Vance calls El-Sayed 'very, very evil'

"Very, very evil" is a lot of adjective for a state senate race in Michigan, and it's worth asking why the Vice President reached for it. Politicians call each other wrong, dangerous, radical, out of touch all the time. Evil is a different word. It's a word you use when you want people to stop listening to someone rather than argue with them.

Maybe Vance has a real critique of El-Sayed buried in there somewhere, the article cuts off before we get to the substance about people who "see themselves not as" something, and that's a shame, because that's the part that actually matters. What is El-Sayed supposedly doing that rises to the level of evil? If it's a policy disagreement, say so and make the case. If it's about identity or rhetoric, say that too, but own it plainly instead of hiding behind a word that does the arguing for you.

We've spent years complaining, rightly, about the left calling half the country fascists and threats to democracy for holding ordinary conservative views. That complaint only means something if it applies both ways. A vice president standing on a stage calling a Senate nominee evil isn't tough talk, it's the same lazy escalation we've criticized when it comes from the other side. Michigan voters deserve an argument about El-Sayed's record and positions, not a label meant to end the conversation before it starts.

If the campaign wants to make the case that El-Sayed represents something genuinely dangerous, fine, make it with specifics and let voters judge. Skipping straight to "evil" just tells us the case wasn't ready yet.