I’ve often been bothered by the lack of policy and experience exhibited by the Carson and Trump camps. They resonate with voters. They speak our language. Yet, they refuse to run on actual policy. I think this is why they are winning in the polls, however. Voters aren’t looking for policy or reason or thoughtfulness. They want contrariety and aggression and verbiage. Trump and Carson are speaking to the average voter. The average voter who doesn’t understand policy or political principles. They just want someone that talks like them and to them and who, in general, agrees with them. I get that. I really do.
I’ve long felt that this campaign ought to be Bush v. Cruz, because I think that Bush adequately represents the moderate Republicans and Cruz adequately represents conservative Republicans. However, Bush has disappeared. If you want a constitutional conservative, you want Ted Cruz or Rand Paul. You probably like Ben Carson, but who knows how he really feels about the Constitution? He doesn’t have a record. Neither does Trump, if you’re leaning in that direction. Yet, what about the establishment voter? They were told they had to be for Bush, but Bush hasn’t given them anything to vote for.
Kasich has.
In fact, in the real world of Republican Politics, we might be looking at a battle no one saw coming – a battle between Trump, Kasich, and Cruz, assuming Carson’s and Bush’s money don’t keep them in the game until the end (which it’s likely to, but humor me). We all know what Jeb Bush means for the Republican Party. It means the same thing we’ve seen for years. The same people in the father’s circle were in W’s circle, and will be in Jeb!’s circle.
The new establishment candidate may be John Kasich. He is a big government, pro-state candidate. His biggest failings have been on Medicaid Expansion in Ohio and on his quasi-pro-amnesty rhetoric. But, Kasich isn’t Bush. Kasich’s people aren’t Bush people. Take a look at his platform. Unlike Bush and Christie, Kasich is looking to return power back to the States. Yes, as Governor, he’s done things the grassroots can’t stomach, but he has backed it up with a fighting platform against the federal government.
Maybe Kasich is the Federalist-Establishment Candidate? Personally, after studying Kacish’s Presidential Platform, if it weren’t for his awful positioning on immigration, I would consider him to be heads and tails ahead of the rest of the establishment elite gunning for the GOP nomination. I can’t support him, because where he’s bad on policy, he’s really bad; but where he’s good, he’s really good.
Considering his policy proposals and experience, I am a bit surprised that the establishment, in abandoning Bush, have gravitated to Marco Rubio (a Pro-Amnesty TEA Party corundum with a fairly conservative voting record), instead of Kasich, who has much more experience and is rolling out bold plans for reforms that might actually make it through the current United States Congress. Yes! Even this Congress.
I won’t be voting for Governor Kasich, but my estimation of him has greatly increased. He is a serious candidate. Unfortunately, like Rand Paul, whomever is orchestrating the melody of his campaign persona has failed completely to grasp the mood and motivation of his target audience. Kasich needs more than just smart ideas. He needs to reach across the aisle to conservatives and offer them something they can latch on to – and being soft on illegal immigration is exactly the wrong tune to play. Kasich is a smart man, it would seem, with great ideas and bold policy initiatives – but his team miscalculated what it would take to win the Republican Nomination.
They have not, however, miscalculated how to make their candidate an outstanding Vice-Presidential Nominee (if an outsider like Trump, Carson, or Fiorina, or a constitutional conservative/libertarian like Cruz or Paul, win the nomination.
Article written by:
Steven Brodie Tucker