Peanuts In My Pocket

I believe that doing the right thing is vastly more important than saying the right thing, especially when it comes to judging the character of a person. It’s easy to say anything that comes to mind, but it’s much harder to do the right thing. Doing is an action. It requires effort, and to do things right, it requires consistency.

The best example I have is that of a Christian telling others how to live their lives, but failing to hold themselves accountable to the same standard. It’s the “saint on Sunday, then beat your wife Monday” problem I saw so often when I was blogging about hypocrisy. I hold our politicians to the same standard. I don’t care what candidates like Trump or Harris say, but I really care about what they do.

JD Vance has me worried. His words are alarming, but when given a chance to take action—to do the right thing—he fails the test. He had an opportunity to do the right thing with Tucker Carlson yesterday, but instead of canceling his planned Sept. 21 interview, he used it as an opportunity to blast his political opponents while supporting Tucker Carlson. Vance is more interested in Carlson’s audience than in confronting Carlson’s feckless support for Holocaust denier Darryl Cooper.

A Vance spokesman shared this—JD Vance Declines to Denounce Tucker Carlson After Interview With Holocaust Revisionist:

“Senator Vance doesn’t believe in guilt-by-association cancel culture, but he obviously does not share the views of the guest interviewed by Tucker Carlson. There are no stronger supporters of our allies in Israel or the Jewish community in America than Senator Vance and President Trump.”

The quote attacks the political left and doesn’t even name Darryl Cooper. It does nothing of value and demonstrates corrupt values. What is the right thing to do? JD Vance should have canceled his planned appearance and publicly rebuked Tucker Carlson for giving a platform to Darryl Cooper. Vance should have demanded an apology and a commitment from Carlson to never lend his platform to another lunatic again. Instead, Vance did nothing. The issue was treated as a minor annoyance.

His planned appearance on the 21st sends a signal to the nutters that deny the Holocaust. His actions show his values. He values votes over truth. He values votes over doing the right thing. His actions show he would sell his soul for votes—though he sold his soul to Trump a long time ago.

It’s easy to get my vote. Act like you deserve it. Show me you have what it takes to lead our country. Do the right things. Vice President Kamala Harris and Tim Walz understand this. They do the right things every day. I don’t always agree with them, but when compared to the alternative, there is no alternative that I would consider.