Given the weak bench the Republicans have for retaking the White House in 2016, it's no surprise that even the likes of Ohio's Gov. John Kasich would actually
get a little buzz. For example,
The Wall Street Journal kicked off a mini-flurry of positive speculation in the state's two biggest newspapers with its Aug. 14
piece praising him as being potentially able to rebrand Republicans with "a blend of conservative orthodoxy leavened with liberal policies" for the less affluent. He's also no fan of the tea party wing of the Republican Party, nor they of him.
Unfortunately for Kasich and GOP rebranding hopefuls, Public Policy Polling indicates Ohioans aren't keen on the idea of Kasich as president, giving him a tie for fifth place with just eight percent support in the latest PPP survey:
Rand Paul and Chris Christie lead the pack with 17% each followed by Jeb Bush at 10%, Marco Rubio at 9%, Kasich and Paul Ryan at 8%, Ted Cruz at 6%, and Bobby Jindal and Rick Santorum at 4%.
It gets worse for Kasich when it comes to the general electorate—he trails Hillary Clinton by 18 points in a hypothetical match up, 53/35. Clinton looks very strong in Ohio- leading Chris Christie 45/36, Jeb Bush 50/36, Rand Paul 51/36, and Paul Ryan 52/36 as well- but Kasich does the weakest on the home front. One thing that is not helping his cause is the controversial abortion restrictions he signed into law this summer—only 34% of voters support them to 40% opposed.
Nonetheless, a
Quinnipiac Poll in June showed Kasich's approval rating has risen markedly in the past and had hit 54 percent to 32 percent, his best ever. The Q poll also gave him a 47 percent to 33 percent lead over Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, a Democrat who may challenge him for the governorship next year.
That improvement may have been what partially spurred the Journal to write its paean, this line in particular:
Job growth is up. The Republican governor just signed what he calls "the biggest tax cut in the country" after converting a looming $7.7 billion budget deficit into a $2.5 billion surplus. Such success, he says, "would probably get a global CEO a giant bonus."
Uh-huh. Bonus thought probably true given how many hoi polloi CEO's screw to get those bonuses. Kasich made millions when he worked at Lehman Brothers, the now-bankrupt investment bank.
Media Matters pointed out in regard to the governor's self-lauding that Ohio ranks 47th in private sector job creation, with no appreciable job growth in the past 12 months. Most of the jobs that were created pay wages of less than $15 an hour.
Exactly how did that budget climb into surplus? Kasich whacked huge hunks off public services, including education and women's health, and cut income taxes in a way that favored the wealthy while boosting the regressive sales tax, which always hurts the less affluent.