The current circus of GOP party candidates has provided much entertainment for the masses, which isn’t without value. However, the attention-grabbing nature of the leaders — Donald Trump (self-explanatory), Ted Cruz (the rumored Zodiac Killer) and Marco Rubio (a freaking robot) — makes Ohio Gov. John Kasich seem like an adorable lapdog in comparison. At least by default, he looks like the most “moderate” and least threatening of the bunch to those outside the party.
The public’s perception of Kasich may take a drastic turn, thanks to this George Mason University rally speech. Kasich acknowledged the women who helped him become governor by “coming out of the kitchen” to post signs. This wasn’t the slickest move, and one of his followers calls him out. If we want to overanalyze this verbal stumble, we could give Kasich some wiggle room. He may not have been thanking the women. He could have actually been thanking their husbands for letting them out of the kitchen. Think of all those home-cooked meals those men gave up!
This moment could signal a shift, along with another Kasich development, which we’ll approach in a moment. Over the past few cable news GOP events, Kasich appeared to be the candidate speaking for the television audience when sparks flew: “This is just crazy. This is just nuts. Geez, oh man.” While other candidates reminisced about Michael Jackson and fast food, Kasich was vowing to put resources in place to end violence against women. Now, the cracks are starting to show, perhaps in unison with Jeb Bush putting his campaign out of its misery (RIP). As the field of candidates narrows, Kasich won’t be able to hide behind his army of hugs forever.
Now for the bigger issue. This video arrives as Kasich not-so-quietly removed $1.3 million of funding for Planned Parenthood in Ohio. He did so under the guise of removing funds from any facility that provides abortions, but in doing so, Kasich also effectively handicapped programs for STD (including HIV) testing and prevention. He also nipped some prenatal care in the bud and — ironically — crippled programs that provide domestic violence intervention, which he claims as one of his pet causes.
As noted by John Oliver, increasingly restrictive state abortion laws are pretty scary for women these days. If these ladies know what’s good for them, they’ll get back in the kitchen and stop putting up Kasich signs.
https://twitter.com/JackHeaphy/status/701830237462474752
https://twitter.com/AdamSmith_USA/status/701830078024589312
UPDATE: There’s been a clarification. According to Talking Points Memo, Kasich was reportedly talking about his first Senate election (in 1978) and said more on the subject:
“Nobody was — I didn’t have anyone for me. We just got an army of people — and many women who left their kitchens to go out and go door to door and to put yard signs up for me all the way back when you know when things were different. Now you call homes and everybody is out working, but at that time, early days it was really an army of the women that really helped me to get elected.”
Perhaps these extra words add context to Kasich’s rally speech, but he’s still cutting Planned Parenthood funding, which doesn’t do much for women.
(Via Columbus Dispatch)