Ohio Gov. John Kasich is one of the few Republican governors who accepted the Medicaid expansion offered by the Affordable Care Act, after the Supreme Court allowed states to skip it.
He defended that decision, much to the ire of conservatives, by saying that “cutting government spending” wasn’t a question he would be asked when he got to the “pearly gates.”
On CNN’s State of the Union Sunday morning, Kasich discussed what other areas he uses that same guiding principle in, such as early education and programs for prisoners.
“I don’t read a bible to figure out what I think… and I don’t question anybody else’s. I just have a heart for people who have been disabled or disadvantaged and I care about them,” Kasich said.
The Republican presidential candidate is among the most liberal in the large 2016 field, a fact that he is okay with.
“I think Republicans allowed themselves to be put in a box,” he said. “…To me, conservatism is giving everybody a chance to be able to be successful. That’s the way Reagan was. I mean, that’s common sense.”
.@JohnKasich emphasized morality in policy but said “I don’t read a bible to figure out what I think” http://t.co/dm3iJQgBja
— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) August 16, 2015
