Why won’t Ohioans vote for their governor for president? That’s a question I’ve been asked a lot lately. The compact answer is: he’s not a conservative. When you have a liberal media personality saying Kasich would be a great vice presidential candidate for Hillary Clinton, well, that says it all.
I was one of thousands of Ohioans across the state who volunteered countless hours to aid elect John Kasich as governor. His passionate speeches on repealing the death tax, eliminating the personal income tax, protecting gun rights, and opposing Obamacare excited many Ohioans. We were not disappointed for the first two years, but after Obama won the 2012 election, things changed dramatically. Kasich went from being a vocal, outspoken opponent Obamacare in Ohio to pass it. He went from promoting school choice to promoting Common Core in Ohio schools. What’s more, he opposes requiring photo IDs to vote in a state that’s rife with voter fraud.
Chris Littleton, a conservative leader in Ohio, did great article describing Kasich’s work and why Ohio conservatives won’t vote for him.
Ann Becker, president of the Cincinnati Tea Party, said she is supporting John Kasich in his first run for governor. However, Becker says, “that John Kasich, the man who ran for governor, is not the man we have in Ohio today.” Becker says she no longer supports Kasich because he supports Common Core and Obamacare, and does not support Right to Work. During Kasich’s reelection campaign, Becker was denied entry to the rally for wearing a T-shirt that said “Ohioans against Common Core” and later wrote op ed about this incident.
Tom Zawistowski, executive director of the Portage County TEA Party, says Kasich has been an incredible disappointment for Ohio conservatives. “Nobody deserves the RINO tag more than John Kasich,” Zawistowski laments.
“Two years ago,” Becker says, “in one of the most despicable acts of politics I have ever seen, John Kasich visited our elected representatives in the Ohio General Assembly to install Obamacare in Ohio through an unelected body known as the Medicaid Control Board.”
This comes after 61% of Ohioans rejected the Obamacare health care law in 2011.
Zawistowski believes Kasich doesn’t even act like a Republican, let alone a conservative, which is why MSNBC’s Chris Mathews said he “really likes the guy,” suggesting he would make a great running mate alongside Hillary Clinton.
“I’m not sure how he fits into your party,” Matthews said. “I wonder if your party still has room for a moderate like Kasich. I look at all the excitement about Cruz and Trump, and the people to the right of John Kasich seem to pick up on all the noise, make all the noise.”
Perhaps it’s because Americans want what the “hype” has to offer, and Kasich is simply promoting more of what we NO to want.
Ohio Right to Life recently gave Kasich an enthusiastic endorsement, stating, “There is no presidential candidate who has done more for the pro-life movement than John Kasich.” But last fall, after the release of Abortion Videos Planned ParenthoodGovernor Kasich ignored a massive grassroots initiative by over 100 Ohio groups demanding an end to state taxpayer dollars being spent on abortions.
I should also note that the endorsement comes from an organization that has become known as “Ohio Right to Regulate” and which has spent more time arguing against the Heartbeat Bill in Ohio than Planned Parenthood.
What really worries me is Kasich’s robust ties to the establishment in both parties and his “finger to the wind” attitude. What happens when Chris Matthews and Kasich’s establishment supporters find out he is pro-life? Will he still be pro-life?
Despite all this, there are still some Democratic and Republican voters who plan to head to the polls to vote for Kasich for the sole purpose of stopping Trump. It’s clear that the establishment is at work here. Last year, House Republicans rushed to pass a bill that would have moved the Ohio primary up a week so that Ohio could become a winner-take-all state. That, combined with Ohio’s open primary, makes it a huge advantage for Kasich, who has spent a lot of time trying to convince Democrats to vote for him over Trump.
Many, including Columbus Dispatched reported The move to winner-take-all was intended to give Governor Kasich an advantage in the presidential election. Unfortunately, it created Huge confusion in GOP Winner Takes All Ballot.
Ironically, Kasich is fighting the fight of his life in his own state because people are tired of the kind of intrigue that Gov. Kasich and the Republican Party are engaging in. But the Democrats are Just so annoyed, which is why Trump is so highly rated among Democratic voters. Interestingly, independents seem to be strongly in favor of Trump because they see it as a vote against Both events.
Conservatives are divided. Those who want to stop Trump think voting for Kasich is the answer because it will draw delegates away from Trump. But that’s the establishment talking. Remember, they want to stop Trump, and the only candidate they hate more than Trump is Cruz. Voters who want Cruz are afraid to vote for him because they think it will give Kasich all the delegates from Ohio. They’re more afraid of that than they are of Trump. Unfortunately, we could get both.
The GOP establishment wants Kasich. The only way they can try to swallow Trump is to have Kasich as their vice president. Barring a complete rejection by Republican voters nationwide at the GOP convention, Kasich will never get the nomination. But I don’t doubt for a moment that Trump could cozy up to Kasich for vice president if he thought it would win Ohio. A vote for Kasich is either a vote for the establishment or a vote for Trump—or, worse, both.
It seems that the institution has this matter sorted out to the end.
Kimberly Fletcher is the author WOMEN: America’s Last Best Hope and president and founder HomeMakers for America Inc. The views expressed in this article are the author’s alone and do not represent those of HomeMakers for America Inc. Follow Kimberly onFacebook and on Twitter @proudhomemaker
