John Kasich, my man!

Link to the rest of the GOP candidates

Last night’s debate was a field day for me. As an active Democrat, my argumentative senses were tingling while the top 11 Republican candidates argued… about if Donald Trump were qualified to be President? We were twenty minutes into the debate, and the only topic that had been discussed was the business mogul and front runner Donald Trump. The other candidates spent so long complaining about the way Trump acts, it seemed to take precedent over issues like the economy, immigration, Planned Parenthood, and most importantly, Rand Paul’s hair.

The first candidate to speak out and demand change in subject was my favorite candidate who was on that stage last night: John Kasich, current Governor of Ohio. Kasich is progressive on many social issues, and seems to keep a straight head on his shoulders while these debates are happening. Later on in the night, when he was questioned as to why he refused to bash Hillary Clinton, he said that Americans still needed to get to know him, and that he’d rather talk about the things he’s done for our country in Washington and in his home state of Ohio, before he trash talks other candidates.

On many social issues, with the exception of Planned Parenthood, Kasich is very progressive, and shares more that you’d think with the Democrat frontrunners. He wants less prison time for nonviolent offenders, an opinion he shares with Bernie Sanders, candidate for the Democratic nomination. He wants to allow undocumented immigrants to stay n the country, with the hope that they will work and contribute to our economy, but doesn’t support creating a path to citizenship, however, he would be willing to compromise.

And there lies the difference between Kasich and the other candidates. He is willing to compromise. While the other 17 Republican nominee hopefuls demand their way on every issue, Kasich realizes that this country is only going to improve if we are willing to compromise with each other. Last night, Kasich was quoted saying that even though he doesn’t think the Iran Nuclear Deal is perfect, he thinks anyone who gets into office next year and “rips up” the deal is essentially a moron.

“You have to be steady, if they cheat, you slap the sanctions back on. If they help Hamas and Hezbollah, we slap the sanctions back on. And if we find that they may be developing a nuclear weapon, then the military option is on the table. We are stronger when we work with the Western civilization, our friends in Europe, and just doing it on our own, I don’t think is the right policy.”

Kasich knows that it’s always better to work with others and find a compromise than to work alone, and while he has his faults, as every candidate does, he is the only one that even talked about compromise. While Donald Trump went on his second-grader-like rampage about how he always gets what he wants, Kasich developed clear cut ideas and solutions, and made it clear he was open to compromise with whomever.

If Kasich makes it to the general election, there’s a chance that moderate Democrats who are more fiscally conservative will jump ship and latch on to Kasich. Since he is progressive on a lot of ideas, and more willing to compromise than any other current candidate from either party, the Democratic nominee may have to look out for Kasich if he wins the Republican primary.

As of last night, Kasich is polling at 2.5%, 28 points below Trump. For Kasich supporters, we can only hope that in later months, Republican voters will get behind him, and we can see him face the Democratic nominee after the primaries. Until then, we can continue debating whether or not a man who has no government experience is right for the job.