Ohio Gov. John Kasich has achieved some remarkable accomplishments as a Republican in a swing state. Unfortunately, much of what he does today undermines all the good he has done. Two decades ago, Republican congressman and presidential candidate Kasich was a fiscal outsider who never captured the national spirit in 2000. John McCain rose to his true independent roots, slipping past George W. Bush, but he felt Rove was falling in love with him. South Carolina. Like McCain, Kasich would have had a larger following – and would have been a better president – had he been elected in 2000. That wasn’t the case, and he won’t be this time either.
His second chance at the national spotlight came in 2010, when he was elected governor of Ohio during the Great Tea Party Awakening. He set to work to balance the state budget, cut spending and curb undesirable leaven. He tried to outdo Walker Scott Walker and pushed for collective bargaining reform, including for police officers and firefighters.
Unfortunately, he lost this fight. Time is of the essence in politics, including the necessary political reforms. Kasich’s decision to pursue Walker’s Act 10 with more focus ended a major effort that could have been successful with better coordination, as was his first run for president in 1999. What to expect when trying to pick the same fight, with hordes of international unions just a few states away? Walker caught the unions by surprise, but they quickly prepared to crush Kasich’s plan.
Despite Kasich’s massive double-digit re-election in 2014, conservatives are confronting Kasich over his heretical and illiberal policy decisions, particularly Obamacare coverage, and taking a “silly bet” on Medicaid expansion. Ohio’s governor, who has too often played the moderate card, continues to preach the need for fiscal discipline, but his uneven liberalism is on the surface and should have kept him out of consideration for the 2016 GOP nomination from the start.
Referring to the Affordable Care Act, Kasich argues that the loaves and fishes needed to live with dignity can come from the government. He then argues that Common Core will improve education. Earlier this year Texas Governor Greg Abbott sharply criticized Common Coreand proved that he was more educated on the subject and would have trained Kasich in the process.
Additionally, Kasich celebrates the amnesty and guest worker program, using the argument that “we” should do the most for the least among us. Didn’t Kasich get that joke from the Gipper? “The nine most perilous words in the English language: ‘I’m from the government and I want to support.’ Help and mercy are all well and good, but the Lord loves a cheerful (not tearful) giver. The government has nothing to give, it only takes from one and gives to another.
Nevertheless, Governor Buckeye bucks conservative trends and justifies his wholesale sales to the Deity of Big Government with constant references to God. “God has a plan for you! God bless you!” Kasich often intones during TV interviews. It’s true, something like “If you like your plan, you can keep it.” Tell that to the millions who have lost their insurance plans in this country. Kasich’s idolatry will lead to: ” If you like your freedom and security, you can keep it too!” Ask the tens of millions of people murdered by totalitarian governments around the world. A country covered in a façade of “Saint this and that” does not make it a saint any more than sitting in the White House makes one President (consider Barack Obama).
To make matters worse, Kasich played a “Hail Mary!” card justifying Big Government aid “Hale-Bob” Kool during August 6vol Debate on Fox News, too:
“Now, when you die and get to meet Saint. Peter, he probably won’t ask you much about what you’ve done to keep government small,” Kasich said. “But he will ask you what you have done for the poor. You better have a good answer.”
Let’s ignore the theological fraud of this argument. Jesus gave a better answer during his earthly ministry:
“Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s. And give back to God what is God’s.”
If you missed the subtext, it all belongs to Him, so stop trying to take it from others!
In the meantime, wouldn’t it be nice if politicians stopped robbing Peter to pay Paul? The government justifies taking from creators and getting more takers. Would Kasich like to say “thank you” to all the federal taxpayers who subsidize his currently over-budget Medicaid expansion?
What is particularly reprehensible is the fact that Kasich misuses the Bible to sanctify more authority in our lives. I’m not afraid of the devil whose horns I see, but the devil wearing Prada preaches the Truth, and Kasich fits that description all too well. Like a third-rate cable TV evangelist, a false prophet looking for basic profits by saying, “Send me $10 and we’ll pray your way to prosperity,” Kasich wants to sell “compassionate conservatism” without conservatism. The Bible actually teaches that the purpose of God’s heartbeat is “to make you sound and sound, even as your soul prospers” (3 John 2). The well-being of the soul is of greater importance and depends on walking in truth. Kasich’s social gospel of Big Government contains no truth.
To add insult to the unbiblical misfortune, Kasich even defended himself against attending a “gay wedding”:
I’m an old-fashioned person here and I happen to believe in conventional marriage. But I also said that the court had issued a ruling. … and I said we would accept it. And guess what, I just went to the wedding of my friend who happens to be gay.
Kasich neglected another part of the Gospel: He created them male and female.
Ordained minister Mike Huckabee gave a divine answer to this question: “The Supreme Court is not the Supreme Being.” Nor is the government pretending to provide health care, legal status, or education inconsistent with the truth. Only a religious fraud would suggest otherwise, and John Kasich fits this unholy T-bill like a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
