Recently, some members of a local Catholic church have been staging protests against Tim Ryan and in support of J.D. Vance. While I disagree with some of Tim Ryan’s policies, I think those who claim to defend “innocent human life” should reflect upon the fact that Vance has endorsed Alex Jones, a man who lost multi-million-dollar lawsuits after he claimed an infamous school shooting never happened, and then when confronted about it during his debate with Tim Ryan, lied about that endorsement. (source: https://news.yahoo.com/youre-tape-j-d-vance-073606094.html ).
A brief anecdote to further illustrate my point: I remember in 2013 when the future priest at St. Michael the Archangel in Findlay told me how disgusted he was with Bill Clinton being “such a liar”. While I don’t have the desire to issue a tractate defending the former President, I think the hypocrisy on the “pro-life” side is astounding. That scandal took place in the 90s. Alex Jones has been issuing false claim after false claim about school shooting victims over the past ten years and is still touted as an authority by politicians like Vance.
So I was not surprised when the “spiritual successor” at St. Tom’s and his cohorts went on a tirade about how “un-Catholic” Democrats are. If that were true, then isn’t it equally wrong to vote for a candidate such as Vance who allies himself with a lunatic who disrespects the lives lost at Sandy Hook?
Some might suggest that Vance cannot be accused of “guilt by association” but if one is a politician who relies on people such as Alex Jones, then one is susceptible to allowing people like that to influence one’s policy decisions. In this case the charge of guilt by association is as appropriate just like it was with Henry Kissinger and President Nixon (though I am by no means suggesting that Vance or Jones are as cunning or intelligent).
Bill Kennedy
Bowling Green
