As both the Republican and Democratic primary races start to wind down a bit to what appears to be a foregone conclusion of a battle between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the rest of the candidates are still out there, even if things aren’t looking so hot for them. While Bernie Sanders and the future of his campaign has been news of late, the late surge of popularity for Republican John Kasich has been an interesting story to follow. Kasich has appealed to more of a moderate crowd and has felt like a more reasonable candidate than Trump or Cruz has to many voters, albeit too-little, too-late for this race. Of course, the usual Republican party hijinx have ensued, but what else could we expect of this race?
While the Republican party has been focused on strange issues such as which bathroom transgender people should use and are still licking their wounds over the marriage equality bill that was pushed through, Kasich doesn’t seem afraid to buck the trends of his party. NBC News reported on a public appearance of Kasich’s on Friday in San Francisco where he was asked a rather blunt question; are people born gay? Kasich was given an out multiple times, with a moderator asking for a next question only for him to continue pressing on the issue, talking about religious beliefs and how everyone on both sides of the aisle seem to like pushing each other’s buttons while searching for outrage.
When confronted with his party’s history towards homosexuals, Kasich seemed to be upset by being lumped together with the rest of the herd.
“Well, no, they don’t tell me what to do by the platform,” Kasich rebuffed. “The Republican Party is my vehicle and not my master, okay? I have a right to define the Republican Party, too, okay?”
When pushed further on the subject, the only answer that he could come up with at the time was that people were “probably” born gay.
Kasich does seem dead set on continuing his campaign and to do so by being just a bit different than the rest of the Republican party. He’s at least willing to admit that he doesn’t have all of the answers, nor does he really understand the issue, which is why he tries not to press it too much, which is an admirable trait in today’s political climate.
(Via NBC News)