He has loaned his campaign a fair chunk of money that he'll be paid back, his whole "self funded campaign" schtick is disingenuous at best. But Trump so c'mon, you know he's full of crap.
Another week, another poll (Quinnipiac) making clear the person most people want to be President: John Kasich. Yes, the man who seemingly can't even win more than 30% of his own party's primary votes once again beats Hillary and Bernie in a hypothetical. You have to think if the numbers keep showing he wins regardless of Democratic nominee, the establishment will do everything possible to rig the convention for him.
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Kasich is only in that position because he's unknown. Were he to become the actual nominee, his record, views, and positions are all brought forward and he gets exactly as many electoral votes as Romney.
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But that's his advantage right now, he's going to still be in the race but he won't be in the news every single day like every other candidate. People can't get sick of him if he's never around. I also think he's a much better candidate than Romney in terms of general appeal simply in that he's not a snobish rich a-hole. Really everyone still needs to be deeply vetted in this race except Hillary pretty much, so everyone has room to fall. Getting indicted really is the only thing that could make her less likable but that obviously takes her out of the race. Kasich might not even need to get vetted as he's still a longshot to win a convention, but we'll see what the establishment has in mind for the convention.
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"Think I'm gonna be the scapegoat for the whole damn machine? Sheeee......."
I said a few months back that this would lead up to a contested convention and it is looking like that prediction is coming to fruition. What is a little surprising to me is I thought Rubio would be the candidate the Republican god makers would coalesce around, but it looks like it is going to be someone not currently in the race. It sounds like Charles Koch is throwing his weight and money behind Paul Ryan as a convention surprise and a nominee from the floor. Nice curve ball!
What a waste of money this whole American political machine is. And time too. I can't believe how convoluted they do things down there.
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To me the whole super delegate concept is completely anti-democratic. Sanders is starting to lay the wood to Hillary and the super delegates are going to sweep in and elect her.
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To me the whole super delegate concept is completely anti-democratic. Sanders is starting to lay the wood to Hillary and the super delegates are going to sweep in and elect her.
Super delegates are there to ensure the ubber rich get who they want to lead the party. Hillary won this election before it even started.
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Super delegates are there to ensure the ubber rich get who they want to lead the party. Hillary won this election before it even started.
She keeps on losing out the longer she is in public in almost every appreciable measure. Started out with huge leads everywhere in what looked to be her anointed coronation but everything she touches turns into a scandal. In some of these cases these are borderline criminal.
The longer she is out in public, the worse she looks and the less people like her. She hasn't had any direct press interaction for months where her questions haven't been cherry picked and worse of all cannot even handle an old 74 year old socialist from Vermont who has been playing clean with her. Her own campaign is quite aware of all this and seem to have taken a strategy of bunker down and keep eyes off Hillary. Limited debates, avoided questions, etc
She hasn't had any direct press interaction for months where her questions haven't been cherry picked
Funny story: No one has had any substantive or tough questions asked of them at all. In the last two weeks the Donald and Bernie were the first two to actually get taken to task a little bit, and they both looked awful when asked to get into any detail about their plans. Ultimately the press has been a spectacular failure in this election, more so the television media which has been basically on its knees for the candidates because of the desperation for ratings, lofting softballs and refusing to get tough. If they got tough on Trump months ago he'd already be out. But then they'd be out all the ad revenue too.
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This list is from http://www.ontheissues.org/John_Kasich.htm They have bullet pointed lists which summarize his quotes and statements and then provide links to his quotes. I selected his more recent quotes on each topic.
Spoiler!
Abortion
Defund Planned Parenthood, like we are trying in Ohio. (Sep 2015)
Admire pregnant women who don't treat cancer to protect baby. (Jun 2010)
Opposes federal abortion funding. (Aug 2010)
Budget & Economy
Ohio went from $8 billion deficit to $2 billion surplus. (Feb 2016)
We're nowhere close to a balanced budget; needs 3 things... (Jan 2016)
Working families are nervous with economic uncertainty. (Jan 2016)
Economic theory is fine, but people need help. (Nov 2015)
No more silly deals; amendment for Balanced Budget. (Oct 2015)
National tour to call for a balanced-budget amendment. (Mar 2015)
Balanced Budget Forever: promote constitutional amendment. (Feb 2015)
Sarbanes-Oxley deters legitimate American business. (May 2006)
(The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was a response to Worldcom and Enron and protects investors from corporate malfeasance).
Civil Rights
Pray for customers with whom you disagree, but sell to them. (Feb 2016)
Government employees should comply with gay marriage ruling. (Sep 2015)
Can respect and love gay people. (Aug 2015)
I attended a gay wedding; accept the Supreme Court ruling. (Aug 2015)
I support traditional marriage, but it's time to move on. (Jun 2015)
Admires courage of Aung San Suu Kyi & Rosa Parks. (Jun 2010)
Corporations
Worked for Lehman Brothers before the Great Recession. (Oct 2015)
No income taxes on small businesses up to $2M. (Feb 2015)
OpEd: Don't pick winners & losers? Offers 12 tax credits. (Oct 2005)
Crime
Save money by converting prisoners to taxpayers. (Aug 2015)
Community must understand challenge of police & deadly force. (Aug 2015)
Death penalty is consistent with justice & Christian values. (May 2015)
It's God's job to judge if punishment fits the crime. (Jun 2010)
Drugs
Don't send mixed signals to kids by legalizing. (Oct 2015)
The tsunami of drugs threatens families. (Aug 2015)
50% lower chance of drug use if kids hear "don't do drugs". (Feb 2015)
Refuse to celebrate the drug-filled lifestyle. (May 2006)
Voted YES on prohibiting needle exchange & medical marijuana in DC. (Oct 1999)
Education
Go after cost drivers in colleges, like sell parking lots. (Oct 2015)
We need charter schools, with state oversight. (Jul 2015)
$120 million student debt relief fund; plus online college. (Feb 2015)
Bible stories are historical facts. (Jun 2010)
Did earth come about on its own? Evidence says No. (Jun 2010)
Our broken public school system is beyond fixing. (May 2006)
Competition is what's missing from public school monopoly. (May 2006)
Not enough money for public schools? Aw, give me a break!. (May 2006)
Energy
20,000 jobs from fracking plus 300,000 other jobs. (Nov 2015)
Yes, Ohio won with fracking, but we're diversified. (Oct 2015)
Balanced use of green energy & low-cost energy. (Sep 2015)
Climate change is a real issue, but the extent is unproven. (Aug 2015)
Raise severance tax on oil & gas from 20 cents upward. (Feb 2015)
Voted NO on starting implementation of Kyoto Protocol. (Jun 2000)
Environment
We should not worship environment like pantheists. (Jun 2015)
Families and Children
Put pimps in jail & treat women as victims of trafficking. (Feb 2016)
A big mosaic: we all take care of each other. (Feb 2016)
We need to rebuild our families and neighborhoods. (Oct 2015)
Nothing is more important to me than faith, family & friends. (Aug 2015)
Foreign Policy
I have a longer track record with Israel than any candidate. (Feb 2016)
Chinese are best way to calm down North Korea. (Feb 2016)
US should not be world's police in places like Iraq. (Feb 2016)
Supports Saudi Arabia but knock it off with radical clerics. (Jan 2016)
We need coalition of Arab countries, like Bush-41 did. (Jan 2016)
Pause accepting Syrian refugees to create stringent checks. (Nov 2015)
China doesn't own the South China Sea; show US Navy there. (Nov 2015)
No more dickering & delays: Syria's Assad has got to go. (Oct 2015)
Keep Iran accountable, WITHIN the existing Nuclear Deal. (Sep 2015)
Syrian refugee situation is fundamentally a European crisis. (Sep 2015)
Refugee crisis is on Europe, but US also has responsibility. (Sep 2015)
Fight ISIS with a coalition including US ground troops. (Jul 2015)
Free Trade
Shut down trade when countries dump in America. (Mar 2016)
I support fair trade against dumping, to protect steel. (Jan 2016)
TPP is a strategic alliance against China. (Nov 2015)
Government Reform
My judicial appointments are solid conservatives. (Feb 2016)
Country too partisan to appoint justice before election. (Feb 2016)
Freeze all federal regulations for one year. (Jan 2016)
Let states decide how to govern themselves, not DC. (Oct 2015)
Move power, money and influence out of Washington. (Sep 2015)
Skinny-down bureaucracy & kick out special interests. (Nov 2010)
Bible study group swelled during 1992 House banking scandal. (Jun 2010)
Separating church and state is goofy misinterpretation. (Jun 2010)
Gun Control
Registering mentally ill is first priority in gun control. (Nov 2015)
2nd Amendment advocate: NRA rating changed from "F" to "A". (Aug 2015)
Health Care
Give financial incentive for low cost & good outcomes. (Feb 2016)
Ohio expanded Medicaid but not for ObamaCare. (Feb 2016)
We save $22,500 a year by treating addicts & mentally ill. (Feb 2016)
We reduced Medicaid funding by 7.5% with no benefit cuts. (Nov 2015)
Ohio took Medicaid from 10% to 2.5%. (Oct 2015)
Expand Medicaid; everybody has a right to God-given purpose. (Aug 2015)
Opposes ObamaCare but not all public programs. (Aug 2015)
Shift funding from nursing homes to home-based care. (Mar 2015)
Accepted ObamaCare's Medicaid expansion statewide. (Feb 2015)
Expand Medicaid to 275,000 poor Ohioans, but not ObamaCare. (Oct 2013)
Homeland Security
$100B more to rebuild the military, with Pentagon reforms. (Feb 2016)
No more Syrian refugees in Ohio or anywhere in USA. (Nov 2015)
Expand voucher program for veterans' healthcare. (Sep 2015)
Iran nuke deal makes us stronger; we could restart sanctions. (Sep 2015)
Make a coalition to fight ISIS in Syria. (Aug 2015)
Run drone program out of Pentagon, not the CIA. (Apr 2015)
$1B per plane for B-2 is a colossal misuse of money. (May 2007)
Immigration
I created jobs in Congress & in Ohio; let's make it thrice. (Nov 2015)
When you balance the budget & cut taxes, people get work. (Nov 2015)
Don't raise minimum wage willy-nilly, & do it at state level. (Sep 2015)
Limit collective-bargaining rights for public employees. (Mar 2015)
2011: Public employee union reforms overturned by voters. (Feb 2015)
No strikes allowed for public employees. (Nov 2013)
Principles & Values
America's great, and you can shoot for the stars. (Feb 2016)
Establishment lane, anti-establishment lane & Kasich lane. (Jan 2016)
Need to promote Western values to win war of ideas. (Nov 2015)
Capitalism needs values to avoid unfettered greed. (Nov 2015)
Conservative government will rebuild American from bottom up. (Nov 2015)
Get this country moving again. (Oct 2015)
For the presidency. qualifications trump personal religion. (Sep 2015)
Battle radicals by showing greatness of west. (Sep 2015)
America is great because it's run from the bottom up. (Sep 2015)
I can't figure out how anyone gets along without the Bible. (May 2006)
Religion
The Lord wants America to succeed and for America to lead. (Aug 2015)
Biblical manifesto: old law is gone; have faith in God. (Jun 2010)
Belonged to Bible study group for 20 years. (Jun 2010)
I find God every other Monday. (Jun 2010)
Learned faith via pastor dying of cancer. (Jun 2010)
Sought God after parents' death in car crash. (Jun 2010)
Living life of faith can be a liberating thing. (Jun 2010)
Objective moral values have existed since Creation. (Jun 2010)
Social Security
Fix Social Security by lowering benefits. (Oct 2015)
Tax Reform
My plan is no fantasy; I moved Ohio from $8B to $2B surplus. (Oct 2015)
No taxes on small business; kill the death tax. (Oct 2015)
Eliminated the Ohio estate tax but hiked cigarette taxes. (Mar 2015)
$3 billion in tax cuts for job creators. (Feb 2015)
Lower taxes to create competitive climate. (Nov 2010)
Technology
Get Silicon Valley people to solve Pentagon problems. (Jan 2016)
Broadcast Judeo-Christian values abroad, to help defeat ISIS. (Nov 2015)
Replace "Rust Belt" with Cloud computing and 3-D printing. (Feb 2015)
Faith matters, but so does building up expertise. (Jun 2010)
Journalists should ask, "Am I reporting or pimping?". (May 2006)
Do better job labeling movies for graphic content. (May 2006)
War & Peace
We need more than Special Forces in Libya. (Mar 2016)
Arm the Ukrainians and fight ISIS in Syria, Libya. (Feb 2016)
How to deal with Russia on Ukraine: Punch 'em in the nose. (Feb 2016)
If there weren't WMDs in Iraq, we shouldn't have gone. (Feb 2016)
Find moderate rebels in Syria; work with them against Assad. (Dec 2015)
No-fly zone 1st priority, but ok with more aid for refugees. (Nov 2015)
Invading force but no occupying force in Syria. (Nov 2015)
US ground troops in Syria, but not involved in civil war. (Nov 2015)
Work with allies like Israel, Egypt, Jordan. (Nov 2015)
Destroy ISIS, with US troops as part of coalition. (Nov 2015)
No-fly zone in Syria & sanctuaries, enforced by U.S. (Oct 2015)
Constitution requires Congress' approval of Iran nuke deal. (Sep 2015)
We operate better in the world when our allies work with us. (Sep 2015)
I'm a "cheap hawk": Cut Pentagon waste, but not spending. (Sep 2015)
Fight ISIS by supporting Kurds and educating Iraqis. (Aug 2015)
Iran nuke deal: verify, verify, verify, without the trust. (Apr 2015)
Welfare & Poverty
Let's reform welfare for rich people as well as poor. (Oct 2015)
There are moral and practical reasons to help the poor. (Aug 2015)
Matthew 25 commands us to aid the less fortunate. (Mar 2015)
People who played by the rules suffered; act decisively now. (Feb 2015)
Reach out and help those who live in the shadows. (Feb 2015)
Replace war on the poor with Christian compassion. (Oct 2013)
Chaired committee which overhauled the welfare system. (Nov 2010)
Here's the matrix he falls on at ontheissues.com:
The dude is a pretty bog-standard conservative. I really can't see anything which distinguishes him from a million other mid-west/northwest Republicans. A couple things which jump out at me as positive:
On Civil Rights: I attended a gay wedding; accept the Supreme Court ruling. (Aug 2015)
I support traditional marriage, but it's time to move on. (Jun 2015). On Wall Street: Wall Street is vital for the US, but often times too greedy. (Apr 2015). On Foreign Policy: Keep Iran accountable, WITHIN the existing Nuclear Deal. (Sep 2015).
However, that is overwhelmed by the mass of standard conservative stupidity on a number of issues: Defund Planned Parenthood, Balanced Budget Amendment, Death penalty consistent with Christian values, No to legalizing drugs, Bible stories are historical facts, etc. etc.
The things which are non-starters for me are 1) The Balanced Budget Amendment is just... anyone who supports this idea has no idea how the economy of a nation works, it's such a stupid idea. 2) Almost all of his foreign policy: Invade Syria, 'punch Putin in the nose' over the Ukraine, No-Fly Zone in Syria, Close the country to refugees. 3) This dumb-ass idea: "Freeze all federal regulations for one year." (Jan 2016). 4) The NRA taking him from an F to an A rating - it speaks to a lack of principles in my mind. 5) No strikes for public employees. 6) Tax cuts for "job creators" ... anyone who uses that term is lying to either you or themselves.
He stands out as the only one on the stage at Republican debates who isn't actually existentially terrifying, but he's just George W. Bush redux, perhaps slightly smarter.
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So I know that Mr. SCD will vehemently rebut this statement, but I don't see how Sanders doesn't become the nominee if he wins in New York and California. Long shots, yes, but even with the delegate count, it is hard to count that kind of support out.
So I know that Mr. SCD will vehemently rebut this statement, but I don't see how Sanders doesn't become the nominee if he wins in New York and California. Long shots, yes, but even with the delegate count, it is hard to count that kind of support out.
If he goes to the convention winning New York and California....but still trails in the raw vote total and the delegate count, he has no claim at all to being the nominee. Not sure how anyone could think he does at that point. So just winning those states is not enough, he needs to surpass the delegate count at least and preferably for him both benchmarks. If he wins New York and California by 1% each, it's a pretty weak argument to be behind in delegate/vote totals, but claim to be the nominee because he won New York and California. Now you're risking splitting the party geographically and saying certain states don't matter as much as others. His only chance to be the nominee is to overtake her on pledged delegates. We'll see where he's at after the 19th/26th run of closed primaries.
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"Think I'm gonna be the scapegoat for the whole damn machine? Sheeee......."
