Campaign for VP: Tim Walz vs. JD Vance
George Shivers • October 1, 2024
John Nance Garner, a Texas Democrat who served as vice president for two terms under Franklin D. Roosevelt, once stated that the vice presidency “is not worth a bucket of warm spit.”
It is true that the only duty that the Constitution assigns the vice president is to preside over the Senate. That in itself is important, especially if there is a tie vote and the vice president can break the tie in favor of his/her own party. It is also important to keep in mind that the VP may in fact become president, should the president become incapacitated or die in office.
Most persons who have occupied the office of vice president, with the support of the president they serve with, have found other important ways to use their time and talents.
When we vote, we vote for the president and the vice president as a team. Therefore, it is important to consider the qualifications of the second person on the team.
Let’s look first at the positions that Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vance has taken:
- Once stated that he was opposed to abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest. He now supports leaving it to the States.
- Believes that there is no climate crisis and sponsored a bill to repeal a program to curb leaks of methane.
- Opposed the bi-partisan infrastructure bill
- Supports the big lie that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump.
- Opposed tougher gun laws.
- Has stated that environmental justice laws have resulted in jobs going to China.
- Called for the repeal of Obamacare.
- Supported Israel’s extreme response to the Hamas attack.
- Called the $15 minimum wage “a medicine worse than the disease.”
- Would have voted for Trump’s 2017 tax cut for the wealthy and corporations.
- Stated that he didn’t care what happened to Ukraine.
- Supports Voter ID and ending early and mass mail-in voting. Proposed giving parents an extra vote per child.
- Stated that universities are dedicated to “deceit and lies.”
- Said that diversity, equity, and inclusion programs are racist and should be outlawed nationwide.
New let’s look at the positions that Governor Tim Walz has taken:
- As Governor of Minnesota, worked with the legislature to establish the right to abortion and reproductive health in state law and signed a bill to provide abortion access to out-of-state patients.
- Signed a bill that requires that Minnesota utilities transition to carbon-free energy by 2040.
- Invested $1.9 billion on construction and innovation projects and signed $2.6 billion on infrastructure.
- Made a strong statement against banning books and helped start the first gay-straight alliance in the school where he taught.
- Signed one of the world’s strongest bans on toxic chemicals and increased protection for historically polluted neighborhoods.
- Signed universal background checks for gun sales and a red flag law. Increased the penalty for straw gun purchases to a felony.
- Would let all Minnesotans buy into state’s low-income health insurance program.
- Expanded low-income public health insurance to undocumented people in his state.
- Supports a two-state solution in Israel.
- Has taken strong pro-labor actions in his state.
- Banned LGBTQ conversion therapy in Minnesota and protected access to gender-affirming care for out-of-state patients.
- Legalized recreational marijuana in Minnesota and expunged low-level marijuana offenses from criminal records.
- Exempted Social Security income from state taxes for most senior citizens. Supports taxing the wealthy to fund Social Security.
- Raised taxes on the wealthy and corporations and opposed the 2017 Trump tax bill.
- Supported loan repayment help for eligible teachers and nurses and tuition assistance for lower income families.
- Declared the Russian invasion of Ukraine as “unlawful” and “unprovoked.” Supports continued aid to Ukraine.
- Approved automatic voter registration and pre-registration for 16- and 17-year-olds.
- Restored voting rights for ex-convicts.
It is also important to look at how the presidential candidate chooses and relates to his or her running mate.
Controversy has surrounded Trump’s choice of Vance since the beginning. Was Vance the choice of Trump’s son Eric or was it based on a recommendation from Elon Musk? There have been almost constant rumors that Trump would drop Vance from the campaign. Vance himself has done little in his public statements to support his adequacy for the job.
It has been clear from the beginning, on the other hand, that Kamala Harris carefully vetted several candidates before choosing Tim Walz, and their campaign has demonstrated how well they work together. It has also been clear during the campaign that their positions and values are closely in sync.
A native of Wicomico County, George Shivers holds a doctorate from the University of Maryland and taught in the Foreign Language Dept. of Washington College for 38 years before retiring in 2007. He is also very interested in the history and culture of the Eastern Shore, African American history in particular.
Common Sense for the Eastern Shore
Right now, Congress is working on a fast-track bill that would make historic cuts to basic needs programs in order to finance another round of tax breaks for the wealthy and big corporations.
The House Agriculture Committee recently voted, along party lines, to advance legislation that would cut as much as $300 million from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. SNAP is the nation’s most important anti-hunger program, helping more than 41 million people in the U.S. pay for food. With potential cuts this large, it helps to know who benefits from this program in Maryland, and who would lose this assistance. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities compiled data on SNAP beneficiaries by congressional district, cited below, and produced the Maryland state datasheet , shown below. In Maryland, in 2023-24, 1 in 9 people lived in a household with SNAP benefits. In Maryland’s First Congressional District, in 2023-24: Almost 34,000 households used SNAP benefits. Of those households, 43% had at least one senior (over age 60). 29% of SNAP recipients were people of color. 15% were Black, non-Hispanic, higher than 11.8% nationally. 6% were Hispanic (19.4% nationally). There were 24,700 total veterans (ages 18-64). Of those, 2,200 lived in households that used SNAP benefits (9%). The CBPP SNAP datasheet for Maryland is below. See data from all the states and download factsheets here.
Apparently, some people think that the GOP’s “big beautiful bill” is a foregone conclusion, and that the struggle over the budget and Trump’s agenda is over and done. Not true. On Sunday night, the bill — given the alternate name “Big Bad Bullsh*t Bill” by the Democratic Women’s Caucus — was voted out of the House Budget Committee. The GOP plan is to pass this legislation in the House before Memorial Day. But that’s not the end of it. As Jessica Craven explained in her Chop Wood Carry Water column: “Remember, we have at least six weeks left in this process. The bill has to: Pass the House, Then head to the Senate where it will likely be rewritten almost completely, Then be passed there, Then be brought back to the House for reconciliation, And then, if the House changes that version at all, Go back to the Senate for another vote.” She adds, “Every step of that process is a place for us to kill it.” The bill is over a thousand pages long, and the American people will not get a chance to read it until it has passed the House. But, thanks to 5Calls , we know it includes:
Let's talk about our Eastern Shore Delegation, the representatives who are supposed to fight for our nine Shore counties in Annapolis, and what they actually got up to this session.
For the first time in recent memory, Virginia Democrats have candidates running in all 100 House of Delegates districts — a milestone party leaders and grassroots organizers say reflects rising momentum as President Donald Trump’s second term continues to galvanize opposition.
The 447th legislative session of the Maryland General Assembly adjourned on April 8. This End of Session Report highlights the work Shore Progress has done to fight for working families and bring real results home to the Shore. Over the 90-day session, lawmakers debated 1,901 bills and passed 878 into law. Shore Progress and members supported legislation that delivers for the Eastern Shore, protecting our environment, expanding access to housing and healthcare, strengthening workers’ rights, and more. Shore Progress Supported Legislation By The Numbers: Over 60 pieces of our backed legislation were passed. Another 15 passed in one Chamber but not the other. Legislation details are below, past the budget section. The 2026 Maryland State Budget How We Got Here: Maryland’s budget problems didn’t start overnight. They began under Governor Larry Hogan. Governor Hogan expanded the state budget yearly but blocked the legislature from moving money around or making common-sense changes. Instead of fixing the structural issues, Hogan used federal covid relief funds to hide the cracks and drained our state’s savings from $5.5 billion to $2.3 billion to boost his image before leaving office. How Trump/Musk Made It Worse: Maryland is facing a new fiscal crisis driven by the Trump–Musk administration, whose trade wars, tariff policies, and deep federal cuts have hit us harder than most, costing the state over 30,000 jobs, shuttering offices, and erasing promised investments. A University of Maryland study estimates Trump’s tariffs alone could cost us $2 billion, and those federal cuts have already added $300 million to our budget deficit. Covid aid gave us a short-term boost and even created a fake surplus under Hogan, but that money is gone, while housing, healthcare, and college prices keep rising. The Trump–Musk White House is only making things worse by slashing funding, gutting services, and eliminating research that Marylanders rely on. How The State Budget Fixes These Issues: This year, Maryland faced a $3 billion budget gap, and the General Assembly fixed it with a smart mix of cuts and fair new revenue, while protecting working families, schools, and health care. The 2025 Budget cuts $1.9 billion ($400 million less than last year) without gutting services people rely on. The General Assembly raised $1.2 billion in fair new revenue, mostly from the wealthiest Marylanders. The Budget ended with a $350 million surplus, plus $2.4 billion saved in the Rainy Day Fund (more than 9% of general fund revenue), which came in $7 million above what the Spending Affordability Committee called for. The budget protects funding for our schools, health care, transit, and public workers. The budget delivers real wins: $800 million more annually for transit and infrastructure, plus $500 million for long-term transportation needs. It invests $9.7 billion in public schools and boosts local education aid by $572.5 million, a 7% increase. If current revenue trends hold, no new taxes will be needed next session. Even better, 94% of Marylanders will see a tax cut or no change, while only the wealthiest 5% will finally pay their fair share. The tax system is smarter now. We’re: Taxing IT and data services like Texas and D.C. do; Raising taxes on cannabis and sports betting, not groceries or medicine; and Letting counties adjust income taxes. The budget also restores critical funding: $122 million for teacher planning $15 million for cancer research $11 million for crime victims $7 million for local business zones, and Continued support for public TV, the arts, and BCCC The budget invests in People with disabilities, with $181 million in services Growing private-sector jobs with $139 million in funding, including $27.5 million for quantum tech, $16 million for the Sunny Day Fund, and $10 million for infrastructure loans. Health care is protected for 1.5 million Marylanders, with $15.6 billion for Medicaid and higher provider pay. Public safety is getting a boost too, with $60 million for victim services, $5.5 million for juvenile services, and $5 million for parole and probation staffing. This budget also tackles climate change with $100 million for clean energy and solar projects, and $200 million in potential ratepayer relief. Public workers get a well-deserved raise, with $200 million in salary increases, including a 1% COLA and ~2.5% raises for union workers. The ultra-wealthy will finally chip in to pay for it: People earning over $750,000 will pay more, Millionaires will pay 6.5%, and Capital gains over $350,000 get a 2% surcharge. Deductions are capped for high earners, but working families can still deduct student loans, medical debt, and donations. This budget is bold, fair, and built to last. That’s why Shore Progress proudly supports it. Click on the arrows below for details in each section.
