Last weekend, Ohio Gov. John Kasich was asked by CNN’s Jake Tapper what he would have to do to vote for Donald Trump in November. He said Trump can “operate on the dark side of the street or operate in the light. I believe America needs people who are going to operate in the light.”
Kasich’s constant rants about Donald Trump strike me as some of the most smug, self-aggrandizing garbage I’ve seen this political season. Not only is it incredibly arrogant, but it’s also incredibly delusional. I get that he was a successful governor in Ohio. But the pressing issues facing the country far outweigh those of any one state. His message has failed to work in any state except Ohio in the Republican primaries.
I’m tired of “polite” politicians telling the rest of the country how it should behave to be acceptable.
I understand that many in the Republican Party dislike Donald Trump—and you have every right to. But the choice is uncomplicated: It’s between Hillary Clinton and Trump. The rest of these candidates are pipe dreams. Libertarian Gary Johnson spends more time talking about marijuana than he does about the issues that affect most of us. Yes, marijuana should be legal for many reasons, but that’s not an issue that will win over the conservatives Trump irritates. Green Party candidate Jill Stein may not have as much of a problem with the truth as Hillary Clinton, but her policies are unacceptable to most conservatives.
The winner of this election will appoint three to four Supreme Court justices and either ensure that Barack Obama’s policies are embedded in our culture or they are torn out of it. I would rather start digging up Obama’s legacy, and I am sure Trump will do that.
If Governor Kasich wants to ruin the future of our country over a disagreement over tone or language, then he and others (with these views) are the ones who truly pose a threat to our country.
I’ve been writing about “tones” for a long time. There’s a common belief in politics that our politicians have to be incredibly positive and staged so that we never see who they really are. I call this the “be nice” crowd. In contrast, we have Trump: a guy who says on the campaign trail what people say in their homes.
If you think it is good for our country that we elect people who say one thing when the camera is on and another when it is off, then you are encouraging the spread of deception.
Americans are enraged about a variety of personal issues. They are enraged about regulations, taxes, and unnecessary restrictions imposed by our government. Many are enraged that they have been left behind in our economy and have no idea how to get out of it. Our politicians need to harness that anger and address these issues. Doing so will not require being “in the spotlight.” It will be painful and ultimately transformative.
We have created a culture in America that hates government so much that in many circumstances there is no line between law and order. In addition, honorable Americans believe that government has overstepped its bounds so much that they cheat and even steal to compensate for the harm they believe it causes.
Due to poverty and ongoing disputes over race relations, many have taken to the streets to riot, loot and disrupt. They have been told by “politicians in the limelight” that they are being ripped off and that government is the solution. Predictably, government continues to let them down, which creates more anger and resentment. Emotions are divorced from cause and effect.
In order to cover up their failures, political leaders choose to pander to uninformed and oppressed Americans and present their grievances to the public as valid. Without first understanding the source of their struggles, this gives more people the feeling that they do not need to utilize personal responsibility and discipline to succeed. This is a downward spiral that must be stopped, or we will become a country more populated by poverty and failure than success and wealth.
So as Governor Kasich seeks to promote his vision of a political utopia steeped in unity and self-help, perhaps he should take a look at the data on poverty, jobs, safety, and morality in this country. You can’t “love” your way out of disaster; you have to fight your way out of it, which requires staring into the “dark.”
It is said that many addicts have to hit rock bottom and lose everything before they take personal responsibility and change their lives. Almost no amount of intervention or well-wishes from family can motivate an addict to get better. They must first want to get better.
Recovering addicts know their triggers. They understand where moments of weakness create temptations to relapse. If our nation avoids the darkness of our weaknesses, it is akin to avoiding the reality that a recovering alcoholic probably needs to stay away from the bar.
In other words, conservatives like Governor Kasich still hope that the delicate at the end of the tunnel is not an oncoming train.
Don’t lose hope. I’ll jump off the tracks.
