Ohioans elected JD Vance as our junior senator because he appeared so straightforward, candid and refreshing.
He shared his honest, heartbreaking story of working his way out of family addiction issues in his book, “Hillbilly Elegy.” He didn’t mind setting aside niceties to get to the root of an issue. We applaud his conservative perspective.
We rooted for him when former President Donald Trump selected him as his running mate, making him possibly the first Ohioan to serve as president or vice president since Warren G. Harding back in 1923.
These days, though, we miss the old Vance.
We’re perplexed by a representative of the people who repeated the oft-repeated slur that Haitian immigrants in Springfield stole people’s dogs and cats, slaughtered them and ate them. The police, mayor and city manager in Springfield all clarified the rumor wasn’t true. Some people online conflated the rumor with police video of a woman who ate pets in Canton, all the way across the state, as evidence.
We beg Ohio’s native son to think twice before repeating something he’s heard before he gets a chance to verify it. We all should do that.
Even once Vance knew the truth, he repeated the convenient lie and doubled down on it.
“If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do,” Vance said last week on CNN.
Springfield saw its population swell with an estimated 15,000 Haitians. They came to the U.S. to escape gang warfare and lawlessness in their homeland. They came here for jobs and found affordable living here.
Springfield authorities say they believe they’re here legally through the Temporary Protected Status designation available through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which allows them to live and work in our country for up to 18 months before being evaluated for extension or redesignation. As such, they aren’t illegal immigrants; they’re legal.
No one in the U.S. should lose sight of the overwhelmingly positive impact our immigrant population has had and continues to have on the growth of our local, state and national economies.
Vance blames the administration of Democrats Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for this influx, which overwhelmed Springfield, a mid-sized city with 58,106 people, according to 2022 Census estimates.
“In Springfield, Ohio, there has been a massive rise in communicable diseases, rent prices, car insurance rates, and crime,” Vance wrote on X. “This is what happens when you drop 20,000 people into a small community. Kamala Harris’s immigration policy aims to do this to every town in our country.”
There is an honest discussion that should be had about the pressures this puts on local governments and citizenry. We also should welcome a truthful, informed and intelligent debate about immigration — legal and illegal — coming into the country.
What we shouldn’t allow from our elected officials is the dehumanization of our Haitian humanitarian guests, turning to oftentimes racist, inflammatory and false tropes to enflame fears and rachet up rhetoric.
Since Trump first mentioned the pet-eating slur during a recent debate, Springfield’s been on the defensive. There were more than 30 bomb threats, shutting down schools, hospitals and government offices. Gov. Mike DeWine sent dozens of Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers to conduct twice-daily sweeps at each of Springfield’s 18 schools in response to the threats, most of which came from foreign sources, DeWine said.
To all of this, Vance said he merely repeated what he’d heard or saw on the internet.
“I haven’t made up anything,” he said last week at a campaign stop in Eau Claire, Wis. “I just listened to people who were telling me things.”
This is embarrassing and insulting to all Ohioans. We know better, and you should be ashamed of yourself.
We respect Vance the man and Vance the politician. We believe he’s capable of good things for the nation and for Ohio. He must remember the positive traits that got him this far and stop uttering untruths, falsehoods and lies.
Sen. Vance, you are a proud son of Ohio. It’s time to start acting like it.
EDITORIAL POLICY
The Lima News editorial policy is independent of political party affiliation. Opinions expressed in the Our View column reflect the view of The Lima News editorial board.
