The debates were ridiculous,” he told me recently over dinner at an Italian restaurant in Alexandria, Virginia....Spaghetti, clams, Pink Floyd, believing Christians... I think I'm going to puke, reddish pinkly.
It had been a long day, and Kasich was hoovering his spaghetti and clam sauce like a man who eats for fuel. “I wasn’t pitching myself. I was being myself.” ... He came to his point: “I have a right to define what it means to be a conservative and what it means to be a Republican. I think my definition is a lot better than what the other people are doing.”
In Kasich’s view, the election of Trump and the complicity of party leaders represent a widespread abandonment of good American values — “a momentary lapse of reason,” he says, “to quote Pink Floyd.” A believing Christian, Kasich talks about his contrasting vision as a “revival”; he has a yearning to restore to American citizens the “basic principles of caring, of love, of compassion, of connectedness, of a legacy … There has to be a fundamental change, in my opinion, with all of us. I’m willing to be part of that. I want my voice to be out there. I want it very, very much.”
I watched Kasich on "Fox News Sunday" yesterday, and he came across as desperate. I had trouble understanding why he looked and sounded so desperate. Here, maybe you can see what I mean:
He keeps asserting that he is sincere and has high moral values, but it doesn't work. And I am saying this as someone who wanted to have a moderate Republican to vote for in 2016. Kasich seemed as though he was the one who would fit that slot, but he is hard to warm up to. Interesting to know he's never stopped striving. But that does not make him appealing.
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166 comments:
Never liked him much, still don't. I don't think the constatnt campaigning helps much either.
I think it's called a whine.
I saw Kasich twice in Iowa. He has NO chance against Trump.
Everyone wants to go back to this mythical time where we all agreed. I think it was more a time where people who didn't agree weren't as noisy about it. But yesterday doesn't follow tomorrow so this is going somewhere else
"To quote Pink Floyd..."
Now there is a line for the ages.
He seemed like a normal person, not a Congresscritter, on CNBC's? "Equal Time" in the mid 90's.
Wait. Complicity of party leaders? Is Kasich watching the same GOP I am?
Kasich disagrees with Trump on immigration. That is what he means by “basic principles of caring, of love, of compassion, of connectedness...".
Flake made a big noise, he is unpopular in his state because of his immigration stance.
It is about Trump's character, obviously. Anyone who doesn't accept unfettered immigration is a racist and xenophobe. Obviously.
Why do the liberal media not use the word? Kasich and Flake have a strong disagreement with Trump over his immigration stance.
They don't dare use the word. Because if they do Trump becomes more popular.
Even as a Trump agnostic I realize that Trump has few friends in party leadership. Republicans were just less willing to treat Trump like the Democrats treated Sanders.
And he would be one who could do what's necessary to defeat the Dems? Because at this point, if there is to be any hope for the future of the country, that is the only thing that matters.
"There has to be a fundamental change, in my opinion, with all of us. I’m willing to be part of that. I want my voice to be out there. I want it very, very much.”
Yeah. Thanks but no thanks.
He should write a book called "What Happened?"
But at least he is consistent, being for importing a new electorate.
Matthew Sablan said...
Even as a Trump agnostic I realize that Trump has few friends in party leadership.
He has few friends in large part because he is a monumental dick. Even I feel some sympathy for the GOPe having to deal with him as leader.
I voted for the guy in Florida, glad he lost.
"Even I feel some sympathy for the GOPe having to deal with him as leader."
Even, he, a moderate non-partisan has a tiny amount of sympathy for moderate Republicans.
George Washington has a monumental dick too.
I think the problem is that he is a phony and a male version of Hillary Clinton--extremely self-centered and egotistical. The only interest he ever seems to have is in feathering his own nest. There is never a sense of his caring about anything outside of his own ambitions and advancement. As with Hillary, does anyone have any idea of what he stands for or wants to do and change?
It's the eighty precent of life is showing up strategy. Kasich wants to be the most presidential looking guy standing around if the whole thing blows up.
If elected, President Kasich pledges to hug each and every US citizen.
I was only able to get through to about 3:30. He keeps insisting that the "bulk of the Republican party" is on his side and that the Gen X'ers and Millennials are as well. And perhaps that's true, but Trump won and did it by attracting non-Republican voters. That is what is known as a fact. So, what did Trump run on? What were his policy positions:
1) Stop illegal immigration through enforcement of current immigration laws and the building of a wall on the southern border.
2) Renegotiate trade treaties so that they are more advantageous to the US and change tax policy, reduce regulation and otherwise use government to encourage manufacturing jobs to remain in the US and in fact for jobs to relocate to the US and in addition make it less difficult for small businesses to form.
3) Revisit decades old treaties that obligate the US to foot the bill for keeping order in the world while "allies" spend a fraction of their GDP on defense.
4) Defense of patriotism and love of country.
I can see why Kaisch is desperate. When a politician starts talking about needing to adjust their message to accommodate "the future" it means they know they are losing the battle for the current electorate. If the current policies are going to voted against by "the future" then they will be rejected and revised in "the future." Or, perhaps people will see that those policies bring about positive change and "the future" will decide they like them just fine.
What’s irritating is that he’s been an amazing governor. Ohio is in sooooooo much better shape with Kasich. I wish he could stay on another 4 years. At this point, let’s just keep making Ohio great again.
When you have a liberal reporter trying to prop up a conservative, beware. She is already trying to derail Trump's 2nd term presidency. Just think of the press as an arm of the democratic party.
And Barack Obama was a great community organizer.
Trump just wasn't supposed to happen. He is a black-swan event upsetting the carefully laid plans of the globalist "cosmopolitan" governing class. If nationalism is bad, then that means nations are bad. How can you have a nation if you don't have nationalism?
Sorry democrat party.
Did you know that Kasich’s dad was a mailman?
"needing to adjust their message to accommodate 'the future'"
It's code for give it up people, your day is past, and neither party wants you, jus that deplorable Trump.
Blogger Ron Winkleheimer said...
Trump just wasn't supposed to happen. He is a black-swan event
Trump was inevitable in some form
Jeb Bush did a great job as governor too, but the train has left the station for him and Kasich.
I hear Jeb Bush's dad was not a mailman.
Sarah Palin was a hugely popular governor. Kasich is delusional that they wouldn't brand him Hitler just because he thinks he is a good guy.
I think Kasich sounds and looks desperate because he doesn't have any traction and he feels it.
He is going to have to get very specific instead of mouthing platitudes if he really wants to campaign against Trump. Very specific. And then there will be an argument about issues and solutions, not who has the better moral character, so why even begin at that level? It's stupid.
We would not elect a saint to the presidency. It's not a moral position. We're not choosing the head of a church or temple.
Trump was inevitable in some form
I agree, but the globalist governing class just couldn't see it. The actual people in the actual nations were supposed to rendered irrelevant, their odious opinions ignored for the greater good of the "glorious future."
Kasich IS a very normal person. His tone sounds fine, but like many "moderate" Republicans, the more you listen, the more you realize he has no consistent philosophy or reasoning behind his thoughts or positions.
The reason I could never get behind McCain was that he is labeled a moderate, but it is not moderation. Rather, McCain would look at any issue and pick a side. Sometimes the side was on the right, sometimes on the left. The issue was that it was often inconsistent with any particular political philosophy.
Kasich is similar in you can figure out how his positions fall within a particular view, which makes it hard to predict where he will fall on future issues. Worse, unlike McCain, Kasich often talks within ever defining a position on anything. A real, old-time politician.
AReasonableMan said...
Matthew Sablan said...
Even as a Trump agnostic I realize that Trump has few friends in party leadership.
He has few friends in large part because he is a monumental dick. Even I feel some sympathy for the GOPe having to deal with him as leader.
Sometimes you need a monumental dick to screw a monumental cunt.
The GOPe are getting exactly what they deserve.
“I have a right to define what it means to be a conservative and what it means to be a Republican. I think my definition is a lot better than what the other people are doing.”
No he doesn’t. The party’s base decides what it means to be a Republican. And there’s nothing classically conservative about open borders.
In how many election cycles has John Kasich announced his candidacy only to fall headlong into the memory hole after amassing ("garnering" is verboten) a single digit of support. If anyone here has that tally, please forward it in the comments. That's one of the facts I have happily dismissed from my memory as unimportant.
And then there will be an argument about issues and solutions, not who has the better moral character, so why even begin at that level? It's stupid.
Because his actual positions, open borders with no real restrictions on immigration, trade treaties that are advantageous to global corporations but harmful to the working and middle class, sending off young Americans to war with no obvious benefit to the US are losers and he knows it.
We would not elect a saint to the presidency. It's not a moral position.
I agree, but that's all they got. The governing establishment has been reduced to yelling at the opposition that they are not being good Christians. That is not a position of strength. I wonder what they think will happen if they do succeed in removing Trump from office. About 40% of the voters, at least, will consider the US government to be illegitimate.
Tank said...
Sometimes you need a monumental dick to screw a monumental cunt.
Hard to argue with this, although I suspect Chuck will have some thoughts.
Trump says the people are good; Kasich says he is good.
Goodness that goes public turns into the worst sort of evil.
The (Republican) PEOPLE rejected that RINO early on. He appears to still be "saving up spit" to use on President Trump and those Repubicans who nominated Mr. Trump and led others in and out of the GOP to elect him.
"It’s not that I wasn’t well known, I was learning. I wasn’t known at all"
How far Ohio has fallen.
Trump says the people are good; Kasich says he is good.
And that the people are bad.
You all are being very, very bad, vote for me so that I can correct your awful morals. A winning political strategy every time.
Surprising that he really is not a party man. Ran as real Repub in Ohio then flaked out.
In Kasich’s view, the election of Trump and the complicity of party leaders represent a widespread abandonment of good American values
Yes, absolutely but not in the way you mean it. Trump is citizens saying "enough" to Washington. You vilified the polite, nice TeaParty so now you get Trump. Keep it up and you could get worse, much worse. The base is fed up.
Ron - I suspect you are right about his actual positions not fitting well with the positions of many of the voters that turned out and gave Trump the 306 electoral college votes.
BUT IF THAT IS SO, then all this talk about morals is simply another form of Hillary's "Deplorables" misstep. Which makes it stupid. Not morally elevated - just stupid. But at least Hillary came out and said it honestly. Is Kasich really trying to appeal to the donors to set up an end run around the voters with all of this vague talk about morality? If so, he's doing it in what seems like a deceptive manner, at least to me. "More fake than Hillary" cannot be a good campaign slogan.
As anyone who has spent even a few weeks reading this blog must know, Ann has a good eye and ear for falsity. I think this tripped her "hmmm" internal guard wire for good reasons.
It won't work, because remember Jeb Bush's unbeatable money pot? It was all over before it started, in the media. Then the giant insurmountable money lead became a joke. The GOP, regardless of how it feels about Trump, would be making a terrible mistake to believe again that money trumps the voters' priorities in choosing a candidate.
AReasonableMan said...
He has few friends in large part because he is a monumental dick. Even I feel some sympathy for the GOPe having to deal with him as leader.
10/30/17, 6:54 AM
Sorry but I think you are confusing cause and effect, and have it backwards. The GOPe was the cause and Trump is the effect. It is not that the GOPe has to "deal with a dick" it is because the base decided a "dick" was the only way to deal with the GOPe. If Trump is not able to "resolve" the GOPe issue, the next thing the base tries could be much, much worse.
That guy who you don't know who speaks a different language you don't understand and comes from another country with a different history and customs deserves that job just as much as you, especially when he undercuts your wages by working off the books and agreeing to wages that are much, much less than what was prevailing before he showed up.
But, muh compassion!
And that guy who lives in another country who you are being made to train to replace you so that the job can be moved overseas, essentially putting you in competition with people who live in countries where the average annual income is maybe few thousand dollars at most and the guy who comes over on a H1B visa who is essentially working in indentured servitude? That guy deserves the job way more than you because you sir are a redneck!
Notice it's "the campaign against Trump", not for the Republican Party or the WH.
AReasonableMan said...
Tank said...
"Sometimes you need a monumental dick to screw a monumental cunt."
Hard to argue with this, although I suspect Chuck will have some thoughts.
I wouldn't argue with Tank's comment because I don't know what it means. I doubt that Hillary will be a nominee in 2020.
And I find it hard to argue with Althouse on this, because she is talking about her political feelings. And her political feelings are up to her. As usual, she isn't talking about anything specific in the panoply of Trump falsehoods. Just feelings.
The US is post-Christian, not as much as Europe, but fewer and fewer people are going to church and identifying as Christians. University students are being taught that facts and logic are oppressive constructs and that there is no right or wrong, just narratives used to exercise power. Then throw in identity politics. What did they think was going to happen? Because, absent an objective morality and just the one chance on earth, why wouldn't you look at for yourself first, your immediate friends and family second, and everybody else waaaayyyyyy last, as long as it doesn't inconvenience you? Especially once you notice the people who keep droning on about compassion seem to be advocating policies that benefit them but harm you?
On the R side, the person is never perfect enough.
On the D side, we accept full corruption and all sorts of lies, because D.
Whitney said:
"Everyone wants to go back to this mythical time where we all agreed. I think it was more a time where people who didn't agree weren't as noisy about it. But yesterday doesn't follow tomorrow so this is going somewhere else."
This is the truth.
We are missing the forest and concentrating on the trees -- on John Kasich's disapproval of Trump, on Trump's Twitter habits, on the policies of two parties that have spun themselves into irrelevance.
The forest is this: Anger. Outrage. It fueled the Trump campaign and the Sanders insurrection. It is a forest fire kindled by a know-it-all elite class that continues to sneer down its pince-nez at the proles.
If Trump is run out of office, the proles will not turn docile and look to John Kasich or HIllary Clinton for answers. They will find a new vessel for their message.
Eventually we're going to have to take them seriously.
"And I am saying this as someone who wanted to have a moderate Republican to vote for in 2016."
You did. Donald Trump.
Kasich disagrees with Trump on immigration. That is what he means by “basic principles of caring, of love, of compassion, of connectedness..."
He wants to be for mass immigration *and* a common "legacy." Can't have both.
Ralph L said...
Notice it's "the campaign against Trump", not for the Republican Party or the WH.
That is pretty much specifically NOT what Kasich was talking about. Others may want to (I don't exclude myself on that) but if you watched the interview, it was not Kasich's thesis.
RH
Trump says the people are good; Kasich says he is good.
Very good observation. Kasich is yet another "look at me, I'm so virtuous."
He made the fatal mistake of accepting Medicaid expansion in Ohio. Killed his budget, killed him.
Tim in Vermont...
But at least he is consistent, being for importing a new electorate.
This. that new imported electorate who will never vote for him.
You all are being very, very bad, vote for me so that I can correct your awful morals. A winning political strategy every time.
Worked for Obama. But he had a special advantage.
As crude as he is, it's nice to have a president who actually likes his country.
Kassich is on the far, far left of the GOP. He had and has no chance. He needs to FOAD.
I wanted to like Kasich,and I couldn't. He went after Trump in all the wrong ways, and continues to do so. I think he might be good at governing, but his own ego gets in his way.
Very good observation. Kasich is yet another "look at me, I'm so virtuous."
Yep, more of that "you bad people need to go out in that field and die. Its for 'The Future'"
A winning political strategy. Every. Time.
If Kasich really wanted to stop Trump, why didn't he drop out of the 2016 race and let Cruz take on Trump one-on-one? Trump probably still would have won, but Kasich destroyed the slight remaining chance of stopping him by staying in the race.
Kasich's holier-than-thou act is nauseating and transparently ego-driven. Get lost.
Worked for Obama. But he had a special advantage.
Obama's message seemed to be "vote for me and I will redeem the US from the evils of Racism and heal the nations rifts." Oh, and he was running against John McCain. Who was also running to bring about the "glorious future." And upholding his principles.
I wouldn't argue with Tank's comment because I don't know what it means. I doubt that Hillary will be a nominee in 2020.
Some people are having a hard time understanding she's gone from political life. I don't understand it. It's obvious she's too old to run again and the D base wouldn't tolerate it because she lost. I don't know what the Republican party is going to do. I don't think a "Trump-ish"party is going to be sustainable for the future. Boomers are getting older and dying & the younger generation doesn't like Trump.
Speaking of Kasich's personal Christianity, he is a very active member of a very conservative church in the northern Columbus suburbs. (The Anglican Church in America, which broke off from the main Episcopal Church in the dispute over same sex marriage.) He is arguably the most faithful yet least politically proselytizing GOP candidate from 2016.
I live in Ohio and it was reported in our newspaper, he took money from George Soros. That killed any vote for me, and killed any vote for anyone he would support.
We already went down the path of "moderate explicitly Christian president" who, sure enough, imposed his vision of virtue on the entire nation. His name was Woodrow Wilson.
No. Hell, no. No fucking way do I want to go through that again.
Kasich (the new and improved McCain): “I have a right to define what it means to be a conservative and what it means to be a Republican. I think my definition is a lot better than what the other people are doing.”
I, me, my. "I have a right to define ......" As does every other conservative.
Just shut up and go away blowhard.
Humperdink is right, he is just the latest version of Admiral Boom.
Speaking of Kasich's personal Christianity, he is a very active member of a very conservative church in the northern Columbus suburbs.
I'm a pretty active member in a conservative church. Wow! Guess I have to support Kaisch's immigration policy then! Oh, wait a minute. No I don't!
By the way, which one's Pink?
He made the fatal mistake of accepting Medicaid expansion in Ohio. Killed his budget, killed him.
Yes, and I have read that he is a real jerk personally. He is all out for #1.
He was pretty good in the House in the past and so was Flake.
They get national ambitions and they go to the donor class to ask for money. The money comes with strings, chiefly open borders.
Bloomberg, about five years ago, put it best. If we stop illegal immigration, who will rake the sand traps ?
The point about Kasich not dropping out and supporting Cruz is also good. Why can't he play with anyone else ?
He is a loner, probably because he is jerk.
The only person who was going to take on the Administrative State was a crazy billionaire with a sense of what normal people want,
I don;t think he can be beaten in 2020. I just hope he keeps his own private security. I don't trust the USSS.
Also, while the debates WERE ridiculous, part of that is because way too many people with zero chance kept in the race longer than they should have. If team Not Trump had coalesced earlier, we may not have had Trump (or a Republican president, note).
Instead, the whole team of them sabotaged each other.
Kasich couldn’t attend the Republican Convention in his home state. Now he wants to lead the party?
His political career is over.
Also, while the debates WERE ridiculous, part of that is because way too many people with zero chance kept in the race longer than they should have.
The debates were ridiculous because candidates boasted about their dick size.
I don't think a "Trump-ish"party is going to be sustainable for the future. Boomers are getting older and dying & the younger generation doesn't like Trump.
Wait until they start looking for jobs. The college generation knows nothing unless they are STEM majors.
This is the worst college era I can imagine. My daughter who graduated in 2012 was taught lies and she knew it. She came out of college conservative/libertarian. I think a lot of them have.
I dunno. He sounded less bitter, less sky is falling.
I'd call it an improvement over the last several months.
The US in fact doesn't have a conservative party right now. The Dems, as a party, are far-left, and heading left toward the Chavista Black Hole at relativistic velocity. The R's are a center-left party with a few conservatives and libertarians who caucus with them. They're also heading left, but at slower speed. Unfortunately for both parties, the American electorate is, on the whole still mostly center-right.
So with the info Chuck provided we know that the left will call Kaisch a homophobe and won't vote for him and the info from Peggy and the words out of Kaisch's mouth will prevent anyone on the right and lot of people in the center from voting for him either.
Trump is pretty much upending the table as far as national politics goes. Things politicians took as axioms before Trump's election are now being questioned and repudiated. The politicians are confused and frightened. People who thought they got to define the Republican party are being challenged by strange people who have not been vetted properly and who question the reigning orthodoxy.
Kasich is a strange case. Was a solid Class of '94 conservative freshman, excellent on the budget. But he became the worst kind of politician during the primaries in 2016, just pander-pander-pander to the open borders types and the quickly drying pool of "compassionate conservatives" who bought Bush's shtick. I don't need to hear his daddy was a postman in every paragraph of every speech. And I don't buy his assertion that Jesus wants m,e to tax people to death so I can spend other peoples' money and claim to be "helping" the poor. That ain't any theology I recognize, and I know Jesus pretty well.
So Kasich comes off as a huckster and an angry man. He's angry that a non-Republican like Trump stomped all over the field and beat him and the other wimpy establishment types. But Kasich and Jeb lied to our faces when they promised to support the nominee, extracted during the primary when they thought they could trap Trump into a wrong response. But it was they who were lying. I have not forgotten that broken promise. It exemplifies the bad faith with which Kasich operates.
I had high hopes for the man but he's turned into everything I despise about politics, and now the sheen of insincerity on him blinds me to his alleged message.
I don;t think he can be beaten in 2020.
Depends on a lot of things. Economy the most important and who the Ds nominate the next impt. But Trump won by 100,000 votes across 3 states. That's not a lot. That's a University of Alabama home game -- Roll Tide! Trump won in places like Florida because the Panhandle came out BIG. The demographics will change as the population grows older. Also PR is relocating to Florida because no electricity on PR. 70 K at last count & going up.
It's easy to forget the perspective of a 35 year old voter who was 31 & didn't vote in 2016. Don't forget they were too young to remember Bill Clinton and HRC seemed like an old fogey to them. Boomers came out big for Trump, the younger gens much less so. He has to win some of them over to replicate a win as Boomers age out of voting population.
Kasich is a dirt bag. He used to frequent a restaurant where my daughter worked as a server. He was arrogant and over bearing with the staff, demnaded special treatment and items not on the menu, would actually go into the kitchen to harangue the chef, and was a real cheapskate tipper. His wife is every bit as bad, two self-important privileged monsters.
Watch a movie from the '70s that has any outdoor footage and look at how uneven and patchy the lawns are. We desperately needed all of the illegal aliens. The Odd Couple TV series gives a great view of the gritty seventies.
I think it was Ace who said Kasich looks like one of those guys who pees with his hands on his hips.
"But Trump won by 100,000 votes across 3 states."
Real master of statistical analysis, aren't we?
"The demographics will change as the population grows older. "
Yes yes yes, that will be the year that open borders will pay off! But what if his presidency is uneventful, prosperous, and he doesn't start any wars,
I still recall with a smile the night this a-hole won Ohio, the only state he won. The confetti dropped and he stood there with his too young wife grinning like the village idiot. Which he is.
Also, does he have Tourette’s? His facial tics seem to have gotten worse.
Peggy Coffey said...
I live in Ohio and it was reported in our newspaper, he took money from George Soros. That killed any vote for me, and killed any vote for anyone he would support.
Which Ohio newspaper is yours? Can you link to the article?
Here's my link in response to you:
http://www.politifact.com/ohio/statements/2016/apr/04/trusted-leadership-pac/no-george-soros-not-bankrolling-john-kasichs-campa/
As long as Kasich attacks Trump the Democrat media will tell us how great he is, but if Kasich became the R nominee he'd be "literally Hitler"
"But Trump won by 100,000 votes across 3 states."
Real master of statistical analysis, aren't we?
----
I notice we only get these odd analyses when Republicans win. "Well, if this part of X was Y state instead of X, we coulda had Clinton!" But, when Democrats win, it is always a mandate.
If Kasich had won and did the exact same policies as Trump, it would be attacked less, and probably get through congress better, but Kasich would never do those things. Trump is not conservative enough for me, but Kasich is actually a perfect example of the problem. Trump may be imperfect, and sloppy, but Kasich would never even turn the wheel - a wasted Presidency.
"As long as Kasich attacks Trump the Democrat media will tell us how great he is, but if Kasich became the R nominee he'd be "literally Hitler""
-- Exactly. I remember when the left liked Romney and McCain, when they were "literally Hitler," and now that they like them again. The left's opinion on Republicans is... less than useful.
"basic principles of caring, of love, of compassion, of connectedness" To demonstrate which we must: 1. allow in anyone who knocks on the door, or simply barges in, and 2. take more money from people who have earned it and give it to people who haven't. Wait -- isn't there a party already in favor of that?
I wonder if Hitler peed with his hands on his hips.
Frankly, it wouldn't surprise me.
When a politician talks of "compassion," get a tighter grip on your wallet.
The important thing, the thing we must never forget, is that if we don't stop doing things that the electorate supports right now and wins elections right now, and start doing the complete opposite, then we will lose elections in "the future."
Kasich is the biggest pussy in Republican politics today -- quite an accomplishment! Failing to receive 50% of the vote in his own state's primary -- as sitting governor -- should have been a clue, but not for that dumbass.
"What, and give up show business...?"
If his campaign goes on until 2020, it will be EARLY 2020, but in the meantime he gets all kind of swell cash from the USCofC types and the adulation of all the "right" people.
Memo to Mr Kasich: If, through some turn of outrageous fortune, you end up with the GOP nomination, the people currently tongue-bathing you will turn on you like a pack of hungry wolves (cf. John S. "Most Maverick-y Maverick Ever to Maverick His Way Across the Aisle to Abjectly Sell Out His Party" McCain III).
"There has to be a fundamental change, in my opinion, with all of us."
Good luck with that.
Trump was inevitable in some form
I've said this before, but Trump is the Gracchi. Hope he has better luck.
Feranandinande wins the thread.
"...yearning to restore to American citizens the “basic principles of caring, of love, of compassion, of connectedness, of a legacy..."
Kinda sounds like he's calling some people deplorable.
I am Laslo.
Kasich is an important man. That is his message over and over again. He wants this to be 1995 again when he was one Gingrich's team and wonderful Bill Clinton was allowing them to make America great. That's about it. Too bad the political world has left this great man behind.
"There has to be a fundamental change, in my opinion, with all of us."
You first.
So his philosophy is based on the premise that nobody is right about anything. I guess that's one way to bring us all together, but it's not leadership, and it's not vision. It's confusion and paralysis.
Kasich had a fair shot at beating Trump in the primaries, but lost.
He'll have a fair shot in 2020, too, and will likely lose too.
No need for desperate, emotional interviews.
".yearning to restore to American citizens the “basic principles of caring, of love, of compassion, of connectedness, of a legacy..."
Sorry but that's not part of the job description, and Jesus is not eligible for the job. You do realize it's a job, right? You get the authority to do things with the levers. You don't get to do therapy and there is no singing around a campfire.
His earnest sincere claims about being sincere and earnest remind me of that line about when you have to explain the joke...
Imagine four years without starting a war! Obama couldn't manage it.
Kasich, the big donor suckup couldn't either,I bet.
Shorter Kasich: People don't agree with me and that needs to change.
Does anyone besides me detect a whiff of Harold Stassen coming from this man? His party left him, the electorate left him, but the presidency seems to be right there, just outside his reach.
Kasich projects same entitlement that Bush III did. Funny, you don't hear these ugly platitudes from Rubio or Cruz.
What's the appeal with this guy? He's ugly as a mud fence. He speaking style is grating. His views are moderate mush.
OTOH, the commie-pinko media will be all-in until the convention.
He'll be a lobbyist again soon. He's posturing for his next job.
The postman always whinges twice.
I was in D. C. during part of his congress-critter phase. He was a bully (OK, use dick if you wish) using his power to bend the rules to his advantage.
Look up the UTube video of him being a dick to a cop then blasting the cop in a speech.
It's dicks all the way down.
Kasich is going postal on Trump.
I suspect this is all part of the same old problem in US politics and society in general - there is no way to succeed in politics without money, and to get it one has to sing the right songs - thats not new of course. What is new (and it would be interesting to explore the reasons why) is the uniformity being required.
Only a billionaire can hope for independence. And not even that, it has to be a billionaire with superlative demagogic skill.
The funny thing is that Trump's stand in opposition to current trade and immigration policies -- which are the two issues with which he kicked off his campaign --were standard liberal fare a generation ago (cf. Bill Clinton and Barbara Jordan respectively). Today his signature issues are considered beyond the pale and down-right racist by all right-thinking "progressives." What happened?
For those who are interested I discuss trade policy in a piece I wrote 25 years ago predicting exactly what is happening today: (https://goo.gl/7st4y6)
"For the Ohio governor, the campaign against Trump never stopped.
It never really started either.
Kasich is the perfect fall guy the "lifelong republicans" and their lefty allies desire for the republican party. Kasich would pull a McCain and spend all of his time attacking the republican base...like some other GOPe/lifelong republicans we all know.
Boomers are getting older and dying & the younger generation doesn't like Trump.
Tell that to r/The_Donald or /pol/. I think both skew young and they like Trump, or at least like the idea of Trump - tweets and meme wars.
If we look at the population of young people in the U.S., it's probably true that the majority are not Trump fans. The problem is, even if they prefer politician X over Trump, they aren't enthusiastic about their support. Clinton and CTR tried to fake the enthusiasm that the 'pedes had naturally. It didn't work. One group was slogging along while the other was having fun.
I haven't seen any evidence that inspiring fun is in Kasich's skill set.
“a momentary lapse of reason,” he says, “to quote Pink Floyd.”
Geez, John, if you're going to show off your hipster bona fides by quoting Pink Floyd, can't you at least quote one of their good albums? (I have a buddy who refers to that LP as "A Momentary Lapse of Talent".)
Here, let me try:
"This whole Russia thing is a Saucerful of Secrets!"
"Trump's policies seem to be coming from the Dark Side of the Moon!"
"I hope Trump doesn't try to Meddle in North Korea!"
"Trump shouldn't be building..." (Well, you get the idea.)
mccullough: "He'll be a lobbyist again soon. He's posturing for his next job"
This.
If you want a well paid role in the establishment-politics biz it's never to early or too late to get your anti-Trump talking points in to reinforce your establishment viewpoint bona fides.
"I think I'm going to puke, reddish pinkly."
This reddish pinkly glob of pukey-looking stuff found in the woods - what is it? Bear puke? A stomach? An inside-out octopus?
Meh. Kasich.
Trump got elected in large part by running for the Presidency of The United States of America and not for the Presidency of The United Mexican States. Kasich may well be a fine governor but the man hasn't a clue on what the electorate of the nation wants. As an aside, the Democrats in their primaries offered the primary voters a choice between a grifter, criminal, traitor and an half out the closet Communist. And they are doubling down on stupid for now. As it stands, the Democrats can't win with running Communists and being anti-white male.
Only a billionaire can hope for independence. And not even that, it has to be a billionaire with superlative demagogic skill.
And being crazy enough to think you can beat the "home team" helps, too.
The people rejected Kasich. He doesn't seem to grasp that, blabbering on about what should be rather than facing what is.
-sw
He's refusing to acknowledge *why* Trump was elected.
He's the guy who just KNOWS that he's right, regardless of what is ACTUALLY HAPPENING.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilting_at_windmills
And that's how you're going to get four more years of Trump, Spaghetti-Monster.
Bagoh said..
Sorry but that's not part of the job description, and Jesus is not eligible for the job. You do realize it's a job, right? You get the authority to do things with the levers. You don't get to do therapy and there is no singing around a campfire.
Exactomundo
We are all helpless babies needing group therapy from on high.
the big sweep of Trump's former this and former that.
So incredible that The Clintons/ Obama's DOJ and Mueller himself get a pass.
I suppose Mueller cannot indict himself.
Kasich reminds me of the type of Republican whom the media loves until they get nominated for POTUS, then look out. And Kasich is too stupid to know the difference.
Read the indictment.
I'm not seeing the part where they forced Russians to buy facebook ads tricking people into not understanding how wonderful Hillary is.
People call you "Kashit." That's how much they love you.
AReasonableMan said...
BREAKING: Another Charged
10/30/17, 10:06 AM
Oh My God! You have cracked the case WIDE open! "Not Trump" is indited and "Not Trump" is charged with crimes!
In other news, Hillary still not President.
Unlike most Democrats and Liberals, if Trump is found actually guilty of "high crimes and misdemeanors" (and unlike when a Democrat is in charge, I am sure that a deep and wide investigation will take place) I want him gone and gone fast and I think most conservatives/Republicans would. Whereas with Democrats, their officials can molest, rape, and kill women with impunity, have secret servers, meet with officials on runways, and get the answers to debate questions with impunity (I could go on but I think you get the picture). So continue your "screaming at the sky" if it makes you feel better but understand that the right knows full well that the left has no conscience, no morality, no shame, and no principles, and will use anyone or anything to get their hands on power, the rules, the system, and decency be damned.
Why does Kasich look desperate? Because he knows he spent the 2016 primary being a force for Trump. He stayed in until Cruz dropped out solely to pull votes from Cruz.
Kasich was a Trump enabler. He should be desperate, and ashamed
Kasich was a rising star at one point in the mid to late 1990s. However, his heart really wasn't into politics and he abandoned the field. Winning the governorship of Ohio could have resurrected that career, but for whatever reasons, he was unwilling to stake out the winning policy positions that would have allowed him to distinguish himself from the likes of Jeb! and Rubio. Basically all Kasich did last year was make it impossible for Cruz to make any headway after the field narrowed to just Kasich, Cruz, and Trump (though I think Trump would have still beaten Cruz heads up after early March if Kasich has left the race).
And I find it hard to argue with Althouse on this, because she is talking about her political feelings. And her political feelings are up to her. As usual, she isn't talking about anything specific in the panoply of Trump falsehoods. Just feelings.
Repeal the 19th.
“I have a right to define what it means to be a conservative and what it means to be a Republican. I think my definition is a lot better than what the other people are doing.”
He has no more right than anyone else to define "conservative," and considerably less right than the actual, you know, Republican Party to define what is a "Republican."
The man has lost it, he is borderline personality disorder.
And I agree with Yancey Ward--the main thing Kasich accomplished in 2016 was to be in Cruz's way when it could have been a 2-horse race. Trump probably would have won, but Kasich muddied the waters for Cruz. Maybe that's what is driving Kasich into the fever swamps: Knowing but not being able to admit that he and his big ego helped nominate Trump.
Blogger Chuck said...
AReasonableMan said...
Tank said...
"Sometimes you need a monumental dick to screw a monumental cunt."
Hard to argue with this, although I suspect Chuck will have some thoughts.
I wouldn't argue with Tank's comment because I don't know what it means. I doubt that Hillary will be a nominee in 2020.
Poor Chuck thinks Hillary was the cunt. The GOPe really doesn't understand how much everyone hates them.
The reason I could never get behind McCain was that he is labeled a moderate, but it is not moderation. Rather, McCain would look at any issue and pick a side. Sometimes the side was on the right, sometimes on the left. The issue was that it was often inconsistent with any particular political philosophy.
I thought McCain was someone the country could rally around, who would attract not only independents but moderate Dems, and who would not get engaged in the culture wars, making those who did look like the outrageous fools they are.
I thought McCain was someone my neighbors in Boston would have to seriously consider.
I was dead wrong.
Part of that was the financial collapse, for sure. But beneath that it was clear the left and their media allies were going to paint him as someone "too radical" to hold office. And of course McCain, like Bush before him and Romeny after him, thought he didn't need to counter those claims because any rational person could see how ridiculous they were.
That's how the country got Trump. And that's how people like Kasich became irrelevant.
Let me make it clear, I don't think Kasich stayed in the race to stymie Cruz- Kasich really thought he could deny Trump the majority of delegates needed, and, if failing that, could be the candidate the convention rallied around if the establishment worked to deny Trump the nomination at that event. Both beliefs, however, almost disqualify Kasich, in my opinion, and, as Martin states just above- this idea that Kasich gets to define conservatism is basically an elitist point of view, and is why you get more Trump. While the GOP-elite is pontificating about what conservatism is, Trump goes to the party's voters for what really matters still- votes.
Kasich really thought he could deny Trump the majority of delegates needed, and, if failing that, could be the candidate the convention rallied around if the establishment worked to deny Trump the nomination at that event.
Isn't that worse than trying to stymie Cruz? Isn't thinking you'll have the third-most delegates but will be coronated by the GOPe anyway a big F-YOU to the people who took the time to vote?
Isn't that the very definition of "we know better than the people"?
I'll give Trump this: unlike O and Kasich, he doesn't affect an air of moral superiority. It is refreshing that our inferiors cannot patronize us from the WH.
Achilles said...
Blogger Chuck said...
AReasonableMan said...
Tank said...
"Sometimes you need a monumental dick to screw a monumental cunt."
"Hard to argue with this, although I suspect Chuck will have some thoughts."
"I wouldn't argue with Tank's comment because I don't know what it means. I doubt that Hillary will be a nominee in 2020."
Poor Chuck thinks Hillary was the cunt. The GOPe really doesn't understand how much everyone hates them.
Well if what you are saying is that the Republican leadership, or the whole Republican Party, are "cunts," then thank you very little and why the hell are you having anything to do with the Party? Go form your own American Nationalist party.
Well if what you are saying is that the Republican leadership, or the whole Republican Party, are "cunts," then thank you very little and why the hell are you having anything to do with the Party? Go form your own American Nationalist party.
I don't think one follows from the other.
What has the Republican Party done in the last decade? i would argue very little. And for someone to argue otherwise would be to argue the they essentially went along with what the Dems were proposing so they should share the credit.
We don't need two globalist parties. Just like we don't need two open borders parties or two parties working to expand taxes and spending. The point of Democracy is to have a choice. And if there is no choice, there is no democracy.
What's happening under Trump is not a "distortion" of the Republican Party, but a reemergence of it as an actual choice compared to the Democratic establishment.
Bernie Sanders was the attempt by the Democrats to create choice as well. They were saying, that the mainstream Dems had become unrecognizable from the mainstream Republicans, and so to restore democracy they too were trying to create an alternative choice.
I applauded both of these efforts. Not because I wanted to choose them, but because I wanted people to have the option to do so.
Well stated Kevin. And to your other comment that replied to mine, I agree completely.
Yancey Ward said...
Let me make it clear, I don't think Kasich stayed in the race to stymie Cruz- Kasich really thought he could deny Trump the majority of delegates needed
then Kasich was so delusional he needs extended psychiatric care, or so stupid I'm impressed he can speak.
By the time it was down to 3, most ares were "winner take all", and Kasich was always 3rd. The only thing he could accomplish was to keep Cruz from wining.
Mission accomplished, Kasich. now go away and burn in hell.
Well if what you are saying is that the Republican leadership, or the whole Republican Party, are "cunts," then thank you very little and why the hell are you having anything to do with the Party? Go form your own American Nationalist party.
I've already explained, Chuck. We'd rather just take yours. It's easier.
That's what happens when you're weak. People come along and take your stuff.
At least he got the Pink Floyd reference right.
> same old problem in US politics and society in general - there is no way to succeed in politics without money, and to get it one has to sing the right songs
> What is new (and it would be interesting to explore the reasons why) is the uniformity being required.
Kasich failure is not due to catering to donors.
The "same old problem" is the massive egos and shamelessness of politicians.
His election problems are not due to new requirements for uniformity.
His problem is virtue signalling. establish-cons are trained seals for the media. Kasich "Jesus Christ Pose" is for them, not the voters.
Hate the players, not the game. Kasich does suck.
“I have a right to define what it means to be a conservative and what it means to be a Republican."
No you don't, you arrogant self-centered ass.
I think it was Ace who said Kasich looks like one of those guys who pees with his hands on his hips.
He doesn't do it sitting down?
He has few friends in large part because he is a monumental dick. - ARM
And yet, once again, he's still better - and more likeable - than the vile, corrupt bitch you voted for.
He has few friends in large part because he is a monumental dick. - ARM
And yet, once again, he's still better - and more likeable - than the vile, corrupt bitch you voted for.
Honestly, if Kasich had been the nominee vs HRC, I think I might have sat it out. He's just that bad. Probably, possibly, not worse than her, but the GOP would have to be punished for serving its polity that particular meal.
I bet he smells bad.
Unknown quoted someone: Trump was inevitable in some form
And replied: I've said this before, but Trump is the Gracchi. Hope he has better luck.
I have to add: While the campaign was going on, I discovered "Hardcore History" a podcast from this non-historian telling stories. He did a multi-part (20 hour plus) series on the death of the Roman Republic. So not only did I get your Gracchi reference, I was impressed at how much history repeated itself: the repeated rise of reformers who threatened the establishment and how they were assassinated, only to have a worse version rise in response. Until the republic fell apart into civil war, wholesale destruction, and the arrival in Rome, ahead of his army, of the first despot. Chilling and compelling.
Kasich: "If people knew better they'd like me. Ya know..my Dad worked for the post office!"
Best quote about Kasich: "And we voters did our part, passing judgment on the candidates, thinning the herd, rejecting them one by one. Sometimes we had to reject them more than once; John Kasich didn’t get the message until his own staff felled him with tranquilizer darts."
- Dave Barry, Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/living/liv-columns-blogs/dave-barry/article123321019.html
John Kasich says "we need to pull people together, so we can pull people together"
i heard it on the radio, and he sounded fine. The only thing that stood out was how much he was tooting his own horn, but otherwise, nothing that out of the ordinary. He also talked about the rise of gen exers and millenials, which I thought was smart.
Seriously, there is no one that can go up to Kasich, pull him aside and say: "Hey...I hate to be the one to break it to you dude...but this whole presidency thing just isn't happening..."?
I am a consevative and aRepublican voter in Ohio. Kasich made his name as a budget hawk in the 90s. He ran for governor promising fiscally sound government and campaigning for right to work. The unions slapped him down but good. Then he decided to run for Prez and the “Open lane” was the “moderate.” A moderate Republican who voted to expand Medicaid to the tune of an exploding budget. The Kasich conveniently leaves office before the federal slush funds for Obamacare run out. He has betrayed his contituents and deserves to retire in ignominy.
Kasich was irrelevant after New Hampshire. He won’t be able to raise a million bucks in 2020.
If Trump chooses to run, he will be popular and no Republican will have a chance. The Democrats are going to nominate Bernie or Elizabeth Warren or Kamala Harris or some other Leftist. Trump will win relatively comfortably.
Kasich was irrelevant after New Hampshire. He won’t be able to raise a million bucks in 2020.
If Trump chooses to run, he will be popular and no Republican will have a chance. The Democrats are going to nominate Bernie or Elizabeth Warren or Kamala Harris or some other Leftist. Trump will win relatively comfortably.
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