Before JD Vance was the Republican vice-presidential nominee, he endorsed a little-known 2017 report by the Heritage Foundation, the organization that brought America Project 2025. It appears the GOP VP candidate loved the Heritage Foundation’s fascist ideas way back in 2017!
The New York Times reported Vance was such a big fan of the Heritage Foundation’s 2017 report that he “championed” the project. The “Hillbilly Elegy” author wrote the introduction to the report and praised the Heritage Foundation manifesto as “admirable” and even served as the keynote speaker at the event that rolled out the report to the public.
The New York Times noted the 2017 report included essays from Republican leaders, writers, and clergy members. The outlet reported,
“They didn’t like in vitro fertilization or other fertility treatments because they thought it hurt women. They also liked the new laws that stopped people from getting abortions and said people should stop thinking about having an abortion in America. Some of them believed that hunger could motivate Americans to find jobs.”
Heritage Foundation’s “2017 Index of Culture and Opportunity”
After Donald J. Trump became president, the Heritage Foundation put its plans to dominate American lives into high gear. The anti-democratic ideas in the “2017 Index of Culture and Opportunity” report laid the foundation for the Trump administration and Vance was all in on their agenda. The 2017 report is filled with essays from authors with extreme right-wing viewpoints, laying out their vision of how Americans should live their lives.
In her essay about the “tragedy” of babies born to single mothers, right-wing journalist Katrina Trinko wrote, “The ideal situation for any child is growing up with the mother and father who brought that child into the world.”
Another essay in the 2017 report is written by Jennifer Lahl, an anti-abortion advocate and founder of the Center for Bioethics and Culture, an organization that questions the use of fertility treatments. Lahl wrote that in vitro fertilization and fertility treatments cause women to be “lured into the belief that they can have children whenever they are finally ready.”
Lahl’s essay positions fertilization treatments as “magic pills” to delay motherhood for professional advancement rather than as a last resort for couples desperate to have a child. The Center for Bioethics and Culture founder wrote that egg-freezing, the medical procedure through which eggs are harvested, frozen, and stored for later use, is a “scheme.”
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Vance was so excited by the Heritage Foundation essays full of anti-democratic, horrible ideas. The GOP VP candidate recently praised Tudor Dixon, who wants forced birth for child rape victims.
Vance’s Views Align with Heritage Foundation
To say Vance is aligned with the Heritage Foundation is an understatement. The GOP VP candidate holds extreme anti-abortion views, saying he wanted to protect life “from the date of conception.” During his 2022 Senate campaign, Vance made it clear he was against marriage for same-sex couples and believed his beliefs about having children should be followed by all Americans. The then-Senate candidate claimed not having children “makes people more sociopathic.”
It was during his 2022 Senate race that Vance spewed his now-famous comment criticizing Democrats as “childless cat ladies.”
Vance’s Team Tries to Distance Candidate from 2017 Report
The New York Times reported that the GOP VP candidate “did not have any input on the commentary,” in the 2017 Heritage Foundation report.
“Senator Vance has long made clear that he supports I.V.F. and does not agree with every opinion in this seven-year-old report, which features a range of unique views from dozens of conservative thinkers,” said Luke Schroeder, a spokesman Vance told the outlet. “It’s bizarre that The New York Times is writing an entire piece attacking Senator Vance for the views of other individuals.”
Sure JD. Below is the cover of the “2017 Index of Culture and Opportunity” report.
