Posted on 02/11/2016 8:42:50 AM PST by Kaslin
"There are too many people in America who don't feel connected. They've got victories that no one celebrates with them. And they've got defeats, and pain sometimes, that they have to absorb themselves," Ohio Gov. John Kasich said in a speech that celebrated his second-place showing in the New Hampshire primary Tuesday. It was a breakthrough moment. In early GOP debates, Kasich talked too much about his working-class roots and his mailman dad. "I care about poor people," he crowed in a November debate -- as if no one else did. Tuesday night, however, Kasich moved from boasting that he relates to working stiffs to relating to working-class voters.
The flinty Kasich always was a good fit for the Granite State. The former House Budget Committee chairman is a budget hawk; New Hampshire has no income tax. As a pragmatist, he wasn't likely to excel in the Iowa caucus, where the GOP base rewarded obstructionist Sen. Ted Cruz with a top finish. Kasich doesn't go in for kamikaze tactics, hence his cross-over appeal to independent voters who cast ballots in the GOP contest. His years in the House enabled him to forge alliances with New Hampshire heavyweights such as former Sens. John E. Sununu and Gordon Humphrey, who backed Kasich over hopefuls with bigger war chests. He likes to talk. New Englanders like to talk too. Kasich held 106 town halls, and they paid off.
Meanwhile, rivals' super PACs were painting a bull's-eye on the back of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. So, Kasich got to sit back and watch New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie take down Rubio a few pegs during Saturday night's debate. Christie punctured his own balloon as well. By hanging back, Kasich got stronger.
Now Kasich is a bigger target. Right to Rise, a super PAC that supports former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, has hit Kasich for forcing "a massive expansion of Obamacare in Ohio." Kasich knew the political risk of taking advantage of an Obamacare provision that fully funded new Medicaid enrollees for the first three years. But he told Fox News that it was his job to "bring money back to Ohio," not watch his taxpayers send money to Washington to subsidize other states' health care.
"If punched, we'll punch back publicly," Matt David of the pro-Kasich super PAC New Day, told me. "Make sure you use the word 'publicly' with that so it doesn't sound like I'm coordinating."
While Right to Rise whispers Kasich is not sufficiently conservative, Planned Parenthood is hitting Kasich from the left. President Cecile Richards told the Women in the World Forum in Los Angeles that, given Ohio's restrictions on abortions, a Kasich administration would be "a complete and utter disaster" for women. Looking to woo hard-core South Carolina Republicans, Kasich strategist John Weaver tweeted, "Ask her to keep it up, please.
He is walking the fine line with an upbeat message that's part Catholic and part New Age. "We're all made to change the world. We're all made to be part of the healing of this world," he told his supporters. Once upon a time, critics, panned Kasich for being too boyish. In this field of GOP contenders, he has found his stride and has graduated to Yoda.
People talk about Ted Cruz being ‘creepy’. I disagree. The creepy on is Kasich. Kasich always seems one word away from losing it. He could simply be worn down by this long dirge of a campaign year. All the work Kasich and the other governors are doing, and they barely register. This may be Kasich’s biggest moment of the race, followed by a slow fade ala Carson.
Kasich doesn’t come across as patrician as Yeb, as loud as mogul Trump, as canned as Rubio or as polarizing as Cruz. He seems to fit right in the middle.
And his breakout performance in NH testifies to it. He could be what anti-Trump Republicans are looking for to stop the Trump juggernaut. Kasich’s problem is no one else will exit the establishment lane to allow him to do it.
Kaisch “God wants us to grow the welfare state” has no business being in the GOP primary.
THIS is why the “establishment lane candidates” are in the single digits. They become Democrats in everything but name.
Where was Kasich when Obamacare was being pushed?
Obamacare wins in Ohio as John Kasich expands state’s Medicaid coverage 10/22/13
Ohio Governor Kasich says Obamacare is here to stay, backtracks 10/20/14
He said, to opponents of Obamacare“ Do I need to buy Bibles for you to remind you we need to take care of the poor?”
I like Kasich,... almost. He was good when he was in congress, he worked for smaller government and less spending. And he did some good things in Ohio. He did what Walker did vis-a-vis public unions in Wisconsin. And the same as was done in Indiana and Michigan. But in Ohio’s case alone, most of the reforms were rolled back. He lost to the government unions. Which was the problem with Kasich then, as it is now.
Kasich is not a real leader. He can’t move the public. I wonder if he can even carry Ohio if he were a VP candidate. On the good side of things, he knows the right thing, he does the right thing, and he may be helpful in Ohio. But if he can’t lead people, then maybe Christie or Carly are better choices for VP.
Since I am not from OH I don't know how the Ohio voters feel about him as governor. He claims to have balanced the budget. They would know if he did or not
I would say that he has done a good job of balancing the budget. That is not to say the budget is totally balanced. Really, how many states have a truly balanced budget. But it was really bad before Kasich. Now its reasonable. Franking helped for a while. But now its less helpful. You can think of Kasich as you would a Jack Kemp or Phil Graham.
the GOP base rewarded obstructionist Sen. Ted Cruz........
........Obstructionist....... and people wonder why the media...even supposed Conservative media, go for Trump or Cruz. People are sick of the “Bob-lets make a deal-Dole” type of politician. It is past time to push back and retake the ground the GOP has conceded to the Progressivews/Communists for 80 years. It is not time to negotiate compromises. It is time in this country to either return us to the roots of small centralized government by the ballot box. In 2018 if change is not obvious, the bullet box will follow. No Ryan sellout dance is going to do it.
I wonder how many future American citizens are being killed in OHIO every day before they get a chance to be born?
Life; liberty and the pursuit of happiness...
He’s not polarizing? He’s a RINO dog who sounds like he should be running as a democrat. I’m pretty polarized over here. I don’t think Trump is a conservative, Kasich is worse. He’s worse than Bush too. Last choice.
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