Let’s start with the good news.  And it’s not much.  Locally, the Rs still hold the State House and senate, but lost the supermajority in the House.  While I wouldn’t count on 60 Republicans to agree on tea, let alone override a veto. At least, if they’re smart, they can turn Amy Achtung into Amy Inaction.  Being smart is not the GOP-OH strong point. Absolute best we can hope for is gridlock.

Also in the good news, Ohio passed Issue 3, which helps voter integrity.  I’m not sure how religious exemptions will work.  I’m specifically thinking of the Cam Higby stunt in Minnisomalia, but it should help.  Expect the Dems to fight against the Constitution with the same passion that the Republicans fight to gut our Marijuana amendment.

That’s it.  That’s the good news.

Statewide, in addition to losing the governors house to a fabulist, who made the Joe Biden strategy work, we lost a senate seat.  Yes, Jim Crow Brown is returning to the senate.  More on why later. Looks like some house seats flipped too.  The blue cancer is spreading.  SE Ohio, is it too late to join our brothers in West Virginia?  It would fit, since they split from the slave party 160 years ago.

Nationally, ever know things were coming, and seeing people in denial?  I guess I can take some comfort that both sides were preparing to fight losses, violently in the case of the left.  But the denial on the right was strong. 

The part of graft (Virginia) Terror (Michigan) and incest (Minnisota, again) won last night.  There’s no positive spin. An optimistic view would be the House and Senate being tied up in pointless investigations, but the Democrats can walk and chew gum, as long as they’re walking over the Constitution.  Expect the cries of ‘The Filibuster needs to go!  It’s a relic of Jim Crow!’ to accelerate, since the Jim Crow Democrats only love it when they can use it.  After they do that, they’ll go after making DC a state (unconstitional) giving the state the ability to ban books (Citizens United) more surveillance, more ‘Hate Speech’ laws and a federal assault on guns.  Democrats have never met a right they didn’t like, well except for the Fifth when they use it.

So how did we get here?

Let’s start at the top.  President Trump isn’t the man he was in 2016.  Hell he’s not the man he was in 2024.  He misstepped badly on Iran.  Hitting/Occupying Karg Island, successfully arming the Persians, the Kurds and headhunting would have flipped Iran much quicker, and while there would be supply disruptions, they’d have been shorter. Likewise the dithering on Russia might be strategic (Who knows what a cornered Putin would do?  And he’s much harder to headhunt) but it comes across as dithering.  Since some people still buy the collusion hoax, so whatever the reason, it looks like he’s supporting Putin.  Let Ukraine disrupt Russia, let Europe deal with the cost of their choices and then rebuild.  It worked in the 40’s and 50’s didn’t it?

Next, let’s look at the candidates and campaigning.  We’ll start local. 

Adam Holmes and Al Landis are no brainers.  One they’re both not part of the Terrorist/Fascist/Criminal/Incest party.  Two I’ve met both, well Al virtually, but it was a one-on-one meeting.  Both were approachable and listened to my arguments, even when we disagreed. (Al Landis and I disagreed on Ohio’s abortion law, but he respected my arguments) so my vote for state rep and senator were locked.

Sorry Jerrad Christensen.  You’re a local boy, and friendly and approachable.  But you’ve tied yourself to a party that a large portion of wants me, and the United States, dead.  Don’t believe me?  Read the DSA platform.  So I voted Balderson, he’s at least been responsive.

Vivek was the best of a weak field.  The Republicans pushed back against the Democrat levels of racism, (see Maine) to get him on the ballot, but his messaging sucked.  The desperation in the end sunk him further.  Achtung outran him by hiding.  She also didn’t get nearly enough contempt from the Assassination hoax.  The left is literally killing their opponents for speaking, and threatening people who dare not goosestep with the rest of the party.  So of course they try the ‘look!  They’re trying to kill us!’ thing. But let’s be honest, he sucked as a politician.  This might be a plus, but for the second time, I found myself pulling the lever for the Libertarian candidate.  Yes, DeWhine sucked that bad.

Moreno had two problems.  Weak campaigning with no positive message, and he’s as blah a Senator as we can get.  How can you tell?  He doesn’t have a nickname, though Morono fits in hindsight. Now sure part of the weakness comes from the Ohio GOP sucking diseased moose wang (to quote Harry Dresden) but if you’re the one running for office, you’re a leader. Lead, damnit!  Rather than run on his accomplishments and the GOPs in general, his campaign was ‘Jim Crow Brown’ is scary.  He is, but it’s because he’ll vote in lockstep with the radicals in his party.  He’s no Fetterman, or Manchin for that matter. Sherrod Brown has the ‘kindly old man’ vibe down.  You attack his record, where he voted against the unpopular and successful measures.  Not what he ‘might’ do.

As mentioned above, the Ohio GOP sucks.  Messaging sucks, campaigning sucks, candidate vetting sucks.  They had a chance to purge with the fall of Householder.  Reorganize, reach out to the youth and rebuild.  They failed.  Look at DeWhine’s lack of spine, unless he’s opposing what people want, as the poster child of this.  Amy Achtung’s handlers (and her bartender) will keep her office focused.  She’s also going to be the least seen governor in decades.

Nationally… the GOP dropped all the balls.  @Amuse on X called it months ago.  If with both houses and the White House, the GOP can’t pass popular legislation (SAVE act), they don’t deserve power. Weak Candidates and the cancer that has consumed the Democrats is turning to eat the Republicans. Tucker, Candance and others should be brow beaten, then driven from the right.  They also had weak candidates, and bad economic conditions, see Trump, above.

(Side note, we dealt with being told voting against Barry and Vice President Cock Holster showed we’re racist.  So since Ohio Dems voted against Vivek…)

So the way forward…

Fight.  Not with violence, that’s the way of the left.  Rest and regroup.  Fight locally.  City, County, State.

Volunteer. I’ll still walk up to attend city council meetings.  And I plan to work more with my state senators and congresscritters. Also volunteer in your church, school, community.  Be Seen. Be leaders.

Educate.  Both yourself and others.  My friend (we’ve never met, but I call him a friend) Uri recently wrote that you don’t argue to change the mind of the people who you’re arguing with.  They’re cemented in their values.  You’re changing the audience. Also know that you're voting not just for people, but for what they're going to do.  Idealists get ground down.  Make sure if you're voting for someone despite how much their party sucks, they can take a lot of grinding.

Laugh. This in someways is the *most* important.  The enemies of freedom, and the Democrats (but I repeat myself) *hate* being mocked and the subject of ridicule.   Keep laughing, keep them angry.  They show their true selves when angry. Sadly that true self wants us dead, but it shows who they are.

Those are my thoughts.  Last night was a loss for the Republic, but we can still save it.