Too bad, so sad, Kasich. You’re a Republican and this is the attitude of your party. I care about the citizens of Ohio having access to Medicaid, but not a whit about what happens to Kasich’s policies or reputation.
dude reminds me of an old school Republican, you know one that actually has policy opinions beyond “what will piss of liberals”
might not agree with their policies, but at least there is reasoned discussion and a common goal beyond enriching the already wealthy
in this case, both objectives are important.
I get what you’re saying (i.e. that keeping Medicaid is Kasich’s policy), but I don’t consider Kasich a magnificent GOP hero who really cares about the poor. Katich is only worried about his own legacy and how that impacts his political future. (Color me skeptical about his soul and values.)
That’s just it though, like McCain and Flake, he doesn’t have a future in the current Republican party.
He might have had one if HRC had won, but all he has now is a loving family, a couple of bucks in the bank and a weird and yearning hope that Cordray thumps DeWine in November.
If the third part doesn’t happen, then he’ll be thankful to have the aforementioned two, but until then…
But I think he may still have/want a future in politics: it really seems as if he’s positioning for a presidential run as an independent. If the GOP is in bad enough shape by 2020, his “brand” of civility (kind of a joke, if you know his history) and compassion (based on his apparently quite sincere championing of Medicaid, though again, history) could position him to take votes from Democrats as well as Republicans, and certainly indies. Hope Dems are ready to remind people he’s a union-busting, tax-slashing Gingrich revolutionary if/when the time comes. (O, how I’ll miss loving Nicolle Wallace when she signs on as his press secretary…)
If that’s the case (and depending on the ‘sore loser’ laws), then he should have done that in '16. Either that or he should have endorsed HRC, in the hope that he had enough stroke to derail ‘45’.
Nope, he’s stuck and seeing how folks are still sore at third party guys (Stein), nah…
I’m sure it is more than health care that concerns Kasich. He remembers what a lame ass Senator he was and doesn’t want him to screw up his legacy whatever that is.
Maybe…but there’s a difference between someone who’s clearly a spoiler (Stein was never remotely a real contender) and someone who, depending on what shape the parties are in by 2019-20, could plausibly make an actual run for the office. Perot took equally from both sides – yup, documentation and Rachel Maddow segment available upon request – and Kasich is saner than Perot was, with an electorate that may be far more open to a credible third-party/indy candidate than it was then. Now, if Dems continue to gain strength and manage some semblance of unity as Republicans continue to destroy themselves, he’ll probably decide there’s no room for him (a big knock-wood to all that). We’ll see…
Reasoned discussion in the era of Fox and Friends is utterly beyond any Republican candidate. It is all tribal all of the time. Kasich might have been the last Republican willing to talk policy.
Johnson somewhat was
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Kasich is perhaps a lot more pragmatic than Perot, but both the sanity and that aforementioned aspect has to be measured along the lines of what Perot would have done now, as opposed to '92 or '96.
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Ummm, what credible third party? The only one that I can think of is the modern day American Whig party and that’s cause they didn’t have a chance to shock the system.
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Johnson also clearly had no chance; revealed as kinda out of it, and his running mate explicitly favored Clinton.
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Obviously. As I said, a Perot-type candidacy might have greater appeal in this era, and Kasich (if his actual positions aren’t covered well, and given the media’s crush on him I’d be concerned about that) has the potential to appeal to all parts of the political spectrum.
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Note that I said “third party/indy” – my emphasis was on the “indy” part. And given his economic policies aside from Medicaid, I can easily imagine money guys getting behind him over a Republican they’d see as a loser representing a dying GOP, so he wouldn’t need a party apparatus behind him.
All hypothetical, of course; hoping fervently for a strong, united Democratic party, in which case he’ll probably decide to spend more time with his family.