The meeting was supposed to be Acton’s way of making up for calling trans girls "boys
Inside sources who have gone public now say the “listening session” was a debacle. Acton did not show up, her campaign manager barred Arienne Childrey—Vice Chair of the party’s Pride Caucus, a transgender candidate for the Ohio House, and Ohio’s first openly trans city council member—from even entering the Zoom call. When another advocate demanded to know why Childrey was barred, she was ejected. The Chair of the Progressive Caucus, Kim McCarthy, was locked in the waiting room during the entire “listening session.” And in the end, the campaign ultimately refused to apologize for calling trans girls “boys,” refused to retract Acton’s support for a transgender sports ban, and ended the meeting with no plans for what come next.
This is deliberate hate.
Smells like republican in a democrat coat.
Unfortunately, most Liberal Democrats are Republicans and are definitely center right in all of their policies and beliefs.
Centre right is still better than the clusterfuck you guys have running your country atm.
“And don’t forget it you fucking worthless serf!” -DNC
Buddy you’ve got more important things to worry about. Lol. Americans deserve the governments they get, honestly.
You know what they say, scratch a liberal.
Kyle Herman, Chair of the Pride Caucus, summarized the room’s frustration: “I am disappointed at how this was handled. I hoped to get clarification that could let us say, ‘See, Acton cares.’ This wasn’t it.
Oh, he got clarification, all right. Just some much more negative than he hoped for.
Not bothering to read this, but that picture in the thumbnail really encapsulates the performative nature of politics. Giant porch, elstylish furniture, huge expanse of well-manicured lawn backed by a hedge…and a John Deere tractor parked on that lawn. Just regular people!
“Give your opponent the choice between two bad options”
“When your foe gives you two targets, strike for a third”
This is a lose-lose. In my opinion, the only remotely viable non-losing path into the future is to solidify around a progressive candidate who should file a declaration to run as a write-in candidate for governor and build as huge of a grassroots campaign as quickly as possible.
I’m also curious how Amy Acton was chosen as the Dem candidate and how long she and her team have been planning this move.
This splits the vote and guarantees the Republican candidate wins.
I don’t think so. I think there are more progressive votes to be gained than conservative votes lost. I also think this move by her team effectively neutralizes the progressive vote for her as well as any energy her campaign might have had, so the split has already happened by her action. What’s left is to decide how to respond, and I think the Pride Caucus should take this anger and energy to file a write-in and organize a grassroots campaign that actually gets people excited. I think that would guarantee a progressive win honestly, the time is right.
There isn’t a sea of progressives who usually never vote waiting for just the right candidate. Most progressives vote Democrat just to keep the Republicans out of office as the least worst option. All you will be doing is splitting the vote. This happens again and again, but every time someone thinks “my candidate is different” and makes the same mistake again.
Most progressives vote Democrat just to keep the Republicans out of office as the least worst option.
And how has this worked out so far? This tactic pushes the entire country further right every election cycle until you end up with literal fascism.
I agree it’s a shit situation but the only solution is changing the first past the post voting system. That is slowly happening at the state level but only when Democrats get a significant enough majority to overcome both the centrists and Republicans.
The idea that there is another option besides the Democrat and the Republican candidates is an illusion in all but the smallest races (I.e. water reclamation district boar seats). Splitting the Dem vote is functionally exactly the same as a vote for the Republican candidate.
I checked and there are no options to recall the governor. The best option might be to ensure as many progressive, state legislators as possible are elected to keep her in check.
I think there are more progressive votes to be gained than conservative votes lost
I wouldn’t bet on it. This is Ohio we’re talking about after all. Plus too many progressives would rather sit it out and wait for their perfect candidate down the road, after they’ve already lost.
Vote is already split with what Acton just did. Gotta have a strong foundation to build on. Voting Acton is playing to lose in the long-game.
On the other hand, if they manage to get enough votes to impact the result without establishment support, the party is forced to adapt, while continuing to vote for them while they slide further and further to the right just tells them that they can continue doing so.
The party Is forced to adapt
When have you seen this work? Did the DNC support DSA progressives on 2018 mid-terms after losing to Trump? In 2020 after the Squad was making waves? Or in 2024 after Biden dropped and Trump was leading in the polls? Did they support Mamdani in 2025 after losing to Trump?
Did the RNC change after Perot won 19% of the national vote (and still managed to not earn a single EC vote)?
The parties aren’t going to react and improve. Don’t wait for the parties to do shit. The better candidates have to run in the primaries and the people have to show up and vote for them. It’s been refreshing to see this becoming more prevalent this year, I hope the momentum keeps growing.
At the end of the day, she’s still a better choice than Vivek. I’m not happy about how she’s treating trans people but compared to Vivek she’s still a better candidate.
But if she’s buying into right-wing framing on trans people it shows she is at best naive. What’s she going to meet the other side halfway on next? Pro-choice except for an ever expanding list of cases?
I’m glad I don’t live in Ohio anymore and don’t have to choose between these shitty people.
When the choice is someone who is legit insane or someone who only pretends to be progressive, you’re kinda fucked either way. See also: fetterman vs Oz.
What a dog shit situation for the people of Ohio.
Par for the course, honestly.
I couldn’t make that argument to a trans person
I could. Because I know at the end of the day I will continue to fight for trans rights regardless of this election.
But I’m also not a single issue voter.
If she wins, it will let other Dems know this is acceptable and a winning strategy.
Ultimately it will be worse nationwide for us in the long run.
You will be a ‘single issue’ voter when the issue is your life.
I don’t think so, but I don’t live in Ohio and I don’t have to make this choice. But voting for her is playing to lose.
If she’s going to throw transgender people under the bus, she will also do nothing to protect immigrants, or people of color, or parents, or the elderly, or animals, or the climate, or the environment, etc. It’s a vote for status-quo when the status quo is going to kill us in a few generations.
The more I think on it, the only move that plays to win is putting in the effort to organize around a grassroots progressive as a write-in.
If she’s going to throw transgender people under the bus, she will also do nothing to protect immigrants, or people of color, or parents, or the elderly, or animals, or the climate, or the environment, etc.
Politics is not two-dimensional. Don’t get me wrong, she’s acting like a piece of utter shit in her treatment of trans people. But to assume all of her other beliefs because of that one is a fallacy. Would I rather the people of Ohio have a viable progressive candidate? 100%. But they don’t, because
The more I think on it, the only move that plays to win is putting in the effort to organize around a grassroots progressive as a write-in.
In a first-past-the-post system, all this move does is guarantee that the more conservative major candidate wins. This is called the spoiler effect. By removing support from the major candidate who is more aligned with your views, you are voting against your own interests, because it effectively improves the position of the major candidate who is less aligned with your views. There is not a vote total a candidate needs to win, they just need more votes than the other candidates.
I absolutely despise our voting system, but despising it doesn’t mean it goes away. Until we move to a ranked choice system or something similar, it is practically always a losing move to abandon the lesser of two evils. In our shitty system, Vote aggressively for progressive candidates in primaries, and then vote defensively for the least regressive major candidate in the general. Until we do that, or until we get rid of our godawful system, the Republicans will keep winning. Because they understand this. You may have heard the phrase, “Democrats fall in love, Republicans fall in line.”
Thanks for the thoughtful reply; best among ones I got. This analysis doesn’t take into account long-term effects. I think voting Acton is voting to lose because it precludes any chance at better future politics. This is the crux of my thinking. I’m familiar with what you’ve laid out, but often don’t see analysis include future elections.
And we’re at the inflection point of US politics. If people aren’t getting involved, then it’s over anyways, so again, voting Acton is just voting to lose the long-game. We need young people, working class people, everyone talking and organizing IRL.
Business as usual is a losing game. Gotta spend the effort on strong foundations; something new; something for the people.
Thank you for putting it succinctly. I’m not happy about my choices but I know damn well Vivek will be 1000x worse than Acton.
My vote is less a vote for Amy Acton and more a vote against Vivek Ramaswami because Vivek is a complete piece of shit opportunistic grifter who will do absolutely nothing but enrich himself.
Glad you don’t live here because you have zero gd clue. The gop has torched this place for decades and you think some stupid no chance in hell progressive write in is a better option.
Thanks but no thanks. Acton can improve. Vivek will drive the car even faster off the cliff while running over as many LGBT as he can.
It’s a vote for status-quo when the status quo is going to kill us in a few generations.
It’s a vote of “killing us in a few generations” vs “killing us next week”. There’s a reason people refer to it as voting for the lesser of two evils.
But a general election isn’t the place for a protest vote - if you try electing someone actually good in the primaries instead you may have better options in the general.
Just like the DNC likes it. We’ll never get anywhere with them. This is what the party stands for. “Slightly less fascist than Hitler” is their unofficial slogan.
Disgusting. Shame on Acton and the Ohio Democratic Party. I’m a Michigander, so it’s not like I needed another reason to hate Ohio, but I certainly have one now.
