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john kasich
Ocasio-Cortez Welcomes Help From Anti-Trump Republicans in Defeating President--But Rejects Kasich's Attempt to Define Party
"Something tells me a Republican who fights against women's rights doesn't get to say who is or isn't representative of the Democratic Party."
Aug 17, 2020
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Monday welcomed the Democratic National Committee's attempt to gather as much anti-Trump energy as possible ahead of the general election by reaching out to leaders from across the political spectrum, but made clear that she will reject any attempt by so-called "moderate" Republicans who are invited to the party's convention to define what the Democratic Party stands for.
The New York Democrat responded to a BuzzFeed interview in which former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican who is speaking at the Democratic National Convention Monday night, downplayed the significance of Ocasio-Cortez's rise in the party over the past two years.
Claiming the American electorate is, by and large, "moderate," Kasich dismissed Ocasio-Cortez as being "extreme" and representative of a small minority of Democratic voters.
"Because AOC gets outsized publicity doesn't mean she represents the Democratic Party," said Kasich, who ran against President Donald Trump in the Republican primary in 2016 and has been a vocal critic of the president. "She's just a part, just some member of it."
Kasich is one of several Republicans speaking at the convention on Monday night. While citing the importance of Republicans like Kasich rejecting Trump, Ocasio-Cortez made clear that the Democratic Party shouldn't allow GOP supporters of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden to dictate the party's overall message to voters.
"Something tells me a Republican who fights against women's rights doesn't get to say who is or isn't representative of the Democratic Party," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.
While Kasich is right to back former Biden over Trump in the election, the congresswoman added, he is still "an anti-choice extremist" and "is not a friend to workers."
In 2018, when he was governor of Ohio, Kasich signed into law a ban on second trimester dilation-and-evacuation abortions, a common medical method of terminating a pregnancy. Under the law doctors who perform the procedure could face a fourth-degree felony and up to 18 months in prison. In 2019, a federal court ordered the state not to enforce the portion of the law that would penalize providers.
Kasich also attempted to gut collective bargaining rights for 715,000 state employees--but was overruled by Ohio voters when the bill he signed was put up for a referendum.
"We can build bridges and not lose sight of our values," said Ocasio-Cortez, who is slated to speak for one minute at the convention.
Contrary to Kasich's claims, Ocasio-Cortez's views on the climate, healthcare, and the economy are actually in line with those of a majority of Americans, particularly Democratic voters.
In April, a month into the public health and economic crises which have forced millions of people off their employer-sponsored healthcare coverage, a Hill-HarrisX poll found that 69% of respondents supported Medicare for All. Polling last year found nearly two-thirds of Americans supported a Green New Deal to create jobs while combating the climate crisis, including 86% of Democrats. Sixty-four percent of respondents to a Reuters poll in January backed a wealth tax for the wealthiest Americans, including 77% of Democrats and 53% of Republicans.
Writer and organizer Melissa Ryan slammed Kasich for his dismissal of Ocasio-Cortez, suggesting that the Democratic Party's embrace of an "anti-choice union buster" would convince few on-the-fence voters to back Biden while shoving aside a popular progressive whose views are in line with most Democratic voters.
"Courting John Kasich might net some Independents and disgruntled Republicans, which is fine for this election," tweeted New York Times op-ed writer Wajahat Ali. "But Democrats would be wise courting progressives if they want to thrive in the future. Stop being afraid of the label and personalities like AOC who will keep rising."
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DNC Appears Ready to Sideline Progressive Standout Ocasio-Cortez at Upcoming Convention
"You want Bill Clinton to speak but maybe not AOC. Okay, dummies."
Aug 07, 2020
Progressives expressed their discontent with the Democratic establishment Friday after reporting from Politico indicated that it was "unclear" if popular Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez would be guaranteed a speaking slot at the party's convention.
"It would be stupid not to give" Ocasio-Cortez a role at the convention, Corbin Trent, a former top adviser to the New York Democrat, told Politico. "She's one of the best speakers the Democratic Party's got."
As Politico reported, the convention has lined up a number of party stalwarts and leaders, including more centrist types like former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State and 2016 nominee Hillary Clinton, as well as progressives like Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
The party has also invited former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, to speak in a show of anti-Trump unity that goes past party.
Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, a powerful member of the party's centrist wing, told Politico that he doubted Ocasio-Cortez would be offered a role at the convention.
"I think Bernie and Warren will speak, and they'll represent the progressive wing of the party very ably," said Rendell.
Kasich's inclusion and Ocasio-Cortez's possible exclusion rankled advocates and activists on the left.
"You want Bill Clinton to speak but maybe not AOC," tweeted progressive activist and former Sanders campaign advisor Winnie Wong. "Okay, dummies."
Calling the decision "classic Dem shit," journalist Paul Blest opined it was unlikely that the party would ever see a repeat of former President Barack's famous keynote speech at the 2004 convention that propelled him to political stardom and the White House.
"She's one of the three most visible and culturally relevant politicians in the country," said Blest, "and she's particularly popular among young and left-leaning people, two blocs Biden needs even more in states like Wisconsin where the margin is narrow."
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After 200 Days of Trump, Poll Shows Base (Finally) Abandoning President
After months of low approval ratings from the general public, Trump's popularity appears to be waning among even his biggest fans
Aug 08, 2017
President Donald Trump's support has been on the decline since he entered office in January--but in a new poll from CNN, the president's popularity among his previously-solid base is shown to be crumbling.
The newest numbers (pdf) suggest that even as Trump holds rallies in states that have been largely supportive of him, as he did last week in West Virginia, his approval ratings are eroding even among groups that have been fiercely loyal since he announced his presidential run two years ago.
Trump has been popular among white Americans without college degrees--winning 67 percent of the vote in this demographic in 2016--the broadest show of support from the group of any presidential candidate since 1980. The new survey, released Monday night, shows that only 35 percent of respondents in this group now "strongly approve" of the job he is doing as president. In February, 47 percent of whites without college degrees approved of Trump.
The poll was taken as Trump hit the 200-day mark of his term. The first six months of his presidency have been marked by inaction and scandal, with a Republican-controlled Congress unable to pass long-planned legislation repealing the Affordable Care Act, courts blocking Trump's attempts to bar people from six majority-Muslim countries from entering the U.S., and an ongoing investigation into the Trump administration's alleged ties to Russia.
In addition to Trump's approval ratings, the poll addressed whether Americans feel they can trust the information that comes out of the White House. While a poll taken a month ago by Survey Monkey showed that 89 percent of Republicans viewed Trump as more trustworthy than CNN, the newest survey suggests that this may not translate to high levels of trust in the president.
Thirty percent of all respondents said they don't trust any information they hear from the White House. Just 13 percent of Republicans and six percent of non-college educated whites trust all or almost all of what they hear from the administration; most respondents from each group said they trust "just some" of what the White House says (41 percent and 45 percent, respectively, gave this answer).
Another poll released by the American Research Group on Tuesday showed that Trump is also quickly losing support in New Hampshire, a key state in primary elections. Poll-takers asked Republican voters in the state who they would support in 2020 primary. Fifty-two percent answered that they would vote for Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, while just 40 percent responded that they'd support Trump. In 2016, Trump won the state's Republican primary easily, gathering more than 35 percent of the vote while Kasich came in a distant second with just 16 percent.
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