How Kasich became National Republican Grownup

[RandomGuy]

Normally, it wouldn’t be a very big deal for a popular two-term governor to win a presidential primary in his own state, especially if it’s the first of 29 states (and a couple of territories) he’s actually won. But normalcy isn’t even on speaking terms with politics this year, and so it was that John Kasich — after laboring as an afterthought through weeks of primaries and a dozen debates — woke up yesterday to a changed reality.

On the Villanova campus, where I caught up with him, something like 1,000 students jammed into an auditorium and an adjoining overflow room to see Kasich, who often sounded more like a dad than a presidential candidate. (“Here at Villanova, there’s a lot of lonely kids,” he said at one point. “Invite them to go out for pizza. Invite them to the basketball game.”)

Afterward, Kasich wandered into an impenetrable swarm of TV reporters, whose aggressive and overlapping questions — almost entirely about Donald Trump and delegate math — he politely deflected.

Then I followed him out the back door, where his Ohio State Police detail was holding off another sizable throng of onlookers and photographers. We jumped into his black Suburban.

“Do you believe this, Matt?” Kasich said, turning around from the front seat to face me as the car surged forward. “Can you even believe what you saw there today? It’s incredible. Holy cow.”

I had to admit: It was something.

I’d interviewed Kasich on the eve of his announcement last July, and what we’d talked about then was temperament. As a young and ambitious congressman, and even in his early years as governor, Kasich had been known as impulsive and impolitic, quick to offend and quicker to retaliate. He chafed endlessly against the established order of his own party.

The knock on Kasich then was that he could never be disciplined or measured enough to project a presidential stature. Seriously.


Now here he was, the last man standing against Trump and Ted Cruz, the only candidate left with governing gravitas. And more improbably, it seemed the campaign had transformed Kasich himself, or at least the public perception of him.

Somehow, the brash, prickly boy wonder of the Gingrich revolution — a guy still reviled by a lot of his liberal adversaries in Ohio for his evident moral certainty — had been elevated to the position of his party’s designated grownup.

Not only had Kasich managed to contain his famous temper over the last several months, but he had emerged as the most relentlessly upbeat candidate in either party, the favorite Republican of editorial boards and just about every voter who wasn’t planning to vote in Republican primaries.
https://www.yahoo.com/politics/how-kasich-became-republican-grown-up-105740374.html#

Kasich is the kind of guy who could easily win the presidency against Clinton, and is the kind of Republican I used to be comfortable voting for as an independent.

Yet the insanity of the GOP party will not allow him to get through the nominating process.

That insanity, most namely the endless political litmus tests that are designed to weed out moderates and encourage extremism, is why I couldn't support him even if he won. His administration would be populated by the loons, because loons are who is left when you weed out the moderates in your party.

[Pelicans78]

He's kinda boring and his niceness is an act; He's a big jerk most of the time, but is only pulling this nice stuff because of Trump. He's an experienced guy, but him staying in the primary even though he has no shot to win proves what kind of person he is.

[Pelicans78]

And he wants to put 20-30K troops in Syria to not only fight ISIS, but take out Assad. He's a true neocon in that sense.

[baseline bum]

I hate how far right the Republicans have gone that people like Kasich and Rubio are considered the moderates. What a joke of a party.

[DMX7]

I hate how far right the Republicans have gone that people like Kasich and Rubio are considered the moderates. What a joke of a party.

Co-signed. But at least he comes across as mild mannered which makes him at least look moderate. He doesn't have blood pouring out of his eyes when he's talking about Hillary, onerous regulations, and how our president supposedly thinks he's a king.

[boutons_deux]

Kasich is almost as bad as Trump: Don’t let the Donald’s repulsiveness distract from the ugliness dished out by other candidates

Kasich is being held out as the "compassionate" alternative to Trump, but in most ways, he's nearly as bad

Let’s take the Huffington Post’s (entirely accurate) accusations against Trump — that he’s racist, sexist, xenophobic and a demagogue — and examine whether Kasich is really any better. (Spoilers: No.)

Racist.

Sure, Kasich passes the extremely low bar of not retweeting neo-Nazis approvingly (http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/donald-trump-tweets-apparent-neo-nazi-supporter), but don’t let Kasich off the hook here. Kasich was already a huge proponent of putting harsh restrictions on welfare, an issue that has risen to prominence mainly because of racist urban legends about black people living indolently on food stamps instead of working.

As governor of Ohio, Kasich made this racial subtext undeniable in 2014 and 2015, by targeting minority populations for food stamp cuts while letting white people keep getting their food stamps.

As Mother Jones explains (http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/09/law-john-kasich-wrote-now-keeping-food-stamps-minorities-ohio), the entire state of Ohio was eligible for an emergency extension on food stamp eligibility due to economic distress, but Kasich decided to grant it only to 16 counties in 2014 and 17 in 2015.

“Most of these were rural counties with small and predominantly white populations,”Hannah Levintova of Mother Jones writes (http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/09/law-john-kasich-wrote-now-keeping-food-stamps-minorities-ohio). “Urban counties and cities, most of which had high minority populations, did not get waivers.”

You also have this weird story, which, while not as bad as racialized food stamp programs, is still quite a telling story. In his 2006 campaign biography (http://thinkprogress.org/culture/2015/07/25/3684459/john-kasich-the-roots-trash-garbage-book/), Kasich writes about how he wanted to “give hip-hop a fair shake” and so bought a popular hip-hop CD to listen to in the car.

“I slipped in this new CD and was quickly appalled at what I was hearing,” he writes, reeling at how the record “was intended to shock and titillate, for no good reason but to shock and titillate, and I couldn’t listen to it.”

What was the record? A Snoop Dogg or Ol’ Dirty Bastard record? Nope! It was a Roots record, which is a world away from the party-and-crime lyrics of bona fide gangsta rap. Kasich’s reaction suggests he never really intended to give hip-hop a “fair shake”, so much as he wanted to seem like he was doing so before pandering to ugly stereotypes about a black-dominated music that is popular with the under-50 set of Americans.


Sexist.

Sure, Donald Trump said the word “pussy” out loud, something we can safely assume Kasich does not do, perhaps even in the privacy of his own home. But what Kasich has done to women is much, much worse than a naughty word or a degrading comment. The man has a single-minded obsession with punishing the women of Ohio for having sex.

Kasich has signed a series of anti-choice bills (http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/07/wolf-sheeps-clothing-gov-kasichs-reproductive-rights-record)that have shut down half the abortion clinics in his state. He signed a provision requiring abortion clinics to have a medically unnecessary transfer agreement with local hospitals, and then turned around and banned public hospitals from making such agreements.

Kasich has no love for contraception, either, rewriting budget rules in an arcane and hard to understand way (http://www.npr.org/2013/06/22/194646715/ohio-family-planning-services-at-mercy-of-budget-bill) for the sole purpose of stripping family planning clinics of money they use to make contraception affordable to low-income women.

Kasich’s hostility to women runs so deep he even took a swipe at rape victims,signing a law that would defund any rape crisis center (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/30/ohio-abortion-restrictions-budget-bill_n_3526844.html) if they are caught telling pregnant rape victims about their legal right to abort a rape-caused pregnancy.

“Life is a gift from God and one way that we express our ongoing gratitude for it is by respecting it,” Kasich wrote in a news release defending one of his many abortion restrictions (http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/07/wolf-sheeps-clothing-gov-kasichs-reproductive-rights-record). Babies are a gift, ladies, and you will accept your gifts whether you like it or not. Even if the “gift” comes courtesy of a rapist.

Xenophobic.

Trump wants to ban Muslims from entering this country. Kasich “just” wants to ban Syrian refugees (http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/17/politics/john-kasich-syria-refugees-isis-war/) — people who are fleeing a horrific civil war that is being stoked by actual Islamic extremists — from coming in.

As I noted in a piece on Tuesday nigh (http://www.salon.com/2016/02/09/gop_islamophobia_two_thirds_of_new_hampshire_repub lican_primary_voters_want_to_ban_muslims_from_ente ring_u_s/)t, this “soft” soft of xenophobia is just as bad as the more belligerent kind being dished out by Trump.

In a way, it’s worse, because folks like Kasich are pretending it’s reasonable to treat Muslims like a categorical threat. There is no compassion in seeing people fleeing from a war-torn country and assuming that this means they themselves are inherently violent until proven otherwise.

Demagogue.

Kasich presents himself as a reasonable person and it’s easy to get lulled by his ability to speak wonk into thinking he might be one of the few decent humans left in the Republican Party.

But a perusal of his website shows he’s just as eager to push demagogic conservative talking points as any other Republican in the race:

Promising to “repeal and replace (https://johnkasich.com/healthcare/)” Obamacare without really talking about what it will be replaced with (answer: nothing),

striking poses a (https://johnkasich.com/respectinghumanlife/)bout the “sanctity of human life” when all he means is denying women reproductive health care instead of actual life-promoting policies like making sure everyone has food and shelter, and

even claiming that he’s “lifting up the most vulnerable Americans (https://johnkasich.com/liftingupamericans/)” by, you guessed it, cutting off the assistance they need to get back on their feet.

(Hard to get that new job when you don’t have a house to shower at, not that such niceties bother demagogues like John Kasich.)

Trump is a repulsive man, no doubt about it. But let’s not let his repulsiveness lull us into believing the slightly less obnoxious version peddled by men like Kasich is any less damaging.

http://www.salon.com/2016/02/10/kasich_is_almost_as_bad_as_trump_dont_let_the_dona lds_repulsiveness_distract_from_the_ugliness_dishe d_out_by_other_candidates/

[DarrinS]

Lol, Salon

[rmt]

Kasich is selfish for staying in the race with no mathematical path to 1237. He says how much FUN it'll be in a contested convention. He really believes that he could end up with the nomination after having won only ONE state. Can't he see that what he hopes for and envisions will tear the Republican party apart?

[Reck]

I thought it was funny how he vowed out of the debate because Trump wasn't attending.

Here's a guy who was crying about not getting enough attention and now he won't go to debates? :lmao

[Aztecfan03]

I hate how far right the Republicans have gone that people like Kasich and Rubio are considered the moderates. What a joke of a party.
So far to the right that the most liberal "republican" candidate in a long time is about to be nominated.

[rmt]

So far to the right that the most liberal "republican" candidate in a long time is about to be nominated.

Dems don't want to admit that Trump is really a liberal at heart with a lot of their core values (not touching SS, war avoidance, likes PP, wannabe peacemaker for Israel/Palestine). Instead they emphasize all the stunts he uses to get free media.

[Reck]

Dems don't want to admit that Trump is really a liberal at heart with a lot of their core values (not touching SS, war avoidance, likes PP, wannabe peacemaker for Israel/Palestine). Instead they emphasize all the stunts he uses to get free media.

Couldn't the dems use that against him?

[baseline bum]

So far to the right that the most liberal "republican" candidate in a long time is about to be nominated.

You really think they're nominating him if he doesn't get 1237? He's a little behind the pace fivethirtyeight.com projects for him to hit 1237, and Cruz should end up getting most of Rubio's votes going forward. I think fivethirtyeight had polled Rubio voters as Cruz being their second choice over Trump at something like 4 to 1.

[baseline bum]

Dems don't want to admit that Trump is really a liberal at heart with a lot of their core values (not touching SS, war avoidance, likes PP, wannabe peacemaker for Israel/Palestine). Instead they emphasize all the stunts he uses to get free media.

Health insurance being sold over state lines is a liberal thing? Bombing ISIS is war avoidance? Bernie is a liberal at heart, lol calling Trump one.

[Splits]

Health insurance being sold over state lines is a liberal thing? Bombing ISIS is war avoidance? Bernie is a liberal at heart, lol calling Trump one.

Don't forget mass deportation, banning of visitors and immigrants based on religion, mocking of the disabled, and receiving David Duke endorsements. These are core liberal values.

[Mitch]

I thought it was funny how he vowed out of the debate because Trump wasn't attending.

Here's a guy who was crying about not getting enough attention and now he won't go to debates? :lmao

Guess he's afraid of Cruz? I dunno :lol

If Kasich has a shred of respect for voters he would drop out, tbh

[InRareForm]

If he had charisma he would be a Strong candidate

[rmt]

You really think they're nominating him if he doesn't get 1237? He's a little behind the pace fivethirtyeight.com projects for him to hit 1237, and Cruz should end up getting most of Rubio's votes going forward. I think fivethirtyeight had polled Rubio voters as Cruz being their second choice over Trump at something like 4 to 1.

I think that Trump's best shot is to get close to the 1237 and between the last primary and the convention, pick up the UNBOUND votes available to get to 1237 on the FIRST ballot. He has no chance if it goes to 2nd ballot. Maybe he can promise the UNBOUND delegates goodies at his hotels or jobs (is that legal?) He'd have to be pretty close though. Rubio only has about 35 unbound delegates.

[boutons_deux]

goddam, Repugs are really dumb in their misogyny.

If a girl goes to party where's there's alcohol, it's her fault for being raped. She was asking for it.

Kasich is sometimes his own worst enemy



At a Watertown, New York, town hall on Friday, John Kasich advised a female college student to steer clear of “parties where there’s a lot of alcohol” to keep from getting raped, assaulted, or sexually harassed.

His comment came after a first-year student from New York’s St. Lawrence University asked the GOP presidential candidate and Ohio governor, “What are you going to do in office as president to help me feel safer and more secure regarding sexual violence, harassment, and rape?”


The governor initially responded by talking about confidential reporting mechanisms and access to rape kits, before telling the young woman, “I’d also give you one bit of advice: Don’t go to parties where there’s a lot of alcohol.”

The problem with such a response should be obvious. If a woman goes to a gathering and gets assaulted, it’s insane to think it’s her fault for having gone to a party where people were drinking. The solution is for men to stop committing sex crimes; encouraging women to make different choices in their social habits badly misses the point.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/kasich-sometimes-his-own-worst-enemy?cid=sm_fb_maddow

[rmt]

goddam, Repugs are really dumb in their misogyny.

If a girl goes to party where's there's alcohol, it's her fault for being raped. She was asking for it.

Kasich is sometimes his own worst enemy



At a Watertown, New York, town hall on Friday, John Kasich advised a female college student to steer clear of “parties where there’s a lot of alcohol” to keep from getting raped, assaulted, or sexually harassed.

His comment came after a first-year student from New York’s St. Lawrence University asked the GOP presidential candidate and Ohio governor, “What are you going to do in office as president to help me feel safer and more secure regarding sexual violence, harassment, and rape?”


The governor initially responded by talking about confidential reporting mechanisms and access to rape kits, before telling the young woman, “I’d also give you one bit of advice: Don’t go to parties where there’s a lot of alcohol.”

The problem with such a response should be obvious. If a woman goes to a gathering and gets assaulted, it’s insane to think it’s her fault for having gone to a party where people were drinking. The solution is for men to stop committing sex crimes; encouraging women to make different choices in their social habits badly misses the point.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/kasich-sometimes-his-own-worst-enemy?cid=sm_fb_maddow

1. take a RAD (Rape Aggression Defense System) course - mostly free to female students, nominal charge for non-students
2. carry a pepper spray/loud alarm/strobe light in your hand when alone
3. use campus police to accompany you when walking across campus at night
4. go to parties with girl friends, don't drink so much that you are incapacitated and assign a designated driver who will make sure you get home
5. be alert and aware of your surroundings

As president: don't do what Europe has done regarding refugees so that situations like what happened in Cologne on New Year's Eve occur again.

[boutons_deux]

1. take a RAD (Rape Aggression Defense System) course - mostly free to female students, nominal charge for non-students
2. carry a pepper spray/loud alarm/strobe light in your hand when alone
3. use campus police to accompany you when walking across campus at night
4. go to parties with girl friends, don't drink so much that you are incapacitated and assign a designated driver who will make sure you get home
5. be alert and aware of your surroundings

As president: don't do what Europe has done regarding refugees so that situations like what happened in Cologne on New Year's Eve occur again.

:lol Hilarious. It's ALL on the girl to be clinically paranoid (always enhances any social event), to prevent her rape, since the university and police will ignore or criminalize her while letting the man get off with little or no penalty.

[rmt]

:lol Hilarious. It's ALL on the girl to be clinically paranoid (always enhances any social event), to prevent her rape, since the university and police will ignore or criminalize her while letting the man get off with little or no penalty.

From the female pov: I cannot control others - I can only control MY actions. Therefore, it behooves me to do all I can to prevent rape. What in the world does she think a president can do in these situations? And why do you paint such a broad stroke that universities and police will ignore or criminalize victims while letting the man get off with little or no penalty? What would you want a president, university or police to do? Other than more patrolling, more video cameras, probably they get involved AFTER the fact. Bottom line: use common sense and don't put yourself in situations where you can be raped - it's called being pro-active instead of relying on the male, university or police (before the act).

[spurraider21]

goddam, Repugs are really dumb in their misogyny.

If a girl goes to party where's there's alcohol, it's her fault for being raped. She was asking for it.

Kasich is sometimes his own worst enemy



At a Watertown, New York, town hall on Friday, John Kasich advised a female college student to steer clear of “parties where there’s a lot of alcohol” to keep from getting raped, assaulted, or sexually harassed.

His comment came after a first-year student from New York’s St. Lawrence University asked the GOP presidential candidate and Ohio governor, “What are you going to do in office as president to help me feel safer and more secure regarding sexual violence, harassment, and rape?”


The governor initially responded by talking about confidential reporting mechanisms and access to rape kits, before telling the young woman, “I’d also give you one bit of advice: Don’t go to parties where there’s a lot of alcohol.”

The problem with such a response should be obvious. If a woman goes to a gathering and gets assaulted, it’s insane to think it’s her fault for having gone to a party where people were drinking. The solution is for men to stop committing sex crimes; encouraging women to make different choices in their social habits badly misses the point.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/kasich-sometimes-his-own-worst-enemy?cid=sm_fb_maddow
“A man goes home and masturbates his typical fantasy. A woman on her knees. A woman tied up. A woman abused,’’ it begins.“A woman enjoys intercourse with her man — as she fantasizes being raped by three men simultaneously."

-Bernard Sanders

[mingus]

Kasich is selfish for staying in the race with no mathematical path to 1237. He says how much FUN it'll be in a contested convention. He really believes that he could end up with the nomination after having won only ONE state. Can't he see that what he hopes for and envisions will tear the Republican party apart?

He's not selfish. He's playing by the rules, which were implemented to prevent a Democrat from running away with the presidential election because of retarded, extremist conservatives who nominate a Republican that has, in fact, no chance of winning the general election.

I'm all for Trump's message about money buying politicians, PC bullshit, the state of U.S. foreign/ME alliances, illegal immigration, and U.S. politicians, corporations & other nations screwing over the US on jobs & trade. Unfortunately, his ego is so big that he couldn't make it just about those important issues, turned the whole thing into a farcical reality t.v. show. Earlier on, he had cross appeal. The polls now show he has no conceivable way of being elected president. But Kasich does. It's a no-brainer what needs to be done.

[baseline bum]

He's not selfish. He's playing by the rules, which were implemented to prevent a Democrat from running away with the presidential election because of retarded, extremist conservatives who nominate a Republican that has, in fact, no chance of winning the general election.

I'm all for Trump's message about money buying politicians, PC bullshit, the state of U.S. foreign/ME alliances, illegal immigration, and U.S. politicians, corporations & other nations screwing over the US on jobs & trade. Unfortunately, his ego is so big that he couldn't make it just about those important issues, turned the whole thing into a farcical reality t.v. show. Earlier on, he had cross appeal. The polls now show he has no conceivable way of being elected president. But Kasich does. It's a no-brainer what needs to be done.

While I agree the party needs to move to the center in a general election, do you think they could actually get away with telling their voters fuck you, your vote is completely meaningless? I don't think they could, I don't think their base would show up in the general if the party nominates Kasich and the results would be devastating in congressional elections. They pretty much have to punt at this point for the presidency, but at least nominating Cruz would would give them a chance to keep the senate.

[mingus]

While I agree the party needs to move to the center in a general election, do you think they could actually get away with telling their voters fuck you, your vote is completely meaningless? I don't think they could, I don't think their base would show up in the general if the party nominates Kasich and the results would be devastating in congressional elections. They pretty much have to punt at this point for the presidency, but at least nominating Cruz would would give them a chance to keep the senate.

His base doesn't have to show up to the extent that it has for him thus far in the general election, since the electoral college will determine who wins. The ones that do will inevitably vote for the Republican ticket, and the electoral college will follow suit.

[rmt]

He's not selfish. He's playing by the rules, which were implemented to prevent a Democrat from running away with the presidential election because of retarded, extremist conservatives who nominate a Republican that has, in fact, no chance of winning the general election.

I'm all for Trump's message about money buying politicians, PC bullshit, the state of U.S. foreign/ME alliances, illegal immigration, and U.S. politicians, corporations & other nations screwing over the US on jobs & trade. Unfortunately, his ego is so big that he couldn't make it just about those important issues, turned the whole thing into a farcical reality t.v. show. Earlier on, he had cross appeal. The polls now show he has no conceivable way of being elected president. But Kasich does. It's a no-brainer what needs to be done.

There is a rule 40 that RNC put in to stop a situation like Ron Paul (having to win 8 states). Unfortunately for them, that same rule goes against Kasich who has won only one state. Voters will revolt if the nominee is anyone other than Trump or Cruz. And if Cruz stays low (600s) and Trump almost doubles him but under 1237, most voters will think that Trump should get it. Trump has to clinch on 1st ballot as Cruz will win 2nd or later ballots.

[baseline bum]

His base doesn't have to show up to the extent that it has for him thus far in the general election, since the electoral college will determine who wins. The ones that do will inevitably vote for the Republican ticket, and the electoral college will follow suit.

You're saying the Republican base (that has overwhelmingly voted for Trump and Cruz head of Kasich, Rubio, Bush, and Walker) doesn't have to show up to vote to get a Republican elected?

[mingus]

There is a rule 40 that RNC put in to stop a situation like Ron Paul (having to win 8 states). Unfortunately for them, that same rule goes against Kasich who has won only one state. Voters will revolt if the nominee is anyone other than Trump or Cruz. And if Cruz stays low (600s) and Trump almost doubles him but under 1237, most voters will think that Trump should get it. Trump has to clinch on 1st ballot as Cruz will win 2nd or later ballots.

lol citing a self-serving rule that self-serving politicians put into place as if that means anything. They'll do whatever they have to do, and I've already explained what they have to do. If they have to flip-flop on "rule 40", then they'll do it, and it won't be the first or last time they've done that. Hell, it's basically under their job description.

Trump isn't running as an independent or on some other party ticket, so Kasich will get it. Laws in Ohio (Kasich's state) basically prevent a guy who's already lost a primary from going out and creating a third party. I'd be shocked if the Ohio Supreme Court didn't rule in Kasich's favor if it ever came to that. There's another law preventing someone from being affiliated with another party from then running as an Independent, and Trump is a registered Republican and GOP primary nominee. Beyond that, he's a self-stated Republican. Whatever argument you want to make in regards to those laws (and other states have similar ones too), in Kasich's state of Ohio you may as well wipe your ass with them.

[mingus]

You're saying the Republican base (that has overwhelmingly voted for Trump and Cruz head of Kasich, Rubio, Bush, and Walker) doesn't have to show up to vote to get a Republican elected?

In the states where Trump is winning, a large majority of those states, and maybe even all of them, are dark, dark red. The blue states where he enjoys some support but are mostly Democrat, they wouldn't carry him in the general election anyway, and with or without the support of Trump's voters in red states, they'll have enough support to stay red, as they usually always have, even with a boring, stale Republican candidate like Romney.

What makes things different for Kasich isn't that he's THAT different than Romney, but that he polls against Hillary Clinton very well because Hillary Clinton is a shitty candidate (whereas Obama was not, at least according to polls, since he consistently beat Romney in them) and because the DNC has tried to rig the primary in her favor despite that fact. Several states Obama won by relatively small margins (eg Iowa, Colorado, Ohio) could very conceivably go to Kasich in a general election against Clinton provided the polls stay the same.

[baseline bum]

In the states where Trump is winning, a large majority of those states, and maybe even all of them, are dark, dark red. The blue states where he enjoys some support but are mostly Democrat, they wouldn't carry him in the general election anyway, and with or without the support of Trump's voters in red states, they'll have enough support to stay red, as they usually always have, even with a boring, stale Republican candidate like Romney.

What makes things different for Kasich isn't that he's THAT different than Romney, but that he polls against Hillary Clinton very well because Hillary Clinton is a shitty candidate (whereas Obama was not, at least according to polls, since he consistently beat Romney in them) and because the DNC has tried to rig the primary in her favor despite that fact. Several states Obama won by relatively small margins (eg Iowa, Colorado, Ohio) could very conceivably go to Kasich in a general election against Clinton provided the polls stay the same.

I don't think Kasich can win an election without the Republican base, and I'm betting the Republican base will just stay home in large numbers if the party picks a guy that none of them voted for. I think they're done as a party if they don't nominate either Trump or Cruz, the Republican voters have shot down every attempt the party has tried to make people buy into the party's preferred candidates. Walker, Bush, Rubio, Kasich is just another. Clear Channel and Fox News have really poisoned the party with their demands for far right ideological purity and now we're seeing the consequences when their voters want a loon like Cruz.

I mean the independents matter hugely in a typical election where you still have your base behind you, but I don't think that'll be the case with Kasich.

[boutons_deux]

"Clear Channel and Fox News have really poisoned the party"

CC/iHearRadio is bankrupt, in $20B debt thanks to Bain Capital financial predators, and advertiser-abandoned Limp Balls' obscene contract is up for renewal.

Both MSNBC and CNN are significantly up overall and esp with the younger set, as Fox becomes as stagnant as its old, white, rural, racist, ignorant, re-districted/gerrymandered, low-wage base.

[mingus]

I don't think Kasich can win an election without the Republican base, and I'm betting the Republican base will just stay home in large numbers if the party picks a guy that none of them voted for. I think they're done as a party if they don't nominate either Trump or Cruz, the Republican voters have shot down every attempt the party has tried to make people buy into the party's preferred candidates. Walker, Bush, Rubio, Kasich is just another. Clear Channel and Fox News have really poisoned the party with their demands for far right ideological purity and now we're seeing the consequences when their voters want a loon like Cruz.

I mean the independents matter hugely in a typical election where you still have your base behind you, but I don't think that'll be the case with Kasich.

I just see him as having more of a chance, but we'll find out.

As far as Fox News (never heard of Clear Channel so I can't comment), I agree 100%. There's two things that they've done that as you say poison/destroy the Republican Party:

1. You can still be conservative and accept established facts or strongly supported beliefs that the Democrats also accept. You can just choose to tackle them in different, rational & conservative ways. Instead of doing that they've chose not to accept these facts/strongly supported beliefs at all. That's why there's so much Congressional gridlock. It's really a horrible strategy. In that particular sense, I don't even think you can call them "far right" or conservative, more than just stupid. Simply taking antithetical positions to Democrats doesn't make you a Conservative, it just makes you anti-Democrat. Why you take them does.

2. They've not only carried out the battles the wrong way ^^^, they've picked the wrong ones, or created ones. I don't even need to elaborate on this, just turn on Fox News and you'll see.

[baseline bum]

I just see him as having more of a chance, but we'll find out.

As far as Fox News (never heard of Clear Channel so I can't comment), I agree 100%. There's two things that they've done that as you say poison/destroy the Republican Party:


By Clear Channel I mean Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Hannity, etc. Thank you Red McCombs for that bullshit.

[boutons_deux]

Kasich isn't "grownup". He a radical rightwingnut extremist like the rest of them.

[boutons_deux]

The Best Reporting on John Kasich Through the Years

Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s home-state paper, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, has long noted his mix-and-match style (http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2014/05/ohios_governor_is_on_a_mission.html).

He is a proud fiscal conservative who tried to roll back (http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2011/03/whats_really_in_senate_5_clear.html) the power of public unions but also bucked his party on Obamacare (http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/269343-kasichs-obamacare-problem).

He fought to reinstate the death penalty (http://www.nytimes.com/1982/09/05/us/the-midwest.html) while filling his public appearances with pop-culture references toPearl Jam (http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/article/Rockin-Republican-Runs-for-President-2945734.php) or the Rolling Stones.

He presents himself as the hugging (http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/john-kasich-hugs-student-emotional-moment-south-carolina/story?id=37040687), compassionate Republican in the presidential race, but was known in Congress for his prickly temper and volatility (https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1997/03/24/kasichs-ambitions-may-be-wild-card-in-budget-talks-with-the-white-house/d4450d52-771d-40c8-a7b3-467161edab2e/) – and he once got kicked off the stage (https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1991/06/21/the-night-of-the-livid-dead/35d8f9b1-49d7-456f-b04a-8ce5581a1621/) at a Grateful Dead concert.

some other Ohio lawmakers tried to avoid sitting next to him on flights home.

GOP pollster Frank Luntz called him the “Woody Harrelson of Congress.” :lol

His tax cuts and budgeting, however, came at the expense of local governments:

70 cities have lost at least $1 million per year (http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index.ssf/2016/03/ohio_tax_changes_under_gov_joh.html) in state funding since Kasich took office in 2011.

Specifically, Kasich’s elimination of Ohio’s estate tax (http://www.politifact.com/ohio/promises/kasich-o-meter/promise/767/eliminate-ohios-estate-tax/), reduction of the Local Government Fund, and

phasing out reimbursements (http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2011/03/schools_local_governments_take.html) to help communities cope with a 2005 rollback of property taxes

cost Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati more than $20 million each per year. The overall effect of the cuts (http://www.politifact.com/ohio/statements/2012/jul/11/ohio-democratic-party/ohio-democratic-party-says-kasich-budget-forced-lo/) has been mixed (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/14/us/politics/john-kasich-ohio-primary.html?_r=1).

After Kasich became governor, several of his best friends became Ohio’s new go-to lobbyists (http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2011/05/23/kasich-friends-in-high-demand.html), drawing criticism that they were cashing in. Kasich was accused of hypocrisy after campaigning against special interests.

One of Kasich’s signature programs as governor is JobsOhio, a privatized development agency created to bring jobs to the state that replaced a public model. But the agency has been plagued with allegations of extravagant spending—including using public money to pay private employees (http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/06/24/jobsohio-spending-detailed.html)—and complaints by Democrats about conflicts of interest (http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/public/2013/08/26/JobsOhio-Democrats-inspector-general.html). A 2013 law largely exempted (http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2013/05/senate_approves_legislative_fi.html) JobsOhio from public audits. :lol

Kasich and Ohio’s Republican leadership sought to roll back some rights (http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2011/03/whats_really_in_senate_5_clear.html) and powers of unionized public workers, but the unions collected nearly a million (http://www.ceaohio.org/?p=1415) signatures in support of holding a statewide referendum on the law. Kasich’s measure went down to defeat in 2011 by nearly a 2-to–1 margin (http://www.toledoblade.com/Politics/2011/11/08/Issue-2.html).

His message of optimism and his mellow demeanor on the trail surprised those who remembered him as a man who ran hot-and-cold (http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/04/john-kasich-2016/391772/), called out-of-state rivals “wackadoodles (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/26/us/politics/john-kasich-campaign.html?mtrref=undefined&gwh=AD737D6A9542647DA3B4C7211E9129EF&gwt=pay&_r=0),” and derided a cop as an “idiot” for pulling him over (Kasich later apologized to the officer).

The GOP establishment (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/21/magazine/why-the-republican-establishment-doesnt-like-john-kasich.html) was reluctant to embrace him—some because they remember his temper, some because he expanded Medicaid, but primarily because they didn’t see him as a viable candidate. In the Republican primaries, Kasich to date has only won his home state of Ohio.

https://www.propublica.org/article/the-best-reporting-on-john-kasich-through-the-years?utm_campaign=sprout&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_content=1461153340

Maybe he'll accept being "a pitcher of warm spit"