate, J.D. Vance, will unleash on the nation.
Childless cat ladies, beware! Men in skirts, take cover, and put your hands over your ears! Stockholm-destined sex changers, screen all your calls! Fellow atheists, Druids, Wiccans, and alternative believers of all stripes, run for cover, before J.D., the man's man, smashes a styrofoam display of the Ten Commandments over your ungodly heathen head!
Watch out, godless commie lovers! He's taking names, but he's not taking any prisoners...so let's hear it, for the man who wears poverty, like others put on makeup! Put your hands together...for -- Mr. -- J -- D -- Vance!
Oh, yeah, right. We're talking about the same J.D. Vance who posed, not so long ago, with an AR-15 rifle -- in front of a stack of firewood that obviously looks like it's been planed and machined by non-human hands. It's as genuine as those so-called Amish craftsmen ads I'd see late at night, with actors whose fake bears seem...well, glued on.
And yet, he wants you to believe that he's not weird. Yeah, right. Anyway, you can read the basic PR rationale from the union below, and while you're at it, don't forget to download your own card here -- who knows, it looks like a readily convertible piece of art, for other occasions, and it might make a great conversation topic opener some day:
"We’re looking forward to the country getting to know our union brother, Gov. Tim Walz. Walz is the governor of Minnesota, as well as a former public school teacher, football coach and union member.
"Walz has a track record of standing up for working people, our families and our unions, and he’s helped working families in Minnesota and all over this country. He knows the power of a union and the strength of working people standing together to fight for what’s right.
"We also hope you’ll learn more about Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, a corporate lawyer turned Silicon Valley venture capitalist who has spent his two years in public service catering to corporate interests.
"While he pretends to respect workers and our unions, Sen. Vance is the lead co-sponsor of the Teamwork for Employees and Managers (TEAM) Act, Sen. Marco Rubio’s anti-worker bill that would allow employers to create sham unions that would undermine worker power. And Vance opposed the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, the labor movement’s landmark bill to protect workers’ right to join a union."
As far as the PRO Act goes, I have some doubts about it, from the self-employed/IC (independent contractor) standpoint, but I'm on board with the rest of this statement. It would certainly feel odd --given Trump's refusal to entertain a second debate with Harris, an understandable reflex, given the verbal drubbing that she gave him -- ends up being the last word in that arena.
But then, as we all know, nothing about this campaign season has looked, nor felt, remotely normal. In any event, don't forget to tune in at 9 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Time), and bring the popcorn. Oh, and a cat, if you happen to have a feline keeping you company. --The Reckoner
