Don McElwee

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Ohio votes for governor next Tuesday, and the choice is Vivek Ramaswamy or Amy Acton. I live in Cincinnati so I'll be voting in this election (my church is in KY, just across the river). Some men in my church have been having a lively discussion about it. I’ve had friends around the country reach out to ask who I plan to vote for, and I’ve been on the fence. But I've thought it through and come to a decision. There are four options. Option 1: Don’t vote in the governor’s race. That’s childish and irresponsible. We live in a country where we have a voice and should steward it wisely. Grown ups don’t always like the choices we’re given, but we don’t pout like babies as a result. Grow up, make a choice, and stand by it. Option 2: Vote for Amy Acton. Hard pass. I haven’t voted for a Democrat in my life and I’m not about to start now. That leaves us with two remaining options to consider. Option 3: Vote for the third party candidate, Don Kissick. I call this the “Principled Option.” This one is more intriguing. One man in my church suggested that we should regard Vivek’s candidacy for governor as a resume builder as he positions himself for another presidential run. If he wins this race, that legitimizes him as a serious contender for the Presidency and minimizes his perceived negatives as a Hindu. Voting third party sends a message that we don’t want either Acton or Vivek. If Acton wins, she’ll be a hamstrung governor with limited ability to get much done because the statehouse is run by Republicans who will stop her. Option 4: Hold our noses and Vote for Vivek. And do this despite the fact that he’s a Hindu who would use political power to remake Ohio in his image. I call this the “Practical Option.” Frankly, I don’t like any of these options. But the hard reality is this: either Acton or Vivek will be the next governor of Ohio. Take your pick. The Principled Option is appealing because I’m not supporting someone who worships pagan gods and wants to import millions of people into Ohio using H-1B visas. Vivek doesn’t see Ohio as a particular people but as an economic zone. The Principled Option would be playing the long game, taking an “L” this cycle to send a message that men like Vivek are unelectable. The Practical Option is appealing for no other reason than to prevent Acton from gaining power. As Ohio health director she closed businesses, schools, and other activities that caused a lot of harm, especially to kids. It was especially infuriating to see how these decisions harmed kids. We’ve all seen how the Democratic Party has been pulled hard left the last few years, and we can’t afford even four years of an ineffective Democrat governorship. It’s an ugly choice but I believe I’ll vote for Vivek Ramaswamy. Here’s why. I believe playing the “long game” is a luxury we cannot afford. We aren’t playing with action figures here. Whoever is governor will actually govern and enact policies that affect people’s lives. And I believe Acton’s policies will be worse than Vivek’s. I’d rather oppose a Hindu who wants to appeal to conservatives than a liberal Democrat who despises my existence. And don’t believe the line that a Republican statehouse will keep Acton in check. We’ve seen what she did with executive power when she had it. The lockdowns didn’t come from the legislature. A governor appoints the people who run state agencies, sets their priorities, and holds the veto pen. Hamstrung is not the same as harmless. The days of peace-time elections are over. Every election is now a war-time election. The results of elections are not mere matters of policy, but matters of survival. Amy Acton is a leftist, and the left has increasingly demonstrated their willingness to crush anything that stands in their way. Democrats have gotten increasingly unhinged, irrational, and draconian. The Democratic Party is running open socialists and Islamists around the country. They cannot be reasoned with, only defeated. The best time to take the Principled Option is in the primaries. That’s when you send a message. Vote for what you love in the primary. Vote for what you can tolerate in the general. November is the time to live in reality and take the Practical Option. So I’m going to vote for Vivek next Tuesday, despite my misgivings about him, and despite the advantages a victory might give him in future elections. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. In the meantime, the most important electoral calculation is stopping the left. My kids and future grandkids deserve that.

There are two ways of looking at the midterms, now less than three weeks away. One is as a simple referendum on the issues and politicians of the day. The other involves a far deeper conflict of visions (as Thomas Sowell puts it): socialism versus capitalism, intrusive versus limited government, and the destruction of time-honored institutions and traditions versus their preservation and renewal. Rarely in American history have the two parties been so far apart or the choice between them so stark. In brief, Islamist-sympathizing socialism is on the ballot against free-market capitalism and American exceptionalism. victorhanson.com/the-deep-mi…