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Most political observers in Ohio believe Governor John Kasich wants to run for the Republican nomination for president in 2016. If that’s true, he’s approaching it in an odd way, alienating much of his conservative base by making controversial tax proposals and proposing to expand Medicaid — although he now appears to have given up on the latter. In his 30-year-long political career, John Kasich has prided himself on being a conservative. In his successful 2010 race for governor he boasted he was in the Tea Party before there was a Tea Party. For years before that he hosted a...

COLUMBUS, March 22, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Republican Party of Ohio has appointed as its executive director a registered lobbyist actively campaigning to redefine marriage in the state, deepening the conflict between voters and the party elite. The move triggered swift backlash, as a coalition of 80 conservatives from across the state issued a letter warning party bosses they “will not support them” in the future. The new GOP leader is Matt Borges, a lobbyist for Equality Ohio, the group pressing to overturn the state's constitutional amendment against same-sex “marriage.” He was hand-selected by retiring state GOP chairman Bob Bennett,...

Governor turns to mathematically-challenged progressives for talking points Governor John Kasich worked with the far-left Universal Health Care Action Network of Ohio (UHCAN Ohio) to build his case for Medicaid expansion, a central piece of President Obama’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Washington Post blogger Sarah Kliff detailed Kasich’s strategy in a February 6 Wonkblog entry. “Rather than having to convince the governor, Obamacare supporters were asked to focus their efforts on convincing businesses and legislators,” Kliff explained in her story, which was titled, “How Ohio’s Republican governor sold the state on expanding Medicaid.” While the Kasich administration...

SEE:Poison pill? GOP governors divided over whether to accept ObamaCare Medicaid expansion By Lee Ross Published February 06, 2013 FoxNews.com "Saying 'no' to this plan would not save these federal dollars from being spent or direct them to deficit reduction," Brewer determined. So far, five other Republican-led states -- Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Michigan and Ohio -- have announced support for the expanded program“ These five GOP governors are now complicit in the Obama Administration’s policies which will borrow this Medicaid expansion money from China, drastically increasing our national debt, and result in our nation’s younger generation being born...

Why did the Tea Party–backed governor of Ohio just say yes to a key part of President Obama's health care law? Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) is the latest governor to accept the hefty Medicaid expansion authorized by President Obama's health care overhaul. He's not the first Republican to do so — Brian Sandoval (Nev.), Susana Martinez (N.M.), Jack Dalrymple (N.D.), and Jan Brewer (Ariz.) have, too — but Kasich's opt-in is a bigger deal. As House Budget Committee chairman during the Newt Gingrich years, the "fiercely conservative" Kasich "built his political identity arguing for smaller government," says David Nather...

By accepting the provision included in President Barack Obama's health care law expanding federal Medicaid funding, Ohio Gov. John Kasich joined four fellow Republican governors in welcoming part of a program their party has campaigned vehemently against. He also drew the ire of some Republican activists, who had viewed him as a model of small government conservatism and a potential candidate for the 2016 presidential nomination.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich announced Monday that he will accept the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, becoming the fifth Republican governor to embrace the provision of the health care reform law that the Supreme Court made optional. The governor unveiled the decision as part of his budget proposal. “We are going to extend Medicaid for the working poor and for those who are jobless trying to find work,” Kasich said at a press conference in Columbus. “It makes great sense for the state of Ohio because it will allow us to provide greater care with our own dollars.”...

The governor on Monday sidestepped a decision about whether a condemned inmate was too fat to be humanely executed by sparing the prisoner on the grounds that he had poor legal representation. Gov. John Kasich's decision to grant clemency to Ronald Post mirrored the recommendation of mercy by the state parole board, which said it didn't doubt Post's guilt but said there were too many problems with how he was represented 30 years ago. Post, who weighs 450 pounds, never raised the issue of his size with the board. And Kasich, who commuted Post's sentence to life with no chance...

“I’m a Second Amendment supporter and that’s not going to change. There are a range of issues at play here involving mental health, school security and a culture that at times fails to reject the glorification of violence that can desensitize us to the sanctity and majesty of life. Going forward, we need to pay close attention to what the experts conclude from this incident in order to see if there are lessons to be learned and applied here in Ohio," said Kasich.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich declared Sunday that GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney is now poised to beat President Barack Obama in his critical battleground state. Appearing on NBC's “Meet the Press,” Kasich cited internal campaign polling that shows Romney with a lead in The Buckeye State. This was the first time that Kasich said Romney could carry the state. He pointed to a swing in momentum since the first presidential debate in which Romney bested President Obama’s lackluster performance. The debates were a turning point in Romney’s campaign for president because they gave people a chance to see him, rather...

CANTON — In this crucial battleground in campaign 2012, William Healy and Joe Halter stand on opposing sides of the great divide: How to jump-start the economy? [Snip] Much of the focus is on the economy in this state where the jobless rate has dropped from its 10.6 percent recession peak to 7.2 percent in August — almost a point below the national average. That decline, Brock says, complicates matters for the Republican ticket. “Romney wants to paint this picture that the economy is in a ditch and awful and the economy just refuses to play that role,” he says....

Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor used her strongest words yet in saying Ohio won't set up its own state-run health insurance exchange, instead deferring to the federal government to establish the key programs required under the Affordable Care Act. "At this point, we are not going to set up a state-based exchange," Ms. Taylor told a group of about 200 Tuesday during a luncheon meeting of the Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce. Previously, officials of the administration of Gov. John Kasich had said they were "leaning" toward not establishing the exchange, snip Ms. Taylor, a Republican, said it would cost the...

Remember when Gov. John Kasich took a heap of grief for killing Ohio’s 3C passenger-rail project, sending back $385 million in federal stimulus funds? A fiasco in California shows Kasich made the right call: Hopping aboard the federal gravy train would have derailed Ohio’s newly recovering budget. The Golden State grabbed the lion’s share of Ohio’s returned federal dollars for its fast-rail system, only to now realize it is swamped with debt. Voters there have a serious case of buyer’s remorse. As Kasich predicted, costs skyrocketed and ridership is unlikely to support the investment. A new poll shows that if...

Hot on the heels of President Subprime McDowngrade’s visit to Ohio — during which he attempted to take credit for Gov. John Kasich’s stunningly successful fiscal record — comes the obvious question from a reporter. Obvious, that is, if you’re a liberal Statist hack. The governor’s reaction is priceless.

The turf battle over a Holocaust memorial at the Ohio Statehouse now involves Donald Duck. And members of Ohio’s Jewish community are not happy about it. Gov. John Kasich’s proposal for a memorial to Ohio survivors of the World War II Holocaust and their liberators ran afoul of Richard H. Finan of Cincinnati, former Ohio Senate president and current president of the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board. Finan questions the appropriateness of the memorial for the Statehouse. In response to a Dispatch story, Finan complained that Kasich bypassed his agency that oversees the Statehouse and grounds . He told...

When it comes to the controversial gas drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing, the Republican Party itself appears fractured — especially in the critical swing state of Ohio. .... Republican Gov. John Kasich plans to introduce a new energy policy next week that would place a new tax on hydraulic fracturing to reduce personal income taxes for the state's residents. Many Republicans in Congress and on the presidential campaign trail oppose any new taxes or the elimination of tax breaks for oil and gas companies. Kasich has also placed a moratorium on the deep injection of drilling wastes for disposal...

Far behind Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney in Ohio polls, former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich has recruited a close adviser to Gov. John Kasich to help his presidential campaign here. Gingrich on Wednesday announced that Franklin County Republican Party Chairman Doug Preisse would serve on his leadership team, which will be led by former U.S. Rep. Bob McEwen of the Cincinnati area. "Newt Gingrich is a great American leader with a pro-growth strategy to put Americans back to work," Preisse said in a statement released by the campaign. Preisse is a top Kasich political consultant and Columbus lobbyist who...

I think John Kasich would be a great choice for the Newt's VP. The Governor or Ohio, an important swing state and someone that worked on balancing the budget with Newt in Congress. This would also lay the groundwork for a conservative successor to 8 years of Newt. We could have 16 years of conservative leadership to undo all the damage the O did in the last 4 years.

Gov. John Kasich (R., Ohio) swears he never lost his focus on jobs. But last month, he and his allies in the state legislature suffered a significant defeat. In a ballot initiative, Ohioans voted 61 to 39 percent to repeal Senate Bill 5, which had limited public employees’ ability to use collective bargaining. Kasich had hoped to incorporate the legislation into the state budget — and thus shield it from a repeal effort — but a rogue state senator introduced the bill as a stand-alone, and eventually, Kasich had to defend it. With a 36 percent approval rating, however, Kasich...

Freep has always been good in pulling news stories together, tracking what is going on. So for Ohio, the unions bought votes, scared voters with lies in commercials, and Kasich and his team did a HORRIBLE job combating it. I also believe Kasich lumped too much in the bill. I think each part needs to be voted on out in the open: 1. No double-dipping 2. Public workers have to contribute to their pension funds and health care 3. Explain to the public that private sector can't have such a disparity of pay and health care...this really wasn't explained by...

Big Issue's on Ohio's ballot today. Report what you are hearing regarding Issue 2, the union over-haul bill and the health care law. Maybe this can be moved to Front Page or Breaking news later today as it gets closer to polling precincts to start early reporting ?

With Ohio voters heading to the polls November 8, pundits and pols nationwide are studying the huge political story in the Buckeye State: Whether the landmark economic and labor reforms enacted by the Republican-controlled state legislature and signed into law by GOP Gov. John Kasich earlier this year will go down in flames, victims of Big Labor’s massive money machine. The Kasich-backed reforms include elimination of binding arbitration for state government employees, a requirement that government employees pay 15% of the premiums for their health insurance, and ending the right of state employees to strike. With all of the measures...

Today, Mitt Romney refused to take a position on the big battle in Ohio over the ballot initiative to repeal Governor John Kasich’s law rolling back the collective bargaining rights of public employees. The fight is a hugely important one to conservatives, with right wing money flowing into the state, and conservative bloggers erupted in fury at Romney, asking how it is that he can be running for president when he isn’t willing to take a firm stand against the scourge of public employees. [snip] Governors who are willing to risk serious unpopularity in order to roll back the bargaining...

Campaigning in Ohio today, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney stopped by a Republican Party phone-bank making calls in support of Gov. John Kasich's government union reform referendum, but refused to endorse the actual referendum. CNN's Peter Hamby called the scene an "incredible moment in politics."

Dear Friends, On Tuesday, November 8th, the public employee unions in Ohio are hoping to pass a ballot measure repealing the labor reforms Governor John Kasich has passed this year. They want to kill reforms to teacher tenure, stop merit pay for teachers, eliminate school choice, stop union members from paying more for pensions and health insurance, and keep mandatory collection of union dues. Conservatives – everyone – needs to give money to stop the unions from winning this fight. If they repeal Senate Bill 5 – Kasich’s reform legislation – it will reassert union power and block reforms all...

In a visit to Ohio today, Mitt Romney declined to state on his position on a high-profile referendum there on the new state law that curtails the bargaining rights of public employee unions. But earlier this year, Romney indicated support for the reforms signed by Gov. John Kasich. "My friends in Ohio are fighting to defend crucial reforms that the state has put in place to limit the power of union bosses and keep taxes low," Romney wrote on his Facebook page in June. "I stand with John R. Kasich and Ohio's leaders as they take on this important fight...

Gov. John Kasich (KAY'-sik) on Monday appointed Ohio's former elections chief to a spot on the board that oversees repairs and improvements to the state's museums, historical buildings and sports stadiums. The Republican governor named former Democratic secretary of state and one-time U.S. Senate hopeful Jennifer Brunner (BROO'-ner) to the Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission. Brunner preceded current Secretary of State Jon Husted (HYOO'-sted) and was defeated in the 2010 Democratic primary where she ran for former-U.S. Sen. George Voinovich's (VOYN'-uh-vihch) vacant seat after his retirement. She is currently leading the effort to repeal Ohio's recently-approved elections overhaul, which shortens the...

With the signing of SB17 and HB54, Governor Kasich provided weight to his supporters' assurances that he would be friendly to Second Amendment issues. Kasich signed the two pro-freedom bills into law in the first six months of a legislative session - the fastest any governor has signed bills supported by the NRA and Buckeye Firearms Association. Kasich campaigned as a candidate who would be friendly toward gun owners. Many were concerned that he would be passive-aggressive on this issue, such as the prior Republican Governor, Bob Taft, who campaigned as pro-gun, then worked to stall and kill concealed carry...

“There is no game like golf: You go out with three friends, play 18 holes, and return with three enemies.” — Anonymous Unlike, say, ping-pong with China and wrestling with Iran, golf doesn’t have much of a track record as a sport for bringing longtime adversaries together — which only adds another level of intrigue to Saturday’s long-anticipated round between President Obama and House Speaker John A. Boehner. “I expect it could get interesting out there, like, when do you call a penalty stroke on the other guy or what are the rules for conceding putts,” said Nathan Presnal, general...

Equity among workers is one of Republican Gov. John Kasich’s most consistent arguments in favor of Ohio’s new collective bargaining law. The law, Senate Bill 5, will bring Ohio’s public workers closer in line with private sector workers, who, on average, pay more for health care benefits and have weaker pensions, Kasich repeatedly has said. Now the governor is weaving collective bargaining for federal workers – or lack thereof – into his support for the law. Even though SB 5 restricts collective bargaining for the state’s 360,000 public workers, they would still be better off than federal workers, Kasich recently...

Last week as Ohio Governor John Kasich was signing Senate Bill 5 into law, the Ohio NEA affiliate, the Ohio Education Association, was already mobilizing their efforts to repeal the measure that would end forced unionism, makes strikes illegal and close major budget shortfalls via a ballot referendum. In a current forced unionism state, the OEA already collects at least $63 million in dues per year. Apparently that figure isn't enough to advance their agenda as they are now considering extracting an additional $50 per member for the referendum campaign in November. Regardless of what teachers think about the law,...

A bill that would limit collective bargaining rights for 350,000 Ohio public workers neared passage before the Republican-controlled House on Wednesday, one of its final hurdles before the measure goes to the governor of this labor-stronghold state. The legislation is in some ways tougher than Wisconsin's, as it would extend union restrictions to police officers and firefighters. But its reception in Ohio has paled in intensity with the raucous fight in Wisconsin, where tens of thousands demonstrated against the bill. On Wednesday, an estimated 700 people came to the Ohio Statehouse to hear the debate. Chants from demonstrators inside the...

While the national spotlight has been on Wisconsin’s efforts to downsize state government and get structural deficits under control, Ohio also has been moving to rationalize its state government in an era of high unemployment and static state revenue. The Buckeye State will soon consider the budget proposals of newly elected Republican Gov. John Kasich, which would close Ohio’s $8 billion, two-year budget deficit by, among other things, reducing payments to localities, restructuring Medicaid and selling five state prisons. As in similar reform efforts in Wisconsin, Florida, Indiana and other states with Republican governors, no tax increases are proposed. Earlier,...

Once in a blue moon, you find a politician willing to do the right thing even if it means his popularity will plummet. Recently elected Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio, has announced a new budget for his cash-strapped state, and voters are none too happy. Polls show his approval rating at 40 percent, less than three months after he assumed office. Ohio's budget is more than $8 billion in the red, thanks to a poor economy, overspending by Kasich's predecessor, and an unfriendly business environment that has pushed jobs out of state. Ohio has lost 400,000 jobs in the last four...

State parks would be open for oil and natural-gas drilling, and funding for two agencies involved in environmental protection would be cut by a total of $73.2 million in the next fiscal year, according to budget documents and officials. The proposal to open some of the 200,000 acres in state parks to drilling was not named in the budget documents, but Ohio Department of Natural Resources officials forwarded a section of Gov. John Kasich's proposed budget bill that would give the agency the authority to lease state park land for oil and gas exploration.

Gov. John Kasich today presented his first State of the State speech, which will be confronted by some of the largest protests in Ohio's recent history. The speech was interrupted at least one by jeering from the few protesters in the crowd...which, of course, was predictable. But, Kasich handled it well.

Labor secretary: GOP governors asking workers to give up their rights By Michael O'Brien - 02/26/11 10:36 AM ET Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) is trying to force workers in his state to give up their rights, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said Saturday. Solis, speaking at the Democratic National Committee's (DNC) Winter Meeting, accosted Walker and Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) for their efforts to reform collective bargaining rights for public workers in their states. "We know that many states are facing tough budget decisions. We know there's room for shared sacrifice," Solis said. "But the governors in Wisconsin and...

Needed Strike Coordinators (Columbus) Date: 2011-02-24, 2:18PM EST Reply to: job-xc9mv-2232387381@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?] These jobs are sub-contracted and are on a project by project basis affording the successful applicants to take complete advantage of exercising license portability. Only those who can demonstrate acquaintance will be interviewed. Our company is looking for professionals and CVs must therefore should that trait in order to qualify for review. Limited openings are available in these highly competitive positions. * Location: Columbus * Compensation: $16.00 to $21.00 hourly * Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster. * Please, no phone...

As predicted in Revolt! (Dick’s and Eileen’s new book) – States Lead the Way Toward Reform It is not only the Arab world that is in turmoil! Reform Governors like Scott Walker (Wisconsin), John Kasich (Ohio), Mitch Daniels (Indiana), Tom Corbett (Pennsylvania), Butch Otter (Idaho), and Rick Scott (Florida) are leading a movement for fundamental change in America. In Revolt!, Morris and McGann’s new book, they describe how newly elected Republican Governors – impelled by their budget crises and empowered with GOP Legislatures – will accomplish sweeping changes in our politics. Read how: * Republican Governors will destroy the political...

Labor: If unions were formed to protect workers from employer abuse, right-to-work laws were created to protect taxpayers and workers from union abuse. States with such laws enjoy higher growth and purchasing power. With Wisconsin still under siege by the "angry mobs" of bused-in union workers, the Ohio of GOP Gov. John Kasich is the next target of those opposed to restricting the collective bargaining rights of public-sector unions that have bankrupted state after state. Ohio's SB5 also aims to address a similar Buckeye budget deficit in the billions and the anchor of state-funded union pension obligations. Bills in the...

Over the past year, New Jersey governor Chris Christie has become a folk hero by striking back at greedy union demands, lambasting union leaders, and standing up for taxpayers. But this year, Christie is facing some competition, particularly from new governors Scott Walker (R., Wisc.) and John Kasich (R., Ohio). Walker, a former county executive and state assembly member, has an ambitious list of reforms he would like to see enacted. To start with, he announced last Friday that he wants to eliminate most collective-bargaining rights for the majority of public employees, exempting only police, firefighters, and state troopers. He...

More than 1,000 workers were at the Ohio Statehouse on Thursday to protest Senate Bill 5. If approved, the bill would overhaul collective bargaining, 10TV's Danielle Elias reported. Supporters of the bill spoke on Tuesday. Thursday's testimony before the senate committee was from those opposing the bill. Firefighters, police officers, corrections workers and educators from around Ohio showed up to protest a bill they call a "union buster." If the bill passes, collective bargaining by unions, which became law in 1983, could come to an end. "We work hard to help the community," said Mark Harrington, who opposes the bill....

Ohio Senate Bill 5 aims to wipe out the state's collective bargaining law, and with the proposal, a battle on the issue has already begun in Columbus. The measure sponsored by state Sen. Shannon Jones, R-Springboro, aims to prohibit the state and state employees and state institutions of higher education and their employees from collective bargaining. It also would abolish salary schedules for public employees and instead require merit pay, among other changes to the Collective Bargaining Law. Gov. John Kasich has expressed his support for the bill in concept, but he has also signaled that he might bring forward...

The Columbus Dispatch and the Cleveland Plain Dealer report that Ohio lawmakers introduced a GOP-backed bill yesterday that would eliminate collective bargaining for all state workers, potentially one of the first major changes to public-sector union law in the state in nearly 30 years. Collective bargaining would be abolished for state workers and reformed for employees of local governments under the proposed bill, which would also overhaul policy governing teachers' contracts and benefits, bargaining timelines, layoff procedures, and binding arbitration rules for police and firefighters. Ohio Gov. John Kasich and other supporters say the reforms will give state and regional...

Ohio Governor John Kasich is facing calls of racism. An Ohio lawmaker is accusing the state’s new governor of saying he doesn’t “need” African-Americans. Mr. Kasich’s spokesperson said the comment was intended as partisan attack, rather than an attack on race. The comment in question: “I don’t need your people,” state Sen. Nina Turner said. Ms. Turner, who is black and a Democrat, said the comment was made in reference to Mr. Kasich’s cabinet choices. The Ohio Democrat said she was simply trying to persuade Mr. Kasich to build a “racially diverse” cabinet. Politico reports that Mr. Kasich’s spokesperson confirmed...

CLEVELAND - New Ohio Gov. John Kasich's comments to a newspaper about the lack of racial diversity in his cabinet are not sitting well with the Cleveland chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The civil-rights group said it would refuse a proclamation from the governor and told his minority representative, Lynn Stevens, not to attend its Martin Luther King Jr. Gala in Cleveland on Friday. In an article the previous day, Kasich told The Plain Dealer he wanted to put together "the best possible team" and didn't focus on such "metrics" as race or age. The newspaper reported that...

Members of the Cleveland Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference feel as if Ohio Gov. John Kasich slapped them across the face... ...Comments that Kasich made to The Plain Dealer about the lack of racial diversity among his Cabinet members caused the SCLC to tell Kasich's minority representative, Lynn Stevens, not to attend its 10th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Gala on Friday at the East Mount Zion Baptist Church Facility in Cleveland, and to refuse a proclamation from the governor. In an article in Thursday's Plain Dealer about his 20 Cabinet appointments, who are all white, Kasich said,...

Cliff Clavin was among those who came to Ohio this weekend to help Gov. John Kasich and Treasurer Josh Mandel take office. John Ratzenberger, perhaps best known for his role as Clavin on the television show Cheers, attended a salute to incoming first lady Karen Waldbillig Kasich at the Columbus Museum of Art on Saturday night and was master of ceremonies for Mandel's swearing-in ceremony yesterday. Ratzenberger said that he knows Kasich from appearing on Kasich's former Fox News television show, and that Kasich also appeared on Ratzenberger's show about manufacturing in the United States called John Ratzenberger's Made in...

...."A group of Ohio labor union, environmental, student, and gay activists formed a coalition called "Defend Ohio" to oppose Republican Governor-elect John Kasich's attacks on public employee unions and his threats of deep cuts to public education and social services."...

Governor-elect John Kasich began firing state employees this week not protected by civil service rules, including 16 at the Ohio Lottery Commission. Many of the lottery employees, who were told not to report to work on Monday, the day Kasich is sworn in, have Democratic ties. As expected, the Republican is dumping lottery director Kathleen Burke, who was tapped by Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland in August 2009 to replace director Mike Dolan, whose short tenure was marked by success and controversy. It's typical for new administrations to replace agency directors and top officials with close ties to a previous governor....