Tag: Business First

Lets Talk About The Future Governor of Ohio: Vivek Ramaswamy announces a great opportunity in West Chester

These opportunities don’t come along too often when people like Vivek Ramaswamy want to run for governor on a political path that will entail a lot of high offices.  But to be governor of Ohio at this particular juncture in history is quite a remarkable idea.  Something that just a few months ago didn’t seem possible.  Yet it is true; I know it is because I am playing a role in sponsoring this announcement by Vivek on February 24th at 5:30 PM in West Chester.  And I am thrilled to be a part of it because I like Vivek Ramaswamy.  I would have thought he would be directly involved in the Trump administration after the President was elected to a second term.  Vivek Ramaswamy was set to partner directly with Elon Musk to run D.O.G.E., which is the hottest thing in the world right now.  So, it would have been a perfect next chapter for Vivek Ramaswamy.  However, in the weeks before Christmas, some very good friends of mine, who are very close to Vivek, told me what was cooking down at Mar-a-Lago with Trump wanting to clear the decks for Vivek to run for Governor of Ohio, and that was exciting news indeed, and I was instantly supportive.  I thought it was a good move for DeWine to appoint Jon Husted to J.D. Vance’s senate seat because now J.D. was in the White House with Trump. Husted had wanted to run for governor, but I supported David Yost instead.  But then, Vivek Ramaswamy didn’t look like he would be available at that Ohio high office.  However, a mission is going on in the background to make Ohio no longer a “rust belt” state but the center of the technological universe, starting with aviation and aerospace, then migrating to computer chips and fuel production.  So it didn’t take me long to grab on to this opportunity, which was a chance of a lifetime to get an excellent MAGA governor in Ohio and to do big things that had not been possible up to now.

I like David Yost, the current attorney general.  I liked the idea of a law and order governor who would be hard on crime and support the Trump administration’s border policies.  Yost is a big guy, the last time I saw him personally, he was wearing a big cowboy hat, and I loved the idea of him being an option for governor.  But for all things Ohio, Vivek also gives us a great law and order presence, and we get all the economic goodies, too.  It’s nothing against David Yost, but everyone has a role that they are good at, and with Vivek, he’ll be able to cheerlead along projects that are unique to him on the tech side of things.  Ramaswamy is a new generation of political figures who are self-made and energetic, working feverishly around the clock to do great things.  David Yost is a more traditional politician.  He’d be much better than the current Mike DeWine, but he wouldn’t be much different from the governors we’ve had.  He’s not Vivek Ramaswamy, who is probably the best orator in the world right now.  And he has a long runway.  I love seeing people in his age bracket, not yet 40, poised to do these big jobs because it’s the juice for a good living cascading off their administrations.  Not that David Yost is a one-trick pony; there is much to say about law and order.  But Vivek Ramaswamy is the whole racehorse, which is a safe bet on a successful race.  Knowing what I do about the great things in the background that are part of Senator Lang’s business first caucus, this opportunity with Vivek Ramaswamy doesn’t come along in too many lifetimes. 

I want to see Dave Yost get behind Vivek and do something that he is specifically good at, such as a continuation of law and order enforcement.  There are plenty of good things to do, and I don’t want to see Yost damaged politically in a run against Vivek.  There’s just no reason for that other than ego.  Everyone should find their way in this MAGA movement.  But Yost is crazy if he thinks Trump will endorse him over Vivek Ramaswamy.  There is no reason to have anybody in the MAGA movement embarrassed because there are plenty of jobs for everyone.  There is no scenario where David Yost is on a debate stage with Vivek Ramaswamy, and Yost doesn’t come out on the losing end.  And because I like Yost personally, I don’t want to see that happen to him.  Vivek will win the GOP nomination in Ohio easily, and he will then have to take on from the Democrats the old subject of millions and millions of words that I have written about her, Amy Acton, who has announced that she too is running for Governor.  Which I think is hilarious.  But she’s the best that Democrats have, which is another problem.  She must be tone-deaf not to understand how much people in Ohio hate her after what she did with COVID-19.  The pot-smoking hippie chick persona she has will not play well, as people have tried to forget about her for all her ridiculous Covid lockdowns.  Here she goes, wanting to remind everyone of her role, which is one of the greatest mistakes Ohio has ever experienced.  She cost Ohio billions of dollars and a lot of misery; she’s the opposite of a personality like Vivek Ramaswamy. 

If you want to see Vivek in person, just register at the link below:

https://www.vivekannouncement.com/

Also, I think Amy Acton plays better with sympathetic voters who believe in second chances on a stage with David Yost, who comes across as too stoic than the compassionate Amy Acton.  Many women will undoubtedly choose Amy Acton over David Yost because that’s how emotional voters vote.  It’s probably why Amy Acton thinks that enough time has passed since the Covid disaster, and now, she can get back out and show herself to the world again.  But on a debate stage with Vivek Ramaswamy, there is no way she can win anything.  She has too much baggage, and she’s too slow, and Vivek could decimate her with a smile on his face and still give any supporter of her a reason to vote for him without feeling guilty about it.  It’s hard not to like Vivek, and he can debate anybody about anything without coming across as vicious and combative.  You don’t need to bash people over the head when you are as good as he is.  So Vivek Ramaswamy is in a class all by himself, and if you want to see him in person, just let me know before the 24th.  It’s not just a chance to see the future governor of Ohio, but I think a future President.  Vivek has a lot of runway ahead of him.  There’s room for J.D. Vance and other MAGA personalities, too.  I’d like to see them all tag team those efforts and not fight against each other, as I am suggesting, with David Yost getting behind Vivek’s run so that he can do different things that he’s good at.  The goal is to carry the MAGA movement to as many nationwide offices as far into the future as possible.  And for now, 8 years of Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio as governor could make our state a bigger economy than the country of Taiwan is now.  Bigger even.  But it takes the right people in the correct positions, and for this opportunity in Ohio, Vivek Ramaswamy is it.  I’m very excited to support him in this fabulous announcement.

Rich Hoffman

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The Lofty Expectations of the Ohio Statehouse: Senator George Lang is a politician it can be proud of

It was a great treat for me to get a day to visit the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus to see a good friend of mine, Senator George Lang. It was good for me to put things in perspective as some of the issues of the hour are intense and changing by the minute. The Ohio Statehouse is a grand vestige dedicated to a republic form of government, and it was built with love and ambition. I think all statehouses try to do the same thing. The Ohio Statehouse is a special place dedicated to intelligence, study, and the difficulties of a republic that spans thousands of years in the past. It’s a place of ambition and hope reflected in the Greek architecture, the various marble ornaments, and symbolic statues. Whenever I go there, I am reminded that much of the hard work that is done in politics, even when it often falls so short of expectations, is worth the effort. Even when people complain about the cesspool of politics and the corrosive elements of lobbyists, I see the work that goes on in places like the Ohio Statehouse as the best that there is in the world. I’ve been to the Parliament in London and other places where the work of politics is done, and I see the purity of the Ohio Statehouse as something special, unique. I am possessive that it exists to do the work all people in Ohio need done. Even if people disagree on what that work is, the place is there to make sure it has a chance to happen. 

Another friend of mine took a picture of me on the House floor, and that’s what I was thinking. I don’t usually get sentimental about those types of things, but I had just had a good meeting with Senator Lang with the door closed. I was very happy to hear what he was working on. But more than that, I saw the same eyes alive and well within him that I have known for many years as he was one of the original members of the West Chester Tea Party. George is still that same person who gives out copies of Atlas Shrugged at Christmas and believes in small government, fiscal responsibility, and a business-first political strategy which is the key to all wealth-building in any culture. George Lang is a good person, a very good person. And as I was thinking about the Ohio Statehouse and all its ambitions, most of the time, we resent politics because we give politicians all these great tools to work with, like the Ohio Statehouse.   Most of the time, the people we send to the congress and senate fall short of our expectations, leading to perpetual disappointment. But George Lang is one of those exceptions. He actually lives up to the lofty expectations. The building seems to have been built specifically for people like him.

I say all those nice things because I had an extended chance to watch him work with other members of the House and Senate. And to interact with Governor DeWine. George is friendly, engaging; he’s a great salesman. But while he is doing all those things, he’s also guarded and measured. He’s a hard nut to crack for a lobbyist because it’s hard to tell where to get a hook into him. What is the vice of George Lang? What makes him tick? Where is he vulnerable? It’s one thing to be sociable and even polite. George has been involved in Columbus politics for many years now. When our schedules match up, I speak to him quite a bit here and there, but he’s a busy guy. So, to be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect in his office with the door closed and talking about the business that needs to happen for the state. To talk about the upcoming primaries, his Business First Caucus, politics back home in Butler County, Ohio. But what I found was a person who loves doing a good job, that had not been swept away by any trace of corruption, and the same wide-eyed person I have known since he was a trustee in West Chester. And with all that has been going on, where the world presents us with disappointments at every juncture, especially in politics, that was refreshing. 

In that House chamber and its lofty contents, it was apparent that most of the members went to Columbus with big goals and that they were getting swept away by the ornate atmosphere. Just before that photograph, I had just heard from a politician who wanted me to know how smart he was and that he was reviewing the legal complications of a land purchase for a solar farm, filled with all kinds of rancid ESG requirements that he thought were great. He was a guy who had been chewed up and spit out of the meat grinder, and I could see that the chamber walls were almost ashamed of him. He did not live up to the expectations. But those big stone walls and finely carved woodwork would see many more like him over the years, as they had. But when George was in that room, the actual chamber seemed happy. There was a person worthy of the Statehouse. There was someone who would do the work and, when done, dash off to his wife and grown children at every opportunity. And I think that is the secret to George Lang working there. The Statehouse was built for people like him, who love their country, their state, and their communities, but more than anything, their families. When the rubber hits the road, that’s how he has managed to survive Columbus and live up to the lofty expectations that come with business there. 

It wasn’t just because I like George. Governor DeWine was walking around shaking hands and taking pictures. Most everyone he interacted with couldn’t wait to lick the shoes of DeWine and pander to him for the powerful seat he sat in. Those same people might badmouth DeWine the minute they were away from him, but when shaking hands and taking pictures, they were like little girls at a pop-rock concert backstage. Power was a seductive force, and they were undoubtedly under its influence when around the Governor. But not George Lang. While respectful, he stayed very true to himself and represented his district exceptionally well. And it wasn’t an act. I wasn’t always somewhere that George could see me. It was just how he was, and I was proud of him. It gave me hope that all the hard work in preserving our republic, first at the state level, then at the federal level, was worth it. That day at the Statehouse is how it’s supposed to be in politics. It’s an example of how to do it right. We build the temples to a republic that has taken us thousands of years to perfect. And our government in Ohio is supposed to be contentious. It’s not supposed to be a fraternity of consensus builders. The Statehouse was built to debate and flush out the best and brightest ideas from the weakest. And over the many decades that the Ohio Statehouse has been there, it has suffered many disappointments in the elected representatives who have gone there to do our work. But George Lang isn’t one of them. If the Statehouse could smile, it surely would when George walks into a room, for that is the reason the place exists.

Rich Hoffman

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