There’s a popular idea in political discourse known as the horseshoe theory. The idea is that if you map ideologies onto a horseshoe-shaped spectrum, the far right and far left are actually more closely aligned than the centrists on either side.
It’s not exactly a serious academic theory, but it can be a useful image when partisan orthodoxies are undergoing the kind of upheaval we’ve seen, particularly on the American right, in the last decade.
And nowhere is that turmoil more apparent than in the rise of Ohio Republican Sen. J.D. Vance, the self-described “Appalachian populist” — with a Yale law degree and a long list of Silicon Valley billionaire backers — who is now running to be vice president.
Vance, who is 39, is widely seen as the vanguard of a far-right millennial movement that ostensibly champions blue-collar workers and rails against greedy executives (a view that Democrats and labor advocates dispute, but more on that in a moment).
And he has repeatedly run afoul of the Reagan-era Republican dogma that long made the party popular with moneyed business leaders.
Vance drew criticism from Republicans earlier this year for praising Biden’s top antitrust advocate, Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Lina Khan. (She is “one of the few people in the Biden administration who I think is doing a good job,” Vance said at a conference in February.)
Vance even teamed up with Wall Street’s No. 1 enemy, Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, to craft legislation that would crack down on big banks.
Last month, Vance himself alluded to the horseshoe-shaped evolution of his views, telling Ross Douthat, From the New York Times: “The people on the left, I would say, whose politics I’m open to — are the Bernie Bros.”
Other US presidents and presidential candidates have been shot
Vance is not alone in this newly business-unfriendly wing of the Republican Party. Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley is another young man (44 is the new 24 in Congress) who is fully behind Trump and positioning himself as a champion of working people.
Last month, Hawley stood out — even among Democrats — when he publicly shamed the Boeing CEO for accepting a big pay raise while cornering the base.
Investors and industry moguls are not happy with this vision of Trump’s ticket.
“For many business leaders, to know Vance is not to love him,” a group of researchers from the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute wrote in Time magazine on Tuesday.
“Many of Vance’s economic policy positions amount to an American CEO’s worst nightmare; a hodgepodge of populist promises that will expand government’s reach into the economy, undermine global confidence, and subvert free markets.”
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch and hedge fund pioneer Ken Griffin were reportedly part of that anti-Vance chorus, according to the Washington Post.
Anxious CEOs can take comfort in some theories from the left, where longtime labor advocates say Vance-Hawley’s millennial populism is little more than lip service.
“A Trump-Vance White House is a corporate CEO’s dream and a worker’s nightmare,” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said in a statement Monday. “Senator J.D. Vance likes to play the union supporter on the picket line, but his record proves that’s a sham.”
Vance’s short voting record — he’s been in the Senate for just under two years — doesn’t inspire much confidence among labor advocates.
He voted against Biden’s Inflation Relief Act, which directed hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies to American manufacturers.
According to the AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest labor federation representing about 12.5 million workers, Vance has introduced legislation that would allow bosses to bypass their workers’ unions and has opposed legislation that would make it easier for workers to form unions.
“A labor person would be raising the minimum wage, making sure people work overtime, supporting paid family and medical leave,” Terri Gerstein, director of the NYU Wagner Labor Initiative, told CNN .
“Pretending to be working class by wearing jeans and acting offended does nothing for the real working people who are struggling.”
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
