All Gas, No Brakes
All Gas, No Brakes
Tonight's VP debate is about testing each campaign's foundations. Here's why Walz should take the underpass.
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Crash Avoidance
Preparing for a vice presidential debate is like avoiding a car crash. You monitor the external environment, develop maneuvering tactics, and adapt accordingly. Tonight’s debate is about testing each campaign’s foundations. Here’s why Walz should take the underpass.
Front Crash Prevention
I’ve debated men like J.D. Vance and I know how they think. Don’t underestimate his level of preparedness. His goal will be to establish a false sense of security in the minds of the American public. He will project confidence and create the illusion of understanding. He will test his opponent with comments that are aimed at shock value, not because he actually believes them to be true, but because he hopes it will get his opponent to react impulsively rather than reasonably. It’s part of the MAGA strategy: to distract you from thinking for yourself.
To avoid a head-on collision, Walz should take the underpass, using every opportunity to relate to the American people’s everyday needs and explain how the Project 2025 manual doesn’t meet the moment: it manipulates outcomes. He should resist the impulse to defend his record when attacked and switch conversation lanes to reach the people in the middle. Here’s how.
Adaptive Headlights
Vance will want to hit the pedal to the metal to prove himself after countless missteps in the press. Walz should take it slow. Let Vance feel overconfident, like he’s coasting on the highway. Then take him back to school and wait for a deer-in-headlights moment. Show how Vance doesn’t relate to the everyday person because he doesn’t respect them. One example: Appalachian Reckoning: A Region Responds to Hillbilly Elegy, a rebuttal from Appalachian communities to Vance’s elitist portrait of the region. It’s a style that worked well in the 1988 VP debate between Senator Lloyd Bentsen and Senator Dan Quayle, leading to the iconic soundbite: “Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy.” Watch the playback here.
Blind Spot Detection
When it comes to understanding the motivations of those who congregate to protest police violence, Vance is driving blind. Vance talks and Walz listens. Walz’s challenge will be to expose Vance’s blind spots and educate the American public about the facts that motivated his toughest decisions as governor. One example: pressing Vance on what “one real rough, nasty day” of police violence would look like for most of America and how exactly it would end violent crime, which as
consistently demonstrates in the crime data he shares in , is in decline nationwide. Walz should contrast the MAGA approach with his track record on conflict resolution, such as how he successfully served as a bridge between community organizers and policymakers in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.Lane Departure Warning
In Driver’s Ed, I wrote about the implications of eristic arguments, those that evade the truth to win. Walz should be prepared for Vance to make abrupt turns without signaling. His detailed history of comments about Trump indicate his tendency to change direction at a moment’s notice if he believes it will serve him well. However, his words come at a significant cost to those affected by them. Walz must hold Vance accountable to the actions his words imply. One example: Springfield residents have dodged bomb threats and personal attacks due to Vance’s spur-of-the-moment, pet-eating comments. On the national debate stage, Vance won't be able to swerve away from public opinion.
Tonight we’ll be introduced to two VP candidates driving America’s future.
There’s only one I’d want to ride shotgun with. How about you?
Park Assist
Looking for recommendations? Here’s three stacks that belong on your roadmap.
Stay the course,
Sam
P.S. Hey, I’m Sam Reetz. I’m an indie filmmaker who is hard-at-work on a civic education experience about national traffic stop data and the communities most affected. If you’d like to share feedback or explore collaborations, let’s chat: route24@substack.com.
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