Posts tagged John Kasich
Holding Politicians Accountable
Kasich says he doesn’t know what to do about campaign finance, but he doesn’t like that “a handful of billionaires” could decide election.
— Sabrina Siddiqui (@SabrinaSiddiqui)August 3, 2015
Hey Governor Kasich - we’ve got some ideas. Call us!
The Problem When Politicians Only Hear from Rich People
One of the big problems of our current big money system is candidates spend so much time with people whose priorities are completely different than those of everyday people. Via Politico, this exchange below between a super rich baseball team owner and Ohio Gov. John Kasich is a good example. She just doesn’t understand why he’d want to help poor people.
At one point, according to accounts provided by two sources present, Randy Kendrick, a major contributor and the wife of Ken Kendrick, the owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks, rose to say she disagreed with Kasich’s decision to expand Medicaid coverage, and questioned why he’d expressed the view it was what God wanted.
The governor’s response was fiery. “I don’t know about you, lady,” he said as he pointed at Kendrick, his voice rising. “But when I get to the Pearly Gates, I’m going to have an answer for what I’ve done for the poor.
If every time you go to a fundraiser, you hear big donors complain about focusing on Medicaid instead of, say, cutting taxes on the wealthiest Americans, how can you not be influenced by that? Luckily, Kasich held his ground. This time.
These four elected officials–U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rand Paul (R-KY.), Govs. John Kasich (R-Ohio) and Nikki Haley (R-S.C.)–all attended the billionaire Koch brothers’ summit with the country’s “leading conservative donors” in California this weekend, according to the New York Times.
More:
Those discussions unfolded over two days at the Renaissance Esmeralda, a sprawling golf resort that has previously hosted the Kochs’ twice-yearly conferences. The atmosphere was equal parts revival and situation room, participants said: Phones and electronic devices were banned from some panels, as Koch strategists detailed next year’s electoral battlegrounds and donors committed contributions to particular states or projects.