What’s Wrong with Josh Mandel?

When Senate Candidate Josh Mandel ran against Sherrod Brown in 2012, I was 22 years old and I wasn’t really in-tune with politics as I am now. I vaguely recall that Mandel was unlikable, but I remember thinking maybe that’s just because we are comparing him to the well-liked Sherrod Brown. But fast forward 9 years and Mandel is more repugnant than ever. We aren’t entirely sure who we have to compare him against in his current Senate run, other than Jane Timken. Trump almost publicly endorsed Timken which would’ve really put a nail in Mandel’s campaign coffin, but it appears he’s doing enough to self-sabotage himself all the same.

Looking at Mandel’s Twitter posts is like entering some sort of weird Donald Trump fever dream. Let’s begin with Mandel’s “Defend Dr. Seuss” effort which is just a smaller battle on the bigger war against “cancel culture.” Mandel has some sort of weird fetish with Dr. Seuss and is currently encouraging Ohioans to physically mail him old Dr. Seuss Books so he can donate them to “kids in need.” First of all, since when has Josh Mandel ever cared about people in need? His entire political career has been centered around self-promotion and putting himself above everyone else, including Ohio’s Republican Party. Secondly, the Dr. Seuss books in Mandel’s Twitter post are not “banned” or even the ones that are controversial. Mandel posted pictures of The Cat in the Hat, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, as well as The Cat in the Hat Comes Back. Those books are still currently being published and there is nothing really controversial about them, other than the author’s reputation for drawing racist caricatures. Dr. Seuss Enterprises, which is apart of Random House Publishers, decided on their own accord that they would stop producing 6 books that exhibit racist imagery that is not socially acceptable in 2021. In my mind, it isn’t controversial that Random House Publishing is essentially saying “hey, we are going to stop publishing and profiting off of racist depictions of people with African, Middle Eastern and Asian ancestries.” Seems pretty normal for 2021 America, but not according to Josh Mandel! He’s used this moment to wage a war on “cancel culture” and he is now posting pictures of himself reading Dr. Seuss books to his kids. Naturally, the ones Mandel is reading to his kids are non-controversial Dr. Seuss books like There’s No Place Like Space and Hop on Pop. If Mandel is so passionate about saving racist imagery, why not bust out the old If I Ran the Zoo which has a plethora of racist imagery of Asians, Middle Easterners and Africans. But as anyone with a few brain cells knows, this is just a ploy by Mandel to rile up social conservatives and the conspiracy theorists who dabble on the darkest places of the internet. Those are his base and he knows it.

Moving on from Mandel’s obsession with Dr. Seuss, he continues to Tweet bizarre posts about how Mike DeWine needs to “Open up Ohio.” I don’t know about you, but it seems like most people and businesses have carried on with their lives while just adapting and implementing a few minor changes. Most citizens and businesses alike have been doing things like universal mask wearing and social distancing since the summer. There are a few businesses who are open fewer hours now due to staffing shortages, but that’s because we are still in the midst of a global pandemic and people are still getting sick. Other than that, I still see Ohioans going out and partying on the weekend in clubs and bars. I still see Ohioans going to restaurants and oftentimes even eating inside. Gyms have been open since the summer so Ohioans can exercise. I’m just at a loss at what Mandel is referring to when he continuously tweets things like “Open up Ohio!”

It’s pretty evident Mandel is a major troll who thinks very highly of himself. He’s one of those guys that will piss on your head and tell you it’s raining. Anyone with half a brain can see through his pathetic attempt to manipulate the masses into thinking Ohio is still “closed” and there is some secret culture war occurring across our country. Will Mandel beat Jane Timken? I highly doubt it. He’s even taken it a step further lately lambasting Amy Acton and describing her as “FLAT OUT WRONG” and “incompetent” which is laughable. Amy Acton is one of the most highly respected doctors not only in Ohio, but across our entire country. Acton has endured things in her life, such as rape and childhood neglect, that someone like Josh Mandel couldn’t even comprehend or fathom because he’s so out of touch with reality and what actually happens to regular people in this country. For him to attack Amy Acton’s reputation is insulting to our intelligence. Mandel is a two-bit conman who will have to slither back to his private life once he loses his primary to Jane Timken, something that will hopefully hurt his fragile little ego. Life and Twitter were so much better when we didn’t have to read the ravings of some sociopath like Josh Mandel. Cheers.