Kasich A Kept Man
And Ohio Now A Kept State
Posted: February 11, 2013
Whether we call ourselves conservative or liberal, perhaps we, as an American electorate, expect too much from our politicians. Still — after many decades of abject disappointment ...
We know we expected more of Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who made his chops as a fiscal hawk while in Congress. But, as Mr. Kasich’s fall from principled grace clearly indicates, he’s a beaten man, and now, as a stooge for liberals, a kept one as well. He is no Scott Walker.
What precisely has Mr. Kasich done to earn this measure of opprobrium? He looked past his nation’s interests, and went for the easy cash, the short money ... for his state. Forgivable? Perhaps if you’re an Ohioan. But for conservatives, his capitulation on Medicaid expansion seems craven — especially after many years of rightfully skewering ObamaCare and its prescriptions. He’s a deficit hawk no longer, not after fully embracing the expansion of one of this nation’s costliest entitlements, one sorely in need of reform.
Mr. Kasich’s rationale? Why not let Washington pick up the tab, at 100 percent, for Medicaid expansion under ObamaCare for the next three years and then watch it level off to 90 percent by 2020. Kept man, kept state.
Look at it this way: Washington has been running trillion-dollar deficits ever since Barack Obama hit town, but John Kasich can’t see beyond Columbus and Cincinnati, Cleveland and Canton. Ohio will get its swag, by God.
Again, perhaps we are holding the likes of Mr. Kasich to an unreasonable standard. But, then again, it could be that he and so many others ask us to do so — with all their talk of principle, moral high ground and fiscal responsibility.
Still, in Mr. Kasich’s case, maybe we should have seen it coming. He bungled his attempt at public-sector union reform; he couldn’t bring the nation’s foremost swing state into the Romney column last November — and he’s up for re-election in 2014.
Of foremost concern, though, is the fact such cowardly capitulation does not take place in a vacuum. Hence, this question: Will this retreat from principle provide cover for, say, Bob McDonnell to raise the white flag here in Virginia?
We know we expected more of Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who made his chops as a fiscal hawk while in Congress. But, as Mr. Kasich’s fall from principled grace clearly indicates, he’s a beaten man, and now, as a stooge for liberals, a kept one as well. He is no Scott Walker.
What precisely has Mr. Kasich done to earn this measure of opprobrium? He looked past his nation’s interests, and went for the easy cash, the short money ... for his state. Forgivable? Perhaps if you’re an Ohioan. But for conservatives, his capitulation on Medicaid expansion seems craven — especially after many years of rightfully skewering ObamaCare and its prescriptions. He’s a deficit hawk no longer, not after fully embracing the expansion of one of this nation’s costliest entitlements, one sorely in need of reform.
Mr. Kasich’s rationale? Why not let Washington pick up the tab, at 100 percent, for Medicaid expansion under ObamaCare for the next three years and then watch it level off to 90 percent by 2020. Kept man, kept state.
Look at it this way: Washington has been running trillion-dollar deficits ever since Barack Obama hit town, but John Kasich can’t see beyond Columbus and Cincinnati, Cleveland and Canton. Ohio will get its swag, by God.
Again, perhaps we are holding the likes of Mr. Kasich to an unreasonable standard. But, then again, it could be that he and so many others ask us to do so — with all their talk of principle, moral high ground and fiscal responsibility.
Still, in Mr. Kasich’s case, maybe we should have seen it coming. He bungled his attempt at public-sector union reform; he couldn’t bring the nation’s foremost swing state into the Romney column last November — and he’s up for re-election in 2014.
Of foremost concern, though, is the fact such cowardly capitulation does not take place in a vacuum. Hence, this question: Will this retreat from principle provide cover for, say, Bob McDonnell to raise the white flag here in Virginia?