From a U.S. representative literally declaring in a speech that female abortion-rights supporters are too ugly for him to have sex with, to a candidate for lieutenant governor warning that reproductive freedom leads to women having careers, to 195 House Republicans voting against a bill protecting access to birth control, to an elected official blaming mass shootings on women having rights, the Republican Party has made it more than clear how it feels about women. (And young girls, given the conservatives who think it’s fine to force a 10-year-old to give birth to her rapist’s child.)

Ohio U.S. Senate candidate J.D. Vance’s views on women have been unambiguous for some time now—he’s previously called rape “inconvenient” and said abortion is as morally reprehensible as slavery—but just in case anyone wasn’t fully aware of his stance, a recently unearthed clip featuring the venture capitalist makes it unequivocal.

Speaking to Pacifica Christian High School last September, with the interview published by Vice News on Monday, Vance claimed that divorce inflicts terrible harm on children and that it would be better for people in unhappy marriages to stay together, even if said marriages are “violent.” Vance told the audience: “My grandparents had an incredibly chaotic marriage in a lot of ways. But they never got divorced. They were together to the end, till death do us part—that was a really important thing to my grandmother and my grandfather. That was clearly not true by the ’70s or ’80s. And I think that probably, I was personally, and a lot the kids in my community who grew up in my generation, personally suffered from the fact that a lot of moms and dads saw marriage as a basic contract, like any other business deal. Once it becomes no longer good for one of the parties or both of the parties, you just dissolve it and go on to a new business relationship. But that recognition that marriage was sacred I think was a really powerful thing that held a lot of families together. And when it disappeared, unfortunately a lot of kids suffered.” Vance opined that “it’s easy but also probably true to blame the sexual revolution of the 1960s” for this.

Vance writes in his book, Hillbilly Elegy, that his grandfather was a “violent drunk” and his grandmother a “violent non-drunk.” In one anecdote, he says that before he was born, his grandmother told his grandfather that she would kill him if he ever returned home drunk again—and when he did, she tried. “Mamaw, never one to tell a lie, calmly retrieved a gasoline canister from the garage, poured it all over her husband, lit a match, and dropped it on his chest. When Papaw burst into flames, their 11-year-old daughter jumped into action to put out the fire and save his life,” Vance writes. While Vance writes that his grandparents’ marriage improved by the time he was a kid, and that the two were a stable force in his life, it’s extremely disturbing that this person who wants to become one of the most powerful people in Ohio has also suggested that it was a good thing that two violent people—one of whom apparently tried to kill the other—stayed together, recommending that others take a page from their playbook.

While the above anecdote is obviously about a woman inflicting violence on a man, if Vance’s advice for married couples were taken, it would no doubt hurt women the most, as they are disproportionately affected by domestic violence. And while it probably won’t be news to anyone but Vance, according to the World Health Organization, “children who grow up in families where there is violence may suffer a range of behavioral and emotional disturbances. These can also be associated with perpetrating or experiencing violence later in life.” WHO also notes that “intimate partner violence has also been associated with higher rates of infant and child mortality and morbidity.” So yeah, maybe don’t listen to this guy about anything.

Asked by Vice News why the candidate thought “it would be better for children if their parents stayed in violent marriages than if they divorced,” and also if he wanted “local or federal law changed to make it harder for couples to divorce,” Vance told the outlet: “I reject the premise of your bogus question. As anyone who studies these issues knows: Domestic violence has skyrocketed in recent years, and is much higher among non-married couples. That’s the ‘trick’ I reference: that domestic violence would somehow go down if progressives got what they want, when in fact modern society’s war on families has made our domestic violence situation much worse. Any fair person would recognize I was criticizing the progressive frame on this issue, not embracing it. But I can see that you are not a fair person, so rather than answer your loaded and baseless question, let me offer the following: I’m an actual victim of domestic violence. In my life, I have seen siblings, wives, daughters, and myself abused by men. It’s disgusting for you to argue that I was defending those men.”

As Vice News notes, this isn’t the first time Vance has said that the most important thing parents can do for their children is stay in the marriage, regardless of the circumstance—as opposed to, say, ensuring their children grow up in a safe and loving home. In March, at a forum hosted by Toledo Right to Life, he said that “marriage is a lifelong union between a man and a woman,” adding: “The entire idea that you can discard your husband or your wife like a piece of clothing is one of the most dangerous assaults that we’ve ever seen on the family in this country. If we want children to grow up with healthy, happy lives, we should be reminding them that the most important thing that we can do for our kids is make sure they grow up with a mom and dad at home. The assault on the institution of marriage has been a profound evil. It hasn’t just affected our adults, it’s affected our children in big ways.”

Vance is currently trailing his opponent, Tim Ryan, by five points. Republicans are said to be concerned that he is “running the worst campaign you can possibly run.”

If you would like to receive the Levin Report in your inbox daily, click here to subscribe.

Matt Gaetz makes it clear that yes, he is that much of an asshole

Tucker Carlson advises the youth of America

Conservative talk show host: If Donald Trump had really been leading an insurrection it would’ve been so much worse

That feeling when your defense is not as good as you think it is:

Elsewhere!

Kansas voters to decide whether state’s constitution protects right to abortion (Washington Post)

Biden administration weighs declaring monkeypox a health emergency (Washington Post)

Former Top Mike Pence Aide Testifies to Grand Jury in Jan. 6 Investigation (NYT)

Russia waging an “overt gas war” against Europe, Volodymyr Zelenskyy says (CNN)

Judge blocks Georgia D.A. from developing case against Republican state senator in Trump investigation (CNN)

Republican Votes Against Gay Marriage Days Before His Kid’s Gay Marriage (Gawker)

Trump Turns on His Besties Over at Fox & Friends (TDB)

“Baked Alaska” pleads guilty to U.S. Capitol riot charge (CNN)

Chess-playing robot breaks child’s finger at Moscow event (AP)

Florida man crowned winner of 2022 Hemingway Look-Alike Contest (UPI)