What do you all think of J.D. Vance?

There was no substance, no insight, no real solutions. I think the spirit of it was very humanistic and had a lot of appeals to the flesh rather than being rooted in humbly walking with God, or even just looking hard for the truth. It felt like his faith was more in Trump and the Republican party than in God.

I had read up on his background. His resume sounds impressive. He said he converted to Catholicism, though it's not clear what from; his family was some type of Protestant. He actually had a Hindu 'blessing' as part of his marriage which shows a concerning lack of discernment. He is said to be in basically the right camps on social issues.

I had read up on potential options and their strengths and weaknesses but didn't know them well enough to keep them all straight. He has clearly been chosen for his youth, working-class upbringing, and similarities to Trump, though there are probably other reasons too. Trump said he would pick someone he thought could really be president. Not living in Florida, Trump's home state also prevented problems that would have existed with other candidates.

I do. People feared Romney's Mormonism. I don't know why McCain would be in such a conversation, though, because he wrote a book called Faith of My Fathers, and exemplified godliness in trying to find common ground on both sides, and standing against his own party when his conscience took him there, and not in morally questionable ways. Even if he wasn't my first pick, I respected the man's character.

And FYI, I read George W Bush's biography. One of the reasons I liked him was that a real conversion seemed evident since he was motivated by love and turned around his behavior (a.k.a. repented) of his alcoholism.

So my mom and I decided to catch up on the intro speech for Trump's VP pick and were very unimpressed, finding it had little substance. To my surprise, though, most of the comments on YouTube were surprisingly positive. It made me wonder who the audience was on YouTube, and how a survey of Christians would compare.

Please remember to keep it civil. (Talking to myself here. )

"Hillbilly" sounds so... so... so politically incorrect .

Thank you, though, as my mom pointed out, he didn't really get into his background much. I know what you wrote about more from articles I read about him rather than from his own sharing.

What was it he said that you found stunning? You aren't the only one to have that reaction and I'm curious to understand what hit others that way when my household felt very differently.

...he wrote a book called Faith of My Fathers, and exemplified godliness...

I do. People feared Romney's Mormonism. I don't know why McCain would be in such a conversation, though, because he wrote a book called Faith of My Fathers, and exemplified godliness in trying to find common ground on both sides, and standing against his own party when his conscience took him there, and not in morally questionable ways. Even if he wasn't my first pick, I respected the man's character.

I agree with you and have read conflicting information on his view about abortion. .

Was asking his wife for a divorce while she was in the hospital with cancer part of the Faith of his Fathers?

So the fact that Mc Cain admitted to having extra marital affairs and that he met his second wife while still married to his second wife wouldn't change your opinion? Yeah, we didn't hear any of that story did we. Mc Cain was a Rino, I never understand why people take a job where they disagree with the principles and vote with the other party. What's the point?

That bothered me greatly about McCain, the affairs and callous treatment of his wife whom he subsequently divorced.

"Hillbilly" sounds so... so... so politically incorrect .

He said he converted to Catholicism,

I wouldn't use that term unless a person referred to himself as hillbilly. Vance has used the term generously.

There was no substance, no insight, no real solutions.

I think the spirit of it was very humanistic and had a lot of appeals to the flesh

rather than being rooted in humbly walking with God, or even just looking hard for the truth. It felt like his faith was more in Trump and the Republican party than in God.

I had read up on his background. His resume sounds impressive. He said he converted to Catholicism, though it's not clear what from; his family was some type of Protestant. He actually had a Hindu 'blessing' as part of his marriage which shows a concerning lack of discernment. He is said to be in basically the right camps on social issues.

Well, it's not the term so much as this phrase "he is not a good ol boy hillbilly, so I can understand why some people and many in his base may be put off. I was actually surprised that Vance had a bad upbringing, and he speaks with no accent so I was surprised he grew up as a hillbilly. He seems open-minded/tolerant/not racist with personal relationships".


I would start with not trying to be nasty but that got a red x from the OP. But the south has changed a lot over the years, especially with the younger generations. Everyone has an accent, you may not hear it, but you have it. The people that I have met from the south are genuine folk, do anything in the world to help you. And I felt that way a long time before I married someone from the south.

When we were still in ministry we were in the hills of KY and our bus broke down. Middle of summer in the heat, stuck on the side of the road, don't know anyone. Two young guys pulled over, tried to help. When it couldn't be fixed they drove us to the place where we could get the bus fixed. All for nothing, wouldn't take a dime for it. That's the south. Good, hard working people, and many of them are Christian, or at least have respect for it. A lot of places in this country, you won't find that.

What I said was not intended to be nasty. Vance (and his grandma and relatives, if you read his book) refer to themselves as hillbillies. Good ol boy was also a phrase commonly used, and is title of Dukes of Hazzard song. What Vance describes isn't really Mayberry, but more along the line of movie/show Deliverance and Ozarks (though technically not in the south) where the people are friendly but also closed off, suspicious, and even violent.

I wouldn't use that term unless a person referred to himself as hillbilly. Vance has used the term generously.

What I said was not intended to be nasty.

Vance has consistently voted against Democratic-led legislation to codify abortion rights, restore the protections of Roe v. Wade, establish federal rights to access contraception and create protections for in vitro fertilization. Vance opposed and campaigned against last year’s ballot initiative in Ohio to protect abortion access, calling the measure’s passage “a gut punch.” He has rejected calls for tougher gun laws and clashed with Democrats over the politically thorny issue. And he voted to sink a bipartisan border security deal this year that Trump and many conservatives said didn't go far enough.