Why Kasich is Still Holding On


With his repeated losses, the accumulation of endorsements for Rubio (currently 150 to 34), and his lack of funds, the Republican party leaders have been calling for Kasich to move aside. Their hope is Kasich's voters will go to Rubio, who will be able to defeat Trump and Cruz. Yet, Kasich has resisted, and after the stomping in South Carolina and Nevada (where he even lost to Carson), claims he will fight on. What drives him to continue? Political pundits give him somewhere between no chance and a very slim one.

Yet from the beginning the difference between Kasich's campaign and Rubio's has been significant. While Kasich is not as moderate as he seems, he has decided to approach the primary with a respectable presentation.

While Rubio started off as a Republican version of Obama: youthful, optimistic, one term senator with zero prior experience, he now embraces the darker elements of Trump and Cruz's rhetoric. He uses the same victimization language they do, decrying the supposed attacks on Caucasians, Christians, and concealed carry gun-owners. He appeals to voters' fears, rather than their hopes. He describes the current battle with Islamic extremism in apocalyptic terms, but even worse has been his decision to frame his campaign as a catastrophic battle for the soul of the United States.

While Rubio's political advisers would tell you they had no choice in tone, Kasich has resisted the pull to tout the darkness. When Kasich entered the primary he was compared to Jon Huntsman, and has used this to build a persona of a true caring conservative. He highlights his decision to expand medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, believes that the United States needs to act to curtail global warming, advocates for the Common Core, and supports immigration reform. Marco Rubio, though initially in support of some of these proposals, has dutifully rebuked each in his move to capture the presidency. Unlike Rubio, Kasich has laid out proposals and adheres to them, because they are intelligent and correct, while Rubio panders to keep up with Trump and Cruz.

Crucially, Kasich has not been drawn into the darkness that surrounds the Republican primary. He does not insult other candidates during debates, or make personal attacks on President Obama. While Rubio, Trump, and Cruz make the incendiary claim that Obama has intentionally weakened the United States, Kasich limits his criticism to their differences on policy. And while Kasich and Obama disagree, they have worked together in a bi-partisan effort, as illustrated by Kasich's acceptance of the Affordable Care Act. Kasich is willing to put aside politics to do what needs to be done, and to act civilly.

While Jeb, Christie, Rubio, and Kasich were always lumped together as establishment in the primary, this never seemed right. If one had to notice the differences between them, they would be these. First, three, were or are, governors. Also, they generally resisted the urge to follow Rubio in his pursuit of Trump. But if one were to look for the most critical factor they would see that one of them had significantly more national experience than the rest. Rubio has five years in his first term, Jeb served eight years as Governor, and Christie has a combined twelve years, but Kasich nearly doubles them with twenty-three years as a Representative and a Governor.

Kasich does not want to withdraw, because he does not appreciate what he sees in the Republican primary. Admittedly this is combined with the usual mix of ego, ambition, and pride. Pundits believe Kasich is hanging in there to be a candidate for the VP spot, and maybe that is part of it too.

While Kasich has only a small chance to win, and it definitely requires winning his home state of Ohio, which he is currently losing to Trump by five points, he has managed to bring a measure of respectability to what has been a truly strange race.

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