John Kasich

[MediumTex]

That's why I like him.

I told my wife a couple of years ago that a dream ticket for the Republicans in 2016 would be Kasich-Rubio.  Such a ticket could easily beat Hillary, and would probably be good for the country as well.

Kasich seems to see the American citizen who has a family and is trying to make ends meet as the center of our country, whereas most other candidates seem to see those people as pawns.

Kasich hasn't made this case effectively, but throughout his career he has been an astonishingly successful politician, whether it involved working with his own party or the other one.  That's a claim that very few politicians can make, and many of Kasich's accomplishments in government involved making the government more efficient and more fiscally responsible.  Everything he says about being governor in Ohio seems to focus on how he has tried to create a business climate that is conducive to economic activity that creates job growth.  It's a people-centric message, and it's optimistic.  No us/them rhetoric.

Any guy who can effectively work with Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich and get what he wants out of the experience has some serious leadership skills.

I think that 2016 may be one of those years where Kasich is what we need, but Trump is what we deserve.  JMHO, of course.

[Reub]

Kasich is a bleeding heart Republican. His hand gyrations and emoting make me sick. I agree that Rubio is a force to reckon with if he gets some traction. His boyhood pretty face, eloquence and good hair alone make him a threat.

[MediumTex]

Kasich is a bleeding heart Republican. His hand gyrations and emoting make me sick. I agree that Rubio is a force to reckon with if he gets some traction. His boyhood pretty face, eloquence and good hair alone make him a threat.

He's the bleeding heart Republican who was chair of the House budget committee in the 1990s when the U.S. was able to completely eliminate the federal budget deficit.  You don't achieve something like that without being able to make hard choices about how tax dollars are going to be spent.

I can deal with some hand gyrations and emoting if it comes with those kind of results.

[Benko]

Looking at it from another point of view, Kasich taking 2nd in NH, Bush! polling a little above Rubio in Florida.  Things like this just divides the non-trump vote which is fine with me. 

That's why I like him.

I told my wife a couple of years ago that a dream ticket for the Republicans in 2016 would be Kasich-Rubio.  Such a ticket could easily beat Hillary, and would probably be good for the country as well.

Rubio comes off as a typical politician and fortunately (for me) has lied to enough people e.g. immigration and is still talking out of both sides of his mouth on the issue that I feel safely protected from him.  I can't tell if anyone on this board other than CraigR, PS (I think) and I care about immigration, but some of us care a lot.  Probably Reub also.

[Pointedstick]

I'd vote for Kasich in a New York Minute over any of the Democrats if he was the nominee. I see a lot of the same things you see, MT, I just don't take candidates very seriously until they get a certain level of political support that makes them likely to actually win. If he's still down near 2%, he's irrelevant even if I like him (just like Rand Paul). Everyone likes a winner.

That said, so far Trump is still #1 for me.

[Libertarian666]

Kasich is a bleeding heart Republican. His hand gyrations and emoting make me sick. I agree that Rubio is a force to reckon with if he gets some traction. His boyhood pretty face, eloquence and good hair alone make him a threat.

He's the bleeding heart Republican who was chair of the House budget committee in the 1990s when the U.S. was able to completely eliminate the federal budget deficit.  You don't achieve something like that without being able to make hard choices about how tax dollars are going to be spent.

I can deal with some hand gyrations and emoting if it comes with those kind of results.

The way that the government "eliminated" the budget deficit was by lying about it. To be exact, they counted the Social Security "surplus", which was supposed to go into the "trust fund", against the budget deficit.

Of course that was still much better than the multi-hundred-billion dollar deficits they are running routinely now, but it wasn't actually balanced.

[jafs]

I've read some analysis that either way, the budget was balanced.

Can't remember exactly where.

[Benko]

Kasich: Well, I think it’s some things, I think first of all I have the experience, and I’ve had success, and I’ve been a reformer all of my life… and, uh, I have a message that, you know, we know a lot of candidates are like the prince of darkness, you know, I consider myself the prince of light and hope

http://www.redstate.com/2016/01/20/john ... damn-mind/

[flyingpylon]

Hope... hope... gosh, where have I heard that before?

[Ad Orientem]

I like Kasich. But I doubt he will go anywhere in the primaries because he is... well... sane. And this is not a year where sanity is a virtue in candidates for high office. At least not in the GOP.

[MediumTex]

I like Kasich. But I doubt he will go anywhere in the primaries because he is... well... sane. And this is not a year where sanity is virtue in candidates for high office. At least not in the GOP.

Yep.

Kasich is far from perfect, but IMHO he is a legitimate candidate in a field mostly made up of amateurs, entertainers and hacks.

[Benko]

I like Kasich. But I doubt he will go anywhere in the primaries because he is... well... sane. And this is not a year where sanity is virtue in candidates for high office. At least not in the GOP.

Yep.

Kasich is far from perfect, but IMHO he is a legitimate candidate in a field mostly made up of amateurs, entertainers and hacks.

Illegal immigrants are “a critical part of our society” and should be provided a route to amnesty, Republican presidential candidate John Kasich tells a coalition of Hispanic company executives.

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government ... mmigrants/

[Ad Orientem]

I like Kasich. But I doubt he will go anywhere in the primaries because he is... well... sane. And this is not a year where sanity is virtue in candidates for high office. At least not in the GOP.

Yep.

Kasich is far from perfect, but IMHO he is a legitimate candidate in a field mostly made up of amateurs, entertainers and hacks.

Illegal immigrants are “a critical part of our society” and should be provided a route to amnesty, Republican presidential candidate John Kasich tells a coalition of Hispanic company executives.

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government ... mmigrants/

There are some points where I disagree with him, this being one. But in fairness if I had a 100% agreement litmus test for candidates, I'd never vote again. Not that the idea doesn't hold some attraction for me.

[Fred]

Not too impressed with his foreign policy ideas so far.....

Based on what I’ve heard him say in the debates, Kasich seems as committed to reckless policies in Syria and Ukraine as any of the other hawkish candidates, but I agree that this isn’t his central message. It’s still useful to review what his foreign policy views are as the New Hampshire primary draws closer. He wants to “punch Russia in the nose,” he has no problem with a reckless “no-fly zone” in Syria, and he insists on meddling in Syria’s civil war. He seems to think regime change is desirable mainly because it will hurt Russia and Iran:

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/ ... gn-policy/

Modification:

Upon further investigation he's a fu**ing idiot....

Kasich said he believes that most American citizens understand the seriousness of the threat posed by ISIS and would be supportive of U.S. troops being deployed to fight the brutal terror group.

He added that he doesn't believe in nation-building, and he would deploy U.S. troops, eliminate the threat and then leave.

http://insider.foxnews.com/2015/08/17/j ... lly-factor

[MediumTex]

Not too impressed with his foreign policy ideas so far.....

Based on what I’ve heard him say in the debates, Kasich seems as committed to reckless policies in Syria and Ukraine as any of the other hawkish candidates, but I agree that this isn’t his central message. It’s still useful to review what his foreign policy views are as the New Hampshire primary draws closer. He wants to “punch Russia in the nose,” he has no problem with a reckless “no-fly zone” in Syria, and he insists on meddling in Syria’s civil war. He seems to think regime change is desirable mainly because it will hurt Russia and Iran:

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/ ... gn-policy/

Modification:

Upon further investigation he's a fu**ing idiot....

Kasich said he believes that most American citizens understand the seriousness of the threat posed by ISIS and would be supportive of U.S. troops being deployed to fight the brutal terror group.

He added that he doesn't believe in nation-building, and he would deploy U.S. troops, eliminate the threat and then leave.

http://insider.foxnews.com/2015/08/17/j ... lly-factor

Those comments don't concern me too much because candidates never actually do what they campaign on when it comes to foreign policy.

I remember back in 2000 when Bush smugly responded to a debate question about when he would deploy U.S. troops.  The answer went something like this: "I would only deploy U.S. troops where the U.S. national interest was clear and the exit strategy was obvious." 

Kasich doesn't seem to be in any danger of winning, so it's probably not worth getting too worked up about, but overall I think that he would be a President that the entire country could get behind, but he obviously wouldn't be perfect.  None of them would.

What I find most refreshing about Kasich is that the middle class American seems to be at the center of his political universe.  Most of the other candidates seem to regard all but the most powerful interests in society as simply needing to be pacified and properly manipulated, whereas Kasich seems to genuinely care about what is happening to regular Americans, especially when it comes to structural unemployment and stagnant real wages.