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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