Vance Calls Out Rep. Ryan for Disingenuous Call for Biden Not to Run (Newsmax)
By Eric Mack | Monday, 10 October 2022 09:00 PM EDT
Ohio GOP Sen.-nominee J.D. Vance called out Rep. Tim Ryan's disingenuous call for a change of leadership, including President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., in the Ohio Senate debate Monday night.
Ryan said, "No," he does not want Biden to run again, but Vance noted numerous times Ryan does not stand for what he says to get elected, having voted "100%" with Pelosi and Biden.
"I've been very clear: I'd like to see a generational change," Ryan said in the Senate debate moderated by Fox-8 in Cleveland, attempting to break from Democrats and Biden amid a sinking economy, rising crime, and potential war, in a state that twice voted for former President Donald Trump in the past two presidential elections. "We need a new generation of leadership.
"We need leaders who have courage to stand up to their own party."
But Vance shot back at the record of the 20-year, 10-term Democrat who serves the Youngstown, Ohio, area to what he considers deleterious results.
"It's so funny, we're getting close to Halloween, and Tim Ryan has put on a costume, where he pretends to be a reasonable moderate, but in fact – he said he stands up to his own party – the last two congresses, Tim, you voted with Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden 100%," Vance said.
"You consistently toe the party line on every single issue. I wish you were the reasonable moderate you said you were, because then Youngstown would not have lost 50,000 manufacturing jobs during your 20 years."
Vance accused Ryan, who has sought to draw in moderate voters in the battleground state of Ohio, of campaigning on a platform that does not comport with his voting record as a Democrat in the House.
"Let's at least be honest with voters about what our actual views are," Vance said, responding to Ryan's attack on Vance for not supporting the Equality Act, which he warned would unwind religious liberty in America.
"This is a guy who voted for the 'Equality Act' that would literally remove federal funding for free and reduced lunch programming for schools that don't let biological males participate in biological females sports," Vance said. "The extremist here, Tim, is you."
Vance also challenged Ryan's evolving positions on immigration and abortion, referencing the case of a 10-year-old girl who sought an abortion out of the state of Ohio after being raped by an illegal immigrant.
"Let's talk about that case, because why was a 10-year-old girl raped in our community, raped in our state in the first place?" Vance said, noting he believes the girl and her family do have a right to an abortion if they "choose," at some point sooner than later in the pregnancy. "The thing the media and Congressman Ryan – they talk about this all the time – the thing they never mention was that poor girl was raped by an illegal alien. Somebody that should have never been in this state in the first place.
"You voted so many times against border wall funding, so many times for amnesty," Vance continued on Ryan's voting record. "If you had done your job, she would have never been raped in the first place.
"Do your job on border security, don't lecture me about opinions I don't actually have."
Vance's debate remark drew a rave review from Donald Trump Jr. on Twitter.
"Holy sh**, @JDVance1 just KO'd Tim Ryan!!!" Trump Jr. tweeted.
Ultimately, Ohio voters have valid concerns about the economy, crime, illegal immigration that Ryan has failed to address in the state during his 10-term stay in the House, Vance said in his closing remarks.
"I believe we've gone in a fundamentally bad direction over the last couple of years," Vance said earlier in the debate, challenging Ryan's position on saying it is time for new leadership. "I believe people deserve to go to the grocery store without breaking the bank."
Vance also accused Ryan of buying into dangerous rhetoric and divisive politics in siding with and not calling out violent 2020 rioters, but seeking to target conservatives concerned about election integrity or parental rights in education.
"[Biden] says he wants to kill the MAGA movement – that's not the rhetoric of a unifier," Vance said.
Democrats view the Nov. 8 race as among their best chances nationally to flip a Senate seat. Ryan has significantly outraised Vance in an increasingly Republican-leaning state that twice voted for Donald Trump for president.
Ryan ended the last fundraising period that ended June 30 with $3.6 million in the bank, compared to Vance's $630,000. Last week, the Ryan campaign reported raising $17.2 million between July 1 and the end of September. Vance, who received help in the primary from billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel, has not reported his latest totals.
Trump's endorsement helped carry Vance to a primary victory in May amid the crowded field, which included a former state Republican Party chair and a former state treasurer.