On Monday night, Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan and Republican Rep. J.D. Vance met for a second debate, vying to replace retiring Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) and fill an open U.S. Senate seat in Ohio. While the hallmarks of this latest debate, like last week’s, were Ryan’s desperation and penchant for personal attacks, another memorable moment came from the Jan. 6, 2021, discussion.
Debate moderator Bertram de Souza gave a description of the selection committee’s findings on January 6, which were somewhat warm to the committee, including that the committee was “bipartisan.” He asked the candidates whether former President Donald Trump should comply with the subpoena and, “in light of all the evidence and testimony that the committee has gathered, was the January 6 insurrection an attack on American democracy, or were the hundreds of insurrectionists simply tourists visiting the Capitol, as Republican Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia has alleged?”
Rep. Ryan, who responded first, chimed in on de Souza’s language. In addition to calling on Trump to respond, he added that “I believe the insurrection was a group of people who were trying to overthrow the United States of America, and I believe they were trying to prevent the peaceful transition of power from President Trump to President Biden and disenfranchise over 80 million of our fellow citizens.”
Tim Ryan: “I think the insurrection was a group of people who tried to overthrow the United States of America.” photo:twitter.com/e76YjBAI2M
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 17, 2022
The congressman continued the debate tactic he has used throughout this debate and the previous one, which was to constantly attack Vance, as he claimed in his tirade that Vance had raised money for the January 6 “insurrectionists” and their legal defense, which he called “outrageous” and “crazy.”
Ryan also made some vague remarks about the deaths that day. Speaking of the 140 officers who were injured at the U.S. Capitol, Ryan mentioned that “one person died, and those were Capitol Police officers protecting the Capitol.” In fact, the only person who died that day was Ashli Babbitt, who was shot by a Capitol Police officer.
Vance responded more calmly, adding that “it would probably be quite illuminating testimony if Trump actually honored the subpoena,” though he declined to provide legal advice. Instead, he emphasized that “the January 6th committee has shown from the very beginning that it is not interested in the truth, that it is interested in political assassination,” which also included mentioning conspiracy theories about Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election. (*6*) Vance said, also noting that he has “repeatedly condemned violence.”
He then addressed Ryan’s accusations, pointing out that the Fraternal Order of the Police had endorsed him, telling Ryan “because you have stabbed the police in the back many, many times in this district and across this state.” Vance asked Ryan “why don’t you condemn the violence in the summer of 2020 when people were rioting and looting and setting fires on the streets of America,” adding that “Tim Ryan was nowhere to be found” at the time but might be inclined to do so now that he is running for higher office.
Vance said what most voters are probably thinking: “But look, the January 6th thing, here’s the biggest problem I have with it. What happened on January 6th was wrong. I don’t like violence anywhere, I certainly don’t like it at the United States Capitol, but the media’s obsession and Tim Ryan’s obsession with this issue when people can’t afford groceries, when his policies are preventing people from being able to support their families, when we have a huge border security problem, when we know where big tech companies were actively involved in the 2020 election in a way that covered up the corruption of Hunter Biden and Joe Biden,” he cited as examples.
“We can talk and think about a lot of different issues, and I think the political media’s obsession with January 6 suggests that they’re not really paying attention to the concerns of ordinary voters in this state who are being crushed by the policies that you supported,” Vance continued, pointing to Rep. Ryan.
As moderator Lindsay McCoy mentioned at the beginning of Monday’s debate, inflation is the most essential issue for Ohio voters. Emerson College Poll Vance showed a 46% to 45% advantage in a poll released last week that also found the economy was the most essential issue for 45% of respondents, with “threats to democracy” coming in second at 15% and abortion third (with 13% of respondents citing it as their most essential issue).
