J.D. Vance Refuses To Stand Up To Mitch McConnell As He Blocks 3,000 New Jobs In Ohio
July 12, 2022
Columbus, OH – According to a new report from Axios, J.D. Vance refuses to stand up to Mitch McConnell for blocking urgently-needed legislation to invest in American semiconductor manufacturing – including vital funding for Intel to create 3,000 jobs in Licking County.
Instead, Vance blamed “do-nothing leadership” and a “leftist wishlist,” deflecting responsibility from McConnell after he blew up bipartisan negotiations in order to prevent Democrats from lowering prescription drug costs for working families.
Vance’s refusal to confront McConnell by name comes after he bragged about criticizing the Senate Minority Leader when it suited him in a crowded Republican primary. Here’s what Vance and his allies said then about McConnell:
- Last year, Vance said, “I think McConnell has shown at times that he’s a little out of touch with the base … I think that it’s time that we moved beyond the very old leadership class that’s dominated the Republican Party for a long time. We’ve got to do it. We’ve got to bring some new blood in. We’ve got to get people the base is really excited about.”
- In January 2022, Bannon (at the 23 minute and 48 second mark) asked Vance if he would vote for McConnell, and Vance responded, “I’ve been the only person in the Ohio Senate race who’s actually been willing to criticize leadership–and I just did–and I will continue to criticize leadership when I think that they’re wrong.”
- When introducing Vance at a campaign event on April 30 in Newark, Ohio, Marjorie Taylor Greene said to applause (at around the 12-minute and 30 second mark), “He’s [Vance] someone I know who will go into the Senate and won’t hand his voting card over to Mitch McConnell.”
- Vance’s allies at his super PAC went after Josh Mandel for being two-faced on Mitch McConnell. Ryan Girdusky, who worked at Protect Ohio Values, tweeted in a thread that Mandel was a “fraud” because “as he publicly mimicked Trump’s incendiary rhetoric, Mandel would privately reach out to McConnell’s top lieutenants to alert them each time one of his top rivals, J.D. Vance, criticized Washington Republicans — effectively trying to have it both ways.”
But now that Vance needs McConnell’s deep-pocketed allies, he’s been hobnobbing in D.C. at an NRSC retreat and conveniently has nothing to say about McConnell’s obstruction of 3,000 new jobs in Ohio.
“When it was politically convenient, J.D. Vance went after Mitch McConnell – but now that he needs McConnell’s corporate special interest money, Vance can’t bother to stand up to McConnell as he holds 3,000 Ohio jobs hostage. J.D. Vance is a complete phony who will do or say anything to get elected,” said Michael Beyer, a spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.
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