S15 EP205: Hour 2 - Vivek Ramaswamy’s Ad Sank Ohio, and JD Vance Won’t Condemn the GOP’s Cancer of Character

Erick says the Republican Party has a cancer of character, starting with Vivek Ramaswamy's closing ad in the Ohio governor race that used Amy Acton's own mother against her, an ad Congressman Mike Turner now blames for his loss. He ties it to Ken Paxton's collapse in Texas, Beau French, Tucker Carlson, and Vice President JD Vance's refusal to condemn any of them, then takes calls on Abdul El-Sayed's win in Michigan, illegal immigration, ICE stops of Hispanic American citizens, and why the GOP can still win in 2028 with the right candidate.

• Vivek Ramaswamy and Amy Acton: the late attack ad featuring the mother who abandoned Acton to protect her abuser, Mike Turner's "lightning strike" quote to CNN, JD Vance and President Trump doubling down, and Ramaswamy leaving Ohio and shutting down his Twitter account
• Ken Paxton and the Texas wipeout: Democrats sweeping the governor, Senate, and lieutenant governor races plus four Texas Supreme Court seats, the new chief justice's push on judges and gay marriage, and talk radio hosts who vouched for Paxton's character
• JD Vance and 2028: Mark Halperin's survey of 68 Republican strategists souring on the vice president, Tucker Carlson, Beau French, the Iran memorandum of understanding, tariffs, and why voters still prefer traditional Republican policies like Colorado and Washington's girls sports votes and California rejecting a wealth tax
• The grievance industry: Erick on evangelical voters tired of being told to vote for the lesser bad guy, and how consultants and white nationalist and Christian nationalist influencers make more money when Republicans lose
• Abdul El-Sayed, illegal immigration, and ICE: Senate committee worries, Chris Van Hollen eyeing Chuck Schumer's job, Hispanic voters who want illegal aliens deported but resent being asked for papers, the constitutional right to travel, and a guest worker pathway that is not amnesty