JD Vance is fulfilling his Republican duty by questioning the valor of Kamala’s VP pick, Tim Walz. It might seem like a symptom of the congenital imposter syndrome Vance suffers. But it’s actually a manifestation of the smear campaign Republicans execute as an article of faith.
Tim Walz, a retired National Guard Command Sergeant Major, served 24 years with overseas deployments, earning respect for his leadership. “JV” Vance enlisted in the Marine Corps after high school, serving four years as a military journalist in Iraq. Walz’s decades of frontline leadership contrast sharply with Vance’s shorter, non-combat service.
Lest we forget, they swift-boated war hero John Kerry as part of a similar campaign to reelect George W. Bush in 2004. Meanwhile, Republicans continue defending Draft-dodger Donald J. Trump against backlash for dissing wounded warriors and war heroes, like the late John McCain, as suckers and losers.
But I cannot overstate this Trumpism: Hypocrisy in pursuit of power is a virtue, not a vice.
* Image (center panel) Harald Larsen