JD Vance is objectively a horrible man. I would call him the poster child for everything that is wrong with American politics, but there is so much competition in the Republican party, he would just be one of a rotating cast on that poster. To say I find the Republican party disheartening, would be an understatement.
Then there is his running mate, tRump. How a misogynist, racist con man managed to gain control of one of two major politic parties of the most powerful nation on the planet will keep historians employed for quite some time. How he managed to maintain that control as dementia became too obvious to ignore will also keep sociologists and political scientists occupied. I am sure there will be several doctoral theses written in all those professions.
There has been something niggling at the back of my brain for a while now about JD Vance. I could not altogether put my finger on it, but yesterday the thought congealed into something concrete.
Escape from L.A. is a 1996 movie starring Kurt Russel with an all-star cast. While not critically acclaimed, in fact, frequently panned, it is immensely entertaining. It is definitely a guy movie. The Google synopsis of the film reads:
In 2013, the United States president (Cliff Robertson) is exiling all citizens who don’t conform to his hyper-conservative views to Los Angeles, which became an island after a huge earthquake. But, when the president’s daughter nabs the detonator to her dad’s apocalyptic weapon and sneaks into L.A. to be with the rebel leader she loves, the government taps commando-turned-crook Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) to retrieve the young woman. And, if he doesn’t succeed quickly, he’ll be executed.
What was niggling at that corner of my brain was how similar JD Vance is to Cliff Robertson’s role, President Adam, in this movie. Wikipedia begins it plot synopsis that also explains Cliff Robertson’s character:
In 2000, a massive earthquake strikes the city of Los Angeles, cutting it off from the mainland as the San Fernando Valley floods. Declaring that God is punishing Los Angeles for its sins, a theocratic presidential candidate wins election to a lifetime term of office. He orders the United States capital relocated from Washington, D.C. to his hometown of Lynchburg, Virginia and enacts a series of strict morality laws, banning such things as smoking, alcohol, drugs, premarital sex, firearms, profanity, and red meat. Violators are given a choice between loss of U.S. citizenship and permanent deportation to the new Los Angeles Island, or repentance and death by electrocution. Escape from the island is made impossible due to a containment wall erected along the mainland shore and a heavy federal police presence monitoring the area.
The president, while an obnoxious holy roller, is also hypocritical, double-dealing POS that is willing do utterly anything to get his way, and essentially cares for no one except himself. This lack of caring even includes his daughter, Utopia, who he plans on electrocuting towards the end of the movie as he considers her a traitor.
If life were to imitate art, I could easily see JD Vance as President Adam. For my money, there is not a lot of difference between the fictional agenda of President Adam and the current Republican agenda — 2025– for the United States of America. In fact, to me, there is even a vague physical resemblance between JD Vance and President Adam.
May Zeus save our souls.