Welcome to the September Mailbag

Answering questions about the General Election, the craziest Ohio House members, Jay Edward's future, political yard signs, and more!

This post is too long for email. Please open your browser to view in full!

I’m in a good mood today because I’m a a messy bitch who lives for drama who will be attending two high-stakes government meetings today.

You’ll have to read until the end to find out what meetings those are, so let’s get on with the show.

With only 36 days remaining until the 2024 General Election, we’re about to enter the stretch where hopefully we will witness at least one embarrassing campaign implosion.

This month’s mailbag tackles several key questions of high intrigue. To view the article in full, you’ll need to enlist in the Patriots Caucus, the most feared bipartisan cabal on Capitol Square.

You can also help sustain independent political journalism by purchasing a shirt, tanktop or hat from the dry goods store operated by our friends at Supporters Supply, where every dollar you spend will stay in the city you love to know:

I apologize for not being able to answer every question, except for the person who sent like six questions about State Rep. Gary Click (R-Vickery). If that was you, please seek professional help.

Everyone else can enjoy the show.

What is your opinion on political yard signs? They seem like a waste since I don’t know anyone who’s ever driven past someone’s yard and said, “Well, if they’re voting for a candidate/issue, I’m going to!”

People have asked if I regret running for the Ohio House in MAGA Country. I do not.

But if I did have a regret, it would be spending way too much money on yard signs. Like former Democratic Senate president Harry Reid, I’ve come to feel yard signs are extremely overrated in politics. Yard signs can’t vote!

In a perfect world, they’d be banned because they’re a pain the ass to recycle and result in a ton of litter.

If I had to do it again, I’d have bought like 50 yard signs and left it at that.

Based on recent developments, has your opinion on Columbus School Board member Brandon Simmons changed much? Not saying he didn’t have his role, but it feels like he has been a scapegoat?

No. My opinion on Simmons has not changed. He’s a power-hungry loser and another reason why society should ostracize political candidates younger than 30. Lesson learned, and that won’t happen again on my part.

But, to your latter point, yes he was absolutely scapegoated, as his secret recordings, originally reported by George Shillcock of WOSU, Board President Jennifer Aldair and member Tina Pierce admitting.

Frankly, everyone on that board not named Sarah Ingles can go to Hell, and if they had any shame, they would have already tendered their resignations.

Why do the elected officials of the Columbus Board of Education and the Columbus City Council support the Project 2025-linked LifeWise Academy to infiltrate our community and public schools? Columbus City Council even voted to give LifeWise $900 a few months back?

I have criticized the Board (as seen above) as well as City Council… but to say they “support” LifeWise Academy (more on them at the end of the article) is simply not true at all. LifeWise is not operating in Columbus Public Schools.

But it is funny, I had some vague recollection of LifeWise somehow earning a three-figure payout from Council… but I can’t find any sourcing for that. I reached out to a City Hall friend, and while it wasn’t a forensic audit, they couldn’t find anything relating to LifeWise either.

Please email me if you have some sourcing on that alleged $900 payment or any elected official even speaking positively of LifeWise. Because right now, I can’t find any proof that exists, and I think that’s inline with their actual beliefs.

Are PACs really paying for your footage these days? Badass if true!

LCV Victory Fund was the third campaign firm to use my footage against State Rep. Derek Merrin (R-Monclova)

Yes, that actually happened.

A patriot alerted me to LCV Victory Fund, a Democratic Super PAC, having swiped some of my footage in their negative ad against State Rep. Derek Merrin, who is laughably running for Congress against Toledo Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur.

I sent them a sternly written email. (Never underestimate the power of a sternly written email.) I said fuck Merrin, obviously, but that I didn’t appreciate having my work ripped off without even having asked me.

To LCV’s credit, they had their contracted media company contact me. They paid $500 for the non-exclusive licensing of the footage.

Now, it’s on to Coldspark Consulting, the Republican consulting firm that stole my footage (and my voice) in a negative campaign ad against Merrin for their client, former State Rep. Craig Riedel.

I have yet to hear back from Coldspark, and I’ll be calling them today. If I don’t hear back, I guess I’ll have to take them to court if any lawyer out there is looking for work and would like a lion’s share of the proceeds.

Regardless… it’s a new plank to the business model at Rooster Worldwide LLC. I’m not going to be some pushover and let well-paid consultants for federal politicians and candidates rip me off. I think my prices are pretty fair, especially when compared to going to court!

I’ve got this vibe—like 2008 vibe going right now. I felt It then and I feel It now. No vibe like this in 2012 and not in 2016—although there was certainty in the air of a Hillary win nationally, and Ohio was ceded to Trump. Today, even with a ten point gap in the polling—and shit going down in Springfield at the hands of MAGA—that Ohio, might, just might, squeak out for Harris.

What people have to remember about 2008 was that America was coming off eight years of George W. Bush and Barack Obama was a generational campaigner.

Unless there is some sort of miraculous revival of urban Cleveland voter turnout, you can kiss the idea of Harris winning Ohio goodbye.

That said… I think the ceiling for Trump is the eight points he won the state by in 2016 and 2020. And as I have written, if that margin slips to something around five… that would be absolutely disastrous for down-ballot Republicans.

But! I am not some sort of oracle. Feel free to rub my face in being wrong if Harris pulls out Ohio. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been wrong.

Purchase your official Ohio Hog Voters Social Club shirts through Supporter Supply just in time for Election Day.

I'm a newer subscriber and I wanted to know if you could please explain what a hog voter is? Thanks!

I wrote a longer article on the idea in November 2013.

Basically, hog voters are non-political voters with no consistent ideology that don’t take their orders from party elites.

That type of voter would have a ballot like Trump for president, Brown for Senate, Yes on Issue 1, and then all the Republican Supreme Court candidates. Or something like that.

Give us your Top 10 list of craziest Ohio house members.

Left to right: State Reps. Ron Ferguson (R-Wintersville), Beth Lear (R-Galena), Gary Click (R-Vickery) and Jena Powel (R-“Arcanum”)