The case against Kasich

In mid-October, everyone was preparing for the first Republican Debate hosted by Fox News. The top-tier debate, as it is known, consisted of candidates Jeb Bush, Donald Trump, Rick Perry, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Chris Christie, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Mike Huckabee, and Scott Walker.

​Well, until the Governor of Ohio John Kasich announced his candidacy.

Coming into an already crowded Republican Primary, Governor Kasich unseated Rick Perry from the top tier debate and banished Perry’s campaign to oblivion. After that first debate, he was championed by the media as having a great performance. Several months into the election cycle, some still think that John Kasich is the man to help America.

I tend to disagree. Governor Kasich claims, time and time again, to be a leader with conservative, Christian principles who knows how to get stuff done. How conservative is he, really? Let’s look at his political record.

In 1994, Kasich was one of the Republican leaders in the House who agreed to a last-minute deal with then-President Bill Clinton to pass the Federal Assault Weapons Ban. He led 42 other Republicans across party lines to vote with the Democrats to ban “assault” weapons.[1] His support of the infamous “assault” weapons ban caused the National Rifle Association to give Kasich an “F” rating in 1994.[2]

If this doesn’t give most Republicans a red flag, I don’t know what will. The protection of our Constitutional 2nd Amendment rights are key to the values of the Republican Party. However, this isn’t the only time he’d side with liberals in his life.

As Governor, Kasich has championed the Common Core Standards and has accused most Republicans who turned against it of playing politics. Not only that, but the State of Ohio has the country’s ninth-largest achievement gap in reading, as well as the second largest achievement gap in math and the fourth largest in high school graduation.[3]

All of this, under his watch. Is that really a conservative, or a RINO? Common Core is known for being a dumbing down of standards that many of us already have in place. Common Core math has been proven to be ridiculously convoluted. If you don’t believe me, check out the Top Ten Most Ridiculous Common Core Math Problems So Far. However, this isn’t the end of the atrocity that is Common Core. One of the books that is recommended reading for 11th and 12th graders is “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison, a Nobel Prize winning author. To summarize the book, it’s a pornographic/erotic novel about rape, incest, and pedophilia.[4] [5]

How can any Christian, conservative, or even decent man support these standards, with what’s entailed in them? It is appalling, and diametrically opposed to conservatism. Heck, it’s even diametrically opposed to decency!

These are just two of the liberal positions that John Kasich has held over his 36 year political career. His career alone is enough for me to oppose him, but that my friends, is a topic for another article.

In conclusion, Governor John Kasich is simply not a conservative, constitutional stalwart. He isn’t. Let us recognize him for who he is: another John McCain, Lindsey Graham, or Mitt Romney. A gutless flip-flopper, who will do anything for a vote. He is more of the same-old, same-old. More centrism. More catering to Obama and Establishment Republicans. More loss of civil liberties. John Kasich is exactly what’s wrong with the Republican Party today. He is also the reason the Republican Party might go extinct.
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Let’s just hope we can save the Party before that happens.

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Ian Parish is an eighteen year-old homeschool student from Luray, Virginia. In his spare time, he loves to read and commentate on political and theological issues. You can contact Ian via iantreyparish[at]gmail.com

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For more in our 2016 Case Files series, click here. ​