Ramaswamy out at DOGE, to run for Ohio governor

[Horace]

He has substantial bona fides that he believes what he claims to believe. I think he wrote three books on culture and politics before he entered the arena. I know he clowned himself during his presidential campaign, but I think he'll learn and grow from that. I'll be curious to see how he manages a gubernatorial campaign. I expect the theatrics to diminish a lot.

[Doctor Phibes]

@Horace said in Ramaswamy out at DOGE, to run for Ohio governor:

He has substantial bona fides that he believes what he claims to believe.

Believing what one claims to believe doesn't mean that the beliefs are any more valid.

Didn't he peddle conspiracy theories about 9/11?

[Horace]

@Doctor-Phibes said in Ramaswamy out at DOGE, to run for Ohio governor:

@Horace said in Ramaswamy out at DOGE, to run for Ohio governor:

He has substantial bona fides that he believes what he claims to believe.

Believing what one claims to believe doesn't mean that the beliefs are any more valid.

That's a point I've made many times here. But true belief is dispositive of opportunism, which would be changing one's beliefs with the political winds.

Didn't he peddle conspiracy theories about 9/11?

I don't know.

[George K]

My sense of Vivek swings like a pendulum do. He's smart, glib and personable. And then...his blatant opportunism gets to me. I think he was trying to leverage his (now short) term at DOGE as some "street cred" for future positions.

[Horace]

I guess I can see opportunism in the way in which he conducted himself, to emulate Trumpianism, during the campaign. But I don't remember any about-face political opinions. I remember thinking he was non-serious.

[Mik]

My sense is he would be focused on what will be good for Vivek rather than Ohio. It would take a lot to change that perception.

[George K]

@Horace said in Ramaswamy out at DOGE, to run for Ohio governor:

I don't remember any about-face political opinions. I remember thinking he was non-serious.

We talked about this when he was a semi-serious candidate. And by "semi-serious" I mean, "Are you kidding me?"

But, yeah, at least he's been consistent.

If you watch some of the videos he's done on college campuses with Charlie Kirk, he's quite engaging.

But "engaging" ≠ "competent".

[Horace]

@George-K said in Ramaswamy out at DOGE, to run for Ohio governor:

@Horace said in Ramaswamy out at DOGE, to run for Ohio governor:

I don't remember any about-face political opinions. I remember thinking he was non-serious.

We talked about this when he was a semi-serious candidate. And by "semi-serious" I mean, "Are you kidding me?"

But, yeah, at least he's been consistent.

If you watch some of the videos he's done on college campuses with Charlie Kirk, he's quite engaging.

But "engaging" ≠ "competent".

He's proven to be pretty darn competent in everything else he's tried in his life. I'm comfortable that as people without political experience go, he can be trusted to be competent in the role, based on his prior history of competence in other arenas.

[Mik]

I question his dedication to the job at hand versus aiming for national office. He was DOGE , not very good at that, then wanted Vance’s seat. When he didn’t get that call of a sudden he wants to be governor. I have no confidence in his dedication.

[George K]

@Mik said in Ramaswamy out at DOGE, to run for Ohio governor:

I question his dedication to the job at hand versus aiming for national office. He was DOGE , not very good at that,

Really? I'm not disputing, just questioning. He was pretty quiet on social media about it. Perhaps there's stuff that we didn't see.

then wanted Vance’s seat.

Yeah. That was a rumor, but I have no reason to doubt it.

When he didn’t get that call of a sudden he wants to be governor. I have no confidence in his dedication.

Agreed. It's almost as though everything he's done is perceived as a stepping-stone to something bigger/better.

[Mik]

Exactly. I refuse to vote for anyone like that regardless of party.

[George K]

Beware of someone who seems too slick.

[Copper]

People:
Trouble, oh we got trouble,
Right here in River City!
With a capital "T"
That rhymes with "D"
And that stands for Donald

[Mik]

Or…

We got trouble
Right here in Cincinnati
With a capital C and that rhymes with V and that stands for Vivek.

[Horace]

Vivek announced his candidacy for governor today.

[LuFins Dad]

I wonder if DOGE would have run any differently if Vivek was involved?

[Mik]

I’ll be voting for Dave Yost. Ramaswamy’s a smart guy, but too much of a gadfly.

[jon-nyc]

@LuFins-Dad said in Ramaswamy out at DOGE, to run for Ohio governor:

I wonder if DOGE would have run any differently if Vivek was involved?

He had a different idea for it and there was a time when the two ideas were going to coexist.

So the other idea was to pour through tons of laws and regulations and identify bottlenecks that slow down economic development. I suppose the idea would be to repeal them in a single bill or in some cases through agency action. Such an effort would have been totally orthogonal to what Elon is doing and I think should still be done.

[Mik]

It would be a much more disciplined approach. I’d like to think Musk was doing the same but I see no evidence of that.