Kasich Hints at Leaving GOP (interview, Reagan, drug, poll)
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Get ready for the incoming! The same people who complain all the time about the hate toward Donald Trump will now send their expressions of love toward John Kasich!
Kasich lost me as a potential supporter after his really churlish attitude to Trump when it was clear he was going to win the nomination - including staying away from the Republican convention which was actually being held in Ohio.
I am not a supporter of Trump by any means but I think accepting defeat gracefully is an imperative for civil discourse and Kasich comes across as just a sore loser. It is the reason why I find Hillary's entire attitude and public statements so off-putting since the election. She is trying to litigate an election result although she herself acknowledges that there is really no mechanism to do so.
Trump is not exactly one for civil discourse either but then he pretty much showed his cards during the primaries and despite his approach he ended up winning the nomination. He then continued doing the same thing during the presidential election campaign and he won that as well - so there are no fault pretenses about him and his approach.
Kasich, OTOH, said he'd back whoever the nominee was and then failed to do so. Hillary said that she would respect the result of the election and after doing so in her concession speech has gone back on her word and is questioning the legitimacy of the election result.
Whatever Trump's negatives, he is an open book - warts and all.
Kasich also has provided massive tax benefits for the wealthy in Ohio, while raising the regressive sales tax rate. He also slashed funding, especially adjusted for inflation, for the state and local government fund. This has resulted in 25 percent increases in the municipal income tax rate across Ohio, especially in major cities, and also much higher real estate taxes. Some economically hard-pressed cities can't afford to pay safety forces or buy safety equipment, to say nothing about local infrastructure funding. He eliminated the Ohio inheritance tax. He has provided a zero percent state income tax rate on the first $250,000 of income from pass-through entities, a massive tax break for the wealthy. The Kasich tax policies, benefiting one-percenters and 10-percenters have many resemblances to the current Republican tax plan in Congress.
Kasich, rather than raise gasoline taxes, borrowed billions against Ohio Turnpike toll increases in the future, forcing northern Ohioans to pay for current road infrastructure spending throughout the state at a great cost to the region's manufacturing industry competitiveness in coming years. This is an economic disaster for all of Ohio by marginalizing one of the nation's great manufacturing regions.
Kasich has championed the injection under high pressure of radioactive fracking waste under potable drinking water aquifers throughout eastern Ohio. Much of the waste is shipped in from other states which don't allow such fracking waste water injection wells. Local public hearings on the wells are banned. It's an environment ticking time bomb.
Kasich has refused to label the open waters of Lake Erie "impaired," which would allow the federal EPA to crack down on ag industry pollution in the Lake Erie watershed. The result has been massive toxic algal growths in the western basin of Lake Erie in late summer, imperiling $10 billion tourist industry and even drinking water supplies.
Kasich has expanded the school voucher program in Ohio, but exempts voucher recipient schools from the state's mandatory testing system for public schools after many voucher schools performed worse than publc schools. The owners of for-profit voucher schools in Ohio have been heavy campaign contributors to Republicans.
What has offended Republicans is that Kasich went around the conservative, heavily gerrymandered Ohio legislature to bring Medicaid expansion to Ohio. The resulting billions in federal Medicaid payments have provided a massive infusion to a relatively stagnant Ohio economy. The Ohio hospital and healthcare industries would have crucified Kasich and the Republicans if they actually had blocked Medicaid expansion in Ohio.
While Kasich is more competent than Trump, he isn't much more trust-worthy IMO.
Pretty much this. Way back in the day he had solid and consistent politics and principles, but he has been getting increasingly centrist and populist for at least a decade. He really doesn't support much of the fiscal or social policy of the GOP, so leaving is hardly a loss in that at least we don't get lumped in with him. If only he could talk John McCain into leaving as well.
There is not a single thing wrong with being a "centrist". Our country would be in much better shape if we had more "centrist" politicians.
Although, I'm not sure I consider Kasich a "centrist" on many issues - the fact that it's being used some sort of slight says a lot about the state of our political climate.
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