Don't fall for fake 'outsider.' Vance using Ohio to make himself bigger |former Republican

Tom Laakso was born in Columbus and currently lives here. He studied political science at Ohio State University, graduating in 1994. Laakso was a lifelong Republican until 2016. 

In a guest column published last month by the Cincinnati enquirer, Senate candidate J.D. Vance says, “Ohioans are hurting, but help is on the way.” His credentials to be the savior of Ohio: “an outsider and a businessman.” There are two reasons why I find this unconvincing.

More: Letters: J.D. Vance an unlikely success story. He's 'walking proof of the American Dream.'

First, “outsider and businessman” is a complete oxymoron. Maybe this is his first try at politics, but he’s not a stranger to inner circles. He considers himself an outsider because he will “buck the establishment,” especially compared to, in his mind, his opponent Tim Ryan. He criticizes Ryan as a “corporatist lackey” who supports “globalist, corporatist policies.”

More: Opinion: Ohioans are hurting, but help is on the way

What does that make Vance, then? Certainly not an outsider. Vance is a venture capitalist who worked in Silicon Valley and Washington D.C. and whose career has been financed by CEO investors, such as Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Google’s Eric Schmidt, and Starbucks’ Howard Schultz.

He often criticizes Big Tech, though he has invested in AppHarvest and Rumble and received a $10 million contribution from billionaire Peter Thiel, a former Facebook board member.

He frequently made national media appearances (including CNN) during the 2016 election, analyzing the white working class and their support for Donald Trump. And most notably, Vance’s novel was adapted into a Netflix movie after a $45 million bid.

Vance says Ryan “tries to sound like some renegade, and some populist who advocates for working people.” They say you can only see in others what you see in yourself.

Clearly, Vance is not an outsider. He seems to have connections everywhere, except Ohio, which leads to my next issue with his argument.

More: How to submit guest opinion columns to the Columbus Dispatch

Second, Vance says “help is on the way” because he has so far done nothing to “(create) success in Ohio,” as he claims. He returned in 2017 to establish a non-profit called Our Ohio Renewal. The non-profit has been non-existent since 2017 and only raised about $200,000 that year. Of the limited amount raised, most was spent on staff salaries, and $0 was spent on charitable activities. 

More: Letters: J.D. Vance is 'forgetful.' He doesn't recall how much he despised Donald Trump

He’s clearly using our state to make himself even bigger than he already is. If he’s an outsider, then he’s an outsider of Ohio, not of the gamesmanship and elitism that he pretends to criticize.

He’s right on one thing, though: Ohioans are hurting.

Recently, a young woman was killed on Columbus’s East side, a child rape victim made national news for seeking an abortion in Indiana, and several school districts continue to fight the EdChoice voucher lawsuit. Additionally, many of us are still hurting from an awful economy.

With these issues, the last thing we need is an “outsider.” J.D. Vance is not the first candidate to try this pitch, but I always wondered what all the fuss was for an outsider.

To me, someone campaigning as an outsider is like someone applying for a job with no references or prior job experience. If it were my business, would I hire someone without experience solving these problems and who I don’t trust?

I left the GOP because of a man who also campaigned as a businessman and outsider.

Let’s not fall for that again. Ohio has real issues, and we need real leaders with the experience to solve them.

Tom Laakso was born in Columbus and currently lives here. He studied political science at Ohio State University, graduating in 1994. Laakso was a lifelong Republican until 2016. 

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Opinion: Is U.S. Senate candidate JD Vance an outsider?