Vivian is still my favorite Vance

After years of school overcrowding, streets so full of cars that the average commute to work is more like a 45-minute crawl across the Sahara, and restaurant wait times of more than two hours being commonly reported, it would not seem that America is lacking in people. But this J.D. Vance, an elected US Senator and current Republican vice presidential nominee, is all over the "internets" for making two astonishing statements:

👉 "American families aren't having enough children." 

and 

👉 "In particular, there's evidence that the car seat rules that we've imposed, which of course I want kids to drive in car seats, have driven down the number of babies born in this country by over 100,000."

 

Even if we set aside that fragment "which of course I want kids to drive in car seats," (let's hope he means "ride" in car seats, because who wants kids to drive?) I still can't figure this out. 

Someone told me that he means people who have a Cruisemobile with room for two adults in the front seat and three kids in the back will stop reproducing, because there's no seat belt for a fourth child.

Or maybe he is pointing out, accurately for once, that it's impossible to conceive a child, or give birth to one, while wearing a seatbelt, even in the capacious confines of a Land Rover Defender 130 - a "spacious family car with three rows of seats, lots of cargo space, and comfortable seating for passengers of all heights," or a Kia EV9, "the all-electric SUV with three rows of seats, lots of second-row legroom, and an upscale design."

Upscale! That sounds great to J.D, author of "Hillbilly Elegy." 

I mean, really.

 

 

Vance's remarks on car seats are the latest incident of his previous words being resurfaced for political fodder. His 2021 accusations that the country is being run by "childless cat ladies," with less of a stake in the future of the country than those with children, have been a consistent point of attack from Democrats.

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The TikTok of the transportation hearing was widely shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, often with laughing faces or eye-rolling emojis. Several people argued that the economy, not car seats, is deterring people from having kids.

"Yes JD Vance, it's the car seat laws that are keeping ppl from having kids nowadays. Not the astounding daycare or grocery costs, not the fact both parents have to work multiple jobs to make ends meet, or have other goals in mind. It's the car seat laws..." one user said in apparent sarcasm.

The economy has been a major issue in this election, as both presidential candidates make the case to voters that they will better support Americans in the face of years-long inflation and the rising cost of living.