Andrew Jackson was a Democrat, but to my mind, except for him and President Trump, they were the only two real Constitutional Presidents. Ronald Reagan was an actor who played a conservative well. Teddy Roosevelt was well-intentioned but became a leader of the Progressive Party. Abraham Lincoln was an enforcer of the Constitution, and it created a war. He held firm and did a great job, but he was cut down too short of making the country work the way it’s supposed to. In all of American history, there are only a few short years where constitutionally things worked how Ben Franklin’s Republic intended. Most of the rest of the time, it has been squabbles, character assassinations, and fiscal sell-outs at the international level that has driven most of our political activity, which then cascades itself into our lives with every new rule and regulation designed to make pin-heads into kings, and the hard-working into slaves. Our form of government is messy, and it should be. It’s a lot better than Chinese communism and our quality of life for all people, and our national GDP prove out the results. Saying all that, for the governor race in Ohio, the cowboy hat-wearing Joe Blystone is probably most aligned to my way of thinking. Other conservatives see the blood in the water and want to knock off Mike DeWine’s disaster in a primary where he is very vulnerable. Candace Keller is seeking signatures to run with Ron Hood. I like Candace even though she seems not to care for me so much. To her, I work with establishment politicians too often. I’d say that when you fight to get good candidates, you eventually become the establishment. Success can be tough to manage, but you will have to deal with it if you do your job. And it is in that spirit; I have absolutely no reservations in endorsing Jim Renacci for governor in Ohio. Once the smoke clears in the primary race, it will take a team effort to defeat the DeWine machine, so everyone needs to start thinking that way. Otherwise, they will be hiding their “purity” for political theater behind a mask that endorses more corruption and malice by re-electing Governor DeWine and allowing the bad guys to win again.
I get the speeches, the search for the perfect candidate. The excellent specimen of political sentiment. The next “honest Abe.” I think all that is fine and healthy to have a robust debate. But before the primary election, around the April time frame, everyone needs to get behind Jim Renacci and make their platforms a part of his platform under one Republican umbrella because it will take that to beat the DeWine Machine. Out of all the candidates and their backing, only one person can beat DeWine in May of 2022, and that is Jim Renacci. The reason, well, he’s the only one with a chance to get a Trump endorsement before the primary, rather than after. If all the primary challengers support Trump, he can’t possibly pick one who might lose; it would have to be a unified sure thing before he would ever put his name behind a primary candidate for governor. If the effort came up short, the media would never let Trump live it down. Instead, Trump would be more likely to wait until the primary winner is announced to put his name behind the Republican governor for the fall election, but it would be too late by then. So keep all that in mind when giving speeches about political purity and seeking to elect some biblical figure into elected office. The first step in all that process is winning because without the win; you have nothing; it’s all talk. That’s why there were only a few times in American history where the Constitution somewhat was supported by the political class, and the nation ran well, Trump and Andrew Jackson.
I don’t see these kinds of rationalizations as a compromise. I may be one of the most uncompromising people on planet earth. But in a group setting, I am one of the most compromising because everyone lets me down. I have no hope of finding the perfect person who represents me specifically. Instead, I work to find ways to align everyone’s best interests despite their personality traits. I never expect people to do the right thing just because they should. I always hope, but they seldom ever do, because that’s my experience with people. So when it comes to a public endeavor, I never expect purity, and dealing with anybody will require some compromise because none of the interests are ever aligned. Instead, I also look through force of will to align people to whatever is in their interest by whatever means. Presidents and governors of the past who were most effective in this kind of approach, like Jackson and Trump, approached the problem in this same way, and it was successful. I would say that such a mentality is the key to any prosperous republic, which is what we are in the United States, not some rat-infested “democracy” of mob rule and popular opinion. A contentious atmosphere where nobody is ever thrilled is how politics should look because honesty is forged in contention. It is better to get in there and fight than sit on the sidelines and chuck rocks to maintain a pure view of the world. The fight is what is needed, and you need to pick a side and fight there for what’s right.
Even with DeWine wounded and very vulnerable, many people in both parties want chaos and mayhem to rule the day because there is great profit in it for them. That is one of the reasons that Ohio is the most corrupt state in America presently. DeWine has a machine, and it knows how to keep the right people in power to maintain this chaos, which they profit from. Now I can say I know Jim Renacci. Even though I said I understand Joe Blystone the best out of all the candidates, I know there is room for a Joe under the Renacci tent. But there isn’t room for the Renacci types or even DeWine fence-sitters the other way around. I certainly know where Candace Keller sits on the matter; she’s a no-compromise under any conditions kind of person. I admire that as a trait in people, but she won’t be effective when you must work with other people to make things happen. But there is room for a Candace under Renacci. Renacci doesn’t care if everyone agrees with everything he does. He wants to do a good job, and as a business guy, he understands how to align interests. That’s why he and President Trump are personal friends and why Trump would be most likely to throw his name into the race to help push the effort over the DeWine machine. The Trump children are also a part of the Renacci campaign, so there are many opportunities ripe for a significant political upheaval. But, it won’t happen unless all the conservatives align and work together. If the vote gets split, nobody will win, and all the forces that worked against each other will empower sheer evil to get a second term in Ohio. That is how people like Mike DeWine have stayed in power for so long; they know how to play this game, while all the other uncompromising characters out there fight each other over theories of right and wrong, evil then always prevails.
Rich Hoffman
The Gunfighter's Guide: 