Angela Poe Russell: Is JD Vance a candidate of contradictions?

Since a video surfaced of JD Vance making a snide remark about “childless cat ladies,” he has not been able to catch a break. Recently on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” he had an opportunity to clarify where he stands and I found myself in total agreement.

“I think if you talk to young women whether they have children or they don’t want to have children, what you consistently hear is a lot of young women feel like they don’t have options,” Vance said. “I saw this with my own wife, who’s a working mother. She is a very accomplished litigator. She has three beautiful kids. She always felt like she had to balance being a good mom with being the kind of litigator she wanted to be. I just want women to have more choices.”

Unfortunately the next question centered on cat ladies again, but let’s unpack what he said in this moment, which was “I want women to have more choices.”  Okay, where do I start?

Well,  the good news is that if this is how he feels, there are policies he can support right now that will have a drastic impact on women’s lives.

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For example, the state of Washington has paid family and medical leave. If someone needs to care for a child or a sick relative, the government supports them in doing so. It’s one of only 13 states in the country to have it, and Ohio, where he’s from, isn’t one of them.

Vance last year did champion legislation that would benefit some families – it was called the Fairness for Stay-At-Home Parents Act. It attempted to help parents who decide to stay home, avoid fees imposed by their employer related to health care premiums. I think this is good. But if you want women to have more choices. This isn’t scratching the surface!

Other documented policies that improve conditions for mothers:  affordable quality childcare.

But in 2021 when the universal childcare and early learning act came up – JD Vance said in a tweet, “Universal day care is a class war against normal people.”

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And in another tweet, he called it a massive subsidy to the lifestyle preferences of the affluent over the preferences of the middle and working class. This left me very confused – but here is what I do know for sure: I’ve worked with dozens of non profits over the years and one of the most impactful was a program here in Washington that gave parents childcare grants so they could go to school.

Many were in minimum wage jobs and couldn’t advance financially without an additional skill or degree and childcare was the ultimate barrier. Giving them grants changed everything. And I loved seeing so many lives transform.

Saying you want women to have more choices, but then blocking programs that give them options is like talking out of both sides of your mouth.

Most of us can handle disagreeing with a candidate on issues but it’s 2024 and the days of politicians saying one thing and doing another aren’t over.

In this info age, it definitely won’t go unnoticed.

Angela Poe Russell is a local media personality and a fill-in host on KIRO Newsradio.