Rooster in Review: The price of negativity
It's actually kind of funny that Vivek Ramaswamy has to go this negative, this early against Dr. Amy Acton.
Earlier this year, it probably seemed so easy for the Ohio Republican Party. All they had to do was ride the luxurious coattails of the notorious conman Vivek Ramaswamy to victory, as he bought the airwaves and shrieked about Dr. Amy Acton being COVID Hitler.
Recently, however, I’ve noticed that the Ohio Republican Party’s Twitter account has shifted to calling her a drunken, pill-popping maniac based on that one night she got into an argument with her husband in Bexley.
If I were Dr. Acton’s campaign, I would hire a yokel and give him a pair of pervert glasses and ask Ramaswamy to share that famous American dietary staple, a cheeseburger, with him at one of these little county fairs that he’s attending.
But I understand the consternation among Democratic voters at seeing these anti-Acton ads on various television and streaming platforms, as well as on FlightRadar247 when you’re tracking Ramaswamy’s latest jaunt on his private jet.
It’s worth remembering that Ramaswamy is going this negative this early because he already blew $25 million on propaganda ads that failed to move the needle an inch on his likeability, which is about 20 points underwater with independents.
I’m not saying to bet the farm on Dr. Acton. Just that it’s not a bad thing that Ramaswamy has to spend this kind of money, this early, to marginal, if any, effect.
I would bet the farm that Dr. Acton’s team will go on the offensive after Labor Day when Normal People tune into the election—and it’s not as if they’re going to lack content when it comes to the conman.
This week in Ohio Man…
I have a cum laude degree from the prestigious Twitter Law University, but I rarely descend from the mountaintop to dispense 100% credible legal advice.
But I’m doing that today to say it’s not worth catching a felony case for scamming hardworking citizens with fake Pokémon cards, as Miami Township residents Gage Quick and Ana Stowers are about to learn.
From Hannah Race of WHTR.com:
According to court documents, the victim was shown pictures of the card, which appeared to be in a case in mint condition. The victim then agreed to make the transaction on June 28 in the New Palestine Police Department parking lot.
In court documents, the victim said that when the sale took place, Stowers was allegedly driven to the police department by her boyfriend, Quick, who stayed in the car as the transaction happened. The victim said he received a mix of cash and a wire transfer totaling $1,200, along with the card.
The victim said within the following days of the transaction that he went to a comic book store, hoping to sell or trade the card. That’s when he was advised by a staff member that the card and PSA grading were both fake, according to court documents.
Shoutout to the victim for having the courage to go to the police. I’m not sure if I could have swallowed the shame after getting scammed by a guy with that kind of haircut.
This week in The Rooster…
It was another brisk week of business at Rooster Worldwide LLC.
Underreporting in the Underworld: High Bridge Consulting’s phantom paper trail. Columbus-based Republican operative Elephant in the Room returns to spill the beans on some light tax fraud that implicates Speaker of the House Matt Huffman and Chief of Staff Mike Dittoe.
Ohio Democrats need one weird trick from Rep. Joyce Beatty. With Sherrod Brown and John Kulewicz correctly blasting Leslie Wexner, Ohio Democrats could get a boost from Rep. Beatty if she’d go to the Justice Department, review the unredacted Epstein Files, and tell us what she learned.
The Epstein Class picks Vivek Ramaswamy. Thirsty Epstein associate Elon Musk, who is also currently poisoning Memphis with unregulated data center pollution, has dropped $5 million into Ramaswamy’s campaign coffers.
The Rooster’s July Mailbag. My dream statewide ticket in 2028, the specter of Chinese cars, intriguing state legislative races and yes—another Marion story that will damage my future political prospects.
We’ll do it at the same time and place next week.
Until then… stay frosty, my friends!
THOSE WMDs. Someone used AI to write an unauthorized biography of me; I don’t recommend reading it… The Box Office bounces back: Hollywood banking on a $10 billion year… She knew he wasn’t real, and she loved him anyway… The accidental cartel queen… How to decode the archive inside ancient tree rings.