MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2015

Which Means He’s Probably Not Going To Win

In Columbus, Buckeye Bureau Chief Gerry Manders says folks who handle the publicity for Ohio Republican Governor John Kasich are no doubt some of the hardest working people in politics these days, churning out all that so-called “good news” for the Kasich for America Campaign.

Just this morning they sent us all that information about what people were saying about Kasich’s Action Plan, whatever the hell that is.

The Union Leader in New Hampshire said Kasich’s plan is a serious, detailed proposal that reflects sound priorities and practical experience. Undecided voters should give it a closer look.

Chris Edwards at the CATO Institute says Republicans have particularly dropped the ball on federalism, or the devolving of power back to the states and the people. Reviving federalism was a central theme of the Reagan administration, and it was also a focus of Republican reform efforts in the 1990s. So I was pleased to see Ohio governor and presidential candidate John Kasich focus on federalism in his new fiscal reform plan… he is articulating a clear approach to spending reform and reduction…Republican leaders ought to follow Kasich’s lead and explore federalism reforms.

Former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker says Governor Kasich should be commended for offering a budget framework that is designed to restore fiscal responsibility and reduce debt/GDP over time…His framework includes both tax and spending reforms. It proposes to transfer important responsibilities to the states in areas that are very fiscally challenging.

Grover Norquist, President Americans for Tax Reform, called it “a grown-up approach” on spending and “significantly pro-growth” on taxes. He said Kasich’s policies were more practical than some plans that call for blowing up the existing tax system. “Everything on his plate is doable, is achievable.”

And Maya MacGuineas, President, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, says, “This shifts the focus from giveaways, which we have seen a lot of in this campaign so far, to trade-offs, which is what fixing the budget will require…the first step is setting the goal of getting the overall debt under control, which Kasich is now one of the few candidates to do.”

Missing was TEA Party Patriots Citizens Fund chairman Jenny Beth Martin’s critique, when she said, “Yesterday, Ohio Governor John Kasich raised one of the most critical issues to the future of our nation: the need to balance our federal budget and erase the deficit,” Martin said in a statement Friday. “Unfortunately, Governor Kasich’s plan would wait a full eight years to finally bring our books into balance and that isn’t good enough for American families.”

Missing also is any mention of the Wall Street Journal’s story about how John Kasich’s fund-raising problems pace puts him well behind the front-runners.

Then there are those depressing polls showing Kasich still in ninth place with only 2.8% of the vote.