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Hillbilly Elegy author J.D. Vance has repeatedly embraced fascism and white nationalism in his effort to secure one of Ohio's seats in the United States Senate.
He's promoted the white supremacist "Great Replacement" theory. He's cited lies to lionize Christopher Columbus. He's falsely claimed to be suppressed by Big Tech. He's defended a "non violent" Capitol rioter who was caught on camera assaulting a police officer.
In his latest rant, Vance attacked professors and intellectuals, embracing an age old tactic of fascist leaders.
Watch below
@JDVance1 at the National Conservatism Conference:\n\n"The professors are the enemy."\n\n#NatConpic.twitter.com/YCTfIw3M1y— NatConTalk (@NatConTalk) 1635901092
Vance said:
"I think in this movement of national conservatism, what we need more than inspiration is we need wisdom. And there is a wisdom in what Richard Nixon said approximately 40-50 years ago. He said, and I quote, 'The professors are the enemy.'"
The writer and former venture capitalist was approvingly quoting Richard Nixon's words to his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, two years before Nixon resigned.
Anti-intellectualism, particularly targeting professors and other educators, has been a key component of fascist ideology.
Jason Stanley, author of How Fascism Works, told Higher Ed:
"Fascist anti-intellectualism sets the traditions of the chosen nation, its dominant group, above all other traditions. It represents more complex narratives as corrupting and dangerous. It prizes mythologizing about the nation's past, and erasing any of its problematic features ... It seeks to replace truth with myth, transforming education systems into methods of glorifying the ideologies and heritage of the members of the traditional ruling class. In fascist politics, universities, which present a more complex and accurate version of history and current reality, are attacked for being places where dominant traditions or practices are critiqued."
Already, Republican hysteria over critical race theory and the party's insistence on so-called patriotic education has become a hot button issue in recent electoral politics. Republican lawmakers and hopeful lawmakers, like Vance, have leapt to demonize teachers and their unions, school board officials, and others in the educational sphere.
One history professor and historian, Heather Cox Richardson, warned of this in her response to Vance's screed.
Dear Americans:\n\nWhen they tell you who they are, believe them. \n\nSigned, \n\nA History Professor... who knows exactly what comes next if this ideology takes power.https://twitter.com/NatConTalk/status/1455700807144415232\u00a0\u2026— Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR) (@Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR)) 1635951516
Richardson warned that she "knows what comes next" if Vance's ideology gains enough momentum to take power.
Others feared what could be to come.
"The professors are the enemy..." CHILLING. \nTake this deadly serious, people. historian Heather Cox Richardson is right.https://twitter.com/HC_Richardson/status/1455912301433864193\u00a0\u2026— bcoffia (@bcoffia) 1635995452
I have a piece being edited on Hawley's speech on Monday at this event, in which he said the left is destroying american men, and named prof after prof after prof. A senator, one of the most powerful people in the world, targeting academics.https://twitter.com/HC_Richardson/status/1455912301433864193\u00a0\u2026— David M. Perry (@David M. Perry) 1635954575
it starts with "journalists" and "professors," then proceeds through "public schools" and "science." the goal is to have everyone trust only The Leader and those who bask in The Leader's Lighthttps://twitter.com/HC_Richardson/status/1455912301433864193\u00a0\u2026— jaymills (@jaymills) 1635980259
In addition to the obvious reasons this statement is so troubling for democracy, the flattening of entire categories of a population into enemies using violent language makes me fear for physical harm and well as epistemological myopia. If we lose education, we lose democracy.https://twitter.com/HC_Richardson/status/1455912301433864193\u00a0\u2026— Timothy J. Shaffer (@Timothy J. Shaffer) 1635961451
Yep. I\u2019m scared.https://twitter.com/hc_richardson/status/1455912301433864193\u00a0\u2026— Redqueen (@Redqueen) 1635997171
She was far from the only one unsettled by Vance's comments.
I don\u2019t know where the US is headed but it\u2019s not looking good.https://twitter.com/natcontalk/status/1455700807144415232\u00a0\u2026— Certified Bayou Boy (@Certified Bayou Boy) 1636025637
It never gets old to hear Republicans like @JDVance1 call Americans they don\u2019t agree with \u201cthe enemy\u201d. Couple that with parts of their party asking \u201cwhen can we start shooting Democrats\u201d and you wonder when the US will become the new Germany pre-WWII. #ExMarinehttps://twitter.com/NatConTalk/status/1455700807144415232\u00a0\u2026— Tyler Durden (@Tyler Durden) 1635986624
They are testing these lines for 2022 and beyond. If you think this ends well for Professors please see Germany, Cambodia, China, and whatever other parts of history you missed.https://twitter.com/NatConTalk/status/1455700807144415232\u00a0\u2026— Dr. Sarah Parcak (@Dr. Sarah Parcak) 1636034290
Vance is a graduate of Yale Law School. There, his professor, Amy Chua urged him to write the memoir that would catapult him to national relevance. He said, "Amy gave me the permission to chart my own path, both professionally and personally. It's the best single piece of advice I've ever gotten."