David Dewitt, Ohio Capital Journal

During the 2024 election, JD Vance and Donald Trump told disgusting, racist lies about Haitians in Springfield and made the southwest Ohio city a national target of hate and extremism.

Pathetic loser neo-Nazis stalked the streets, disrupted community meetings, and protested in front of City Hall. Charity leaders were harassed. Schools closed after being subjected to repeated bomb threats. Business and city leaders were threatened with violence and death.

After telling the racist lies that sparked this hateful chaos in a city of his own constituents, then-Sen. Vance admitted that he would “create stories” to get attention, which is how a child operates....

The Great Ohio Gerrymandering Farce has lifted its curtain once again at the Ohio Statehouse odditorium of human wonders in scenic downtown Columbus.

Ohio politicians are once again pretending to be responsible stewards of the public interest and the Ohio Constitution, as though we all have amnesia and can’t remember what happened with Ohio gerrymandering in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024.

Instead of abiding by the will of Ohio voters and ending gerrymandering, Ohio Republican politicians executed a blatant run-out-the-clock strategy defying court rulings and imposing unconstitutionally gerrymandered maps regardless....

Only one month in and the winds of chaos, the fallout of careless destruction, whip across the country, lashing Ohio, spreading fear and anxiety among millions of Americans.

“Disruption” is the regime’s preferred euphemism.

What does it look like? ...

FirstEnergy was the company behind the largest political bailout and bribery scandal in Ohio history, which funneled $61 million in dark money bribes to Ohio lawmakers in order to pass a $1.3 billion nuclear and coal bailout at the expense of every Ohio family that pays utility bills.

This week, Sludge reported that Donald Trump’s top known campaign money bundler advised FirstEnergy on its contributions to a dark money group that pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in Ohio’s House Bill 6 bailout scandal.

FirstEnergy pleaded guilty in a deferred prosecution agreement. So did the aforementioned dark money group used to funnel the bribes, Generation Now. Former Republican Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder is serving 20 years in federal prison on racketeering charges, and former Ohio Republican Party chair and FirstEnergy lobbyist Matt Borges is serving five years for his role. ...

The reality remains that Ohio Republicans — the very same people who tried to do this to you — still control our executive, legislative, and judicial branches. In a normal political epoch, they would learn a lesson from all of this. But we are not in a normal political epoch, so my best advice is to expect them to have learned nothing. If their flailing on Wednesday is any indication, that advice appears to be sound.

They claim you were confused. They claim they didn’t have enough time to plan a campaign for an issue that they forced Ohioans to consider, where they picked the election date and timeline. They claim that Ohio voters protecting the Ohio Constitution from their attempts to rig it against voters, is just more evidence that the Ohio Constitution is too vulnerable to manipulation.

In defeat, instead of accepting loss as a natural part of life with grace and humility, they are dripping with condescension, and plotting for retribution. It’s an ugly look. So just remember that you protected your power, and all of the power in our beautiful state still ultimately rests with you. ...