John Kasich Q&A Event

I recently attended a John Kasich speaking event. Going in, my hopes weren’t high, but I’ve always thought he was one of the lesser evils in the Republican Party. I was excited to hear his fiscal ideas, as he’s always promoted his history of balancing the budget.

The event started and an older lady asked about his ideas on defense. He replied with the generic response: eliminate ISIS, increase military spending, and close the borders. I immediately started to wonder why I was even there.

Then a man questioned Kasich on his immigration stance. The man stated he was an immigrant and immediately said he was a lawyer and that his parents are both doctors. Kasich then told a story about his parents both being immigrants, but really didn’t say anything substantial about immigration.

Another young man then spoke up and asked if the Republican Party will ever move on it’s social stances (gay marriage, marijuana, equality) to appeal to young people. Kasich then blatantly stated he wasn’t for gay marriage, but rather ‘traditional’ marriage. He explained the decision was made and there’s nothing he could do about it.

He then went on to briefly and intelligently talk about promoting community college and reducing the exorbitant spending of state colleges in order to reduce tuition costs. As for taxes, Kasich proposed reducing the rate for corporate, middle and lower income people, decreasing Medicaid and welfare, and finally increasing the military budget. He ended the talk by talking about his parents being killed in a drunk driving accident and spoke to a student about faith.

I left with a tepid feeling. He had some fairly moderate ideas, but they were ideas that just didn’t resonate and certainly not something I could get passionate about. However, I’m glad I went, as it’s always important to hear different viewpoints.