Early on in the 2016 presidential race, which ironically started in 2015, Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio, was in the minority of his party. He was one in a field of many and was the butt of jokes within the media. Early on, it seemed he had as good of a chance to win as former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pennsylvania, or former technology executive Carly Fiorina.
But Feb. 9 changed that. Kasich pooled all of his resources in the hope of a strong finish in New Hampshire. There he finished second, breaking away from others contending for Republican establishment support. This finish and the momentum he will gain from New Hampshire are signs of promise in a previously bleak campaign, not to mention the campaign donations he will surely get from his strong performance.
But there is another reason Kasich has a chance. While Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, preach hate, wanting to wall us off from the rest of the world, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, preach about the great things going into more debt can do, Kasich’s idea is a lot simpler, a lot more doable and a lot more American.
He wants us to slow down, to take a step back and reflect.
“There are too many people in America who don’t feel connected, they’ve got victories that no one celebrates with them and they have defeats and pain that sometimes they have to absorb themselves,” Kasich said in his speech after the New Hampshire primary. “We’re all made to change this world, we’re all made to be apart of the healing of this world and if we just slowed down we could help each other and build a community.”
In a time when the country is polarizing and working together seems impossible, Kasich preaches togetherness. He wants to slow down and actually listen to the problems of every American. The 106 town halls he held in New Hampshire are evidence of his commitment to that ideology.
Instead of reaching to government as the first option, he believes it should be the last resort. In his speech after New Hampshire, he explained the the need for people of this country to slow down. He said one should not rush out of their driveway, but talk to their neighbor; not rush out of the grocery store, but stop and hug your old friend you may see there. He believes our best times as a country are when we put aside our individualistic tendencies and work together.
And though he believes government to be the last option, his compassion compels him to do anything to help those most in need, even if it means going against his own party.
As governor going around his state Legislature, Kasich expanded Medicaid using the Affordable Care Act. He was chastised by fellow Republicans and his own supporters. Instead of wasting an opportunity to help the worse off in his state, he acted in an American way, not a Republican way.
What gives me hope in Kasich is his belief about gay rights.
“Guess what, I just went to a wedding of a friend of mine who happens to be gay,” Kasich said. “Because somebody doesn’t think the way I do doesn’t mean that I can’t care about them or can’t love them. So if one of my daughters happened to be [gay], of course I would love them and I would accept them.”
That is a message of togetherness this country is built on. On Kasich’s website, there is a quote from a past speech that reads, “Some say the American Dream is over, that we can’t recover, that the flame is beginning to flicker. That is wrong. We may have a crisis of spirit, but our strength endures and our strength comes from pulling together.”
As an Independent, Trump’s brashness pulls you in, Clinton’s experience pulls you in and Sanders offering free everything makes you think. But Kasich stands alone as the candidate who can pull our nation together and be the shining example of positivity and community this country so desperately needs.
Luke Schaetzel ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in journalism and political science.
