March 16, 2016
Fresh off a primary win in his home state of Ohio, Gov. John Kasich criticized big government and its inability to change during a town hall event Wednesday afternoon at Villanova University.
The federal government is "tired, old, worn-out, frustrated and unresponsive to all of us," said the Republican.
Everything in the world is changing, Kasich said, specifically noting transportation and energy.
"The only thing that is not changing is our government," he said. "Government is stuck."
Taking the stage shortly after 12:30 p.m., he immediately played to the home crowd, predicting success for the Wildcats basketball team in the NCAA tournament.
"I have a feeling when March Madness ends, Villanova will be the national champion," Kasich said.
He continued with folksy tales of growing up in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, and his experience attending Ohio State University.
"We were just like normal folks," Kasich said of his family. "Blue collar, God-fearing and all of that."
About the environment, Kasich said he believes human beings have impacted climate change, which is at odds with many in the Republican Party.
"I have a right to shape what it means to me to be a Conservative," Kasich told the audience.
Answering a question about how he would combat ISIS, Kasich said the United States needs to create a coalition of the Gulf States and European countries to battle the terrorist group in the air and on land.
"And once they are destroyed, we come home," Kasich said, adding that the United States should not be involved in redrawing countries' boundaries afterward.
Kasich condemned Republican frontrunner Donald Trump's call to ban Muslim people from entering the United States.
"There are Muslims fighting in the war right now for the United States," he said. "Lets stop demonizing them."
Kasich bested Republican frontrunner Donald Trump in Ohio on Tuesday, securing his first victory in the fight for the GOP's presidential nomination. But he badly trails Trump in delegates and could need a brokered convention to win the nomination.
While Kasich enjoyed victory Tuesday in Ohio, Trump padded his lead by winning in Florida, North Carolina and Illinois. The winner of Missouri remains undetermined, with Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz in a tight contest.
With Sen. Marco Rubio bowing out after a dismal performance in Florida, Kasich is expected to become the favored candidate within the Republican establishment, which has watched Trump disrupt its influence. But 30 contests into the primary season, Kasich has an uphill road, and little time.
Whether his candidacy receives a jolt or sputters out by Pennsylvania's April 24 primary remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, a challenge to Kasich's candidacy in Pennsylvania was dropped late Wednesday afternoon.
Nathaniel Rome, a Penn sophomore and chairman of the Pennsylvania Students for Rubio network, had petitioned Commonwealth Court to remove Kasich from the primary election ballot, alleging that the Ohio governor did not meet the statutory requirement of at least 2,000 signatures on his nominating petition. The signatures were certified by the Pennsylvania secretary of state.
Elected Ohio's governor in 2010, Kasich pushed a Medicaid expansion through the Republican-controlled legislature. But he also signed a law restricting collective bargaining for public employees, which Ohio voters repealed eight months later. Yet, those same voters overwhelmingly re-elected Kasich in 2014.
