John Kasich on Sunday tried to set himself apart from the rest of the Republican Party, saying that he has a “heart” and would not allow the GOP to be forced into talking only about a few controversial issues.
“I think Republicans allowed themselves to be put in a box,” the Ohio governor and Republican candidate for president said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” referring to the negative perception that Republicans do not care for sick or poor people.
“To me, conservatism is giving everybody a chance to be able to be successful. That’s the way Reagan was. I mean, it’s common sense,” he added.
Kasich defended his decision to expand Medicaid in Ohio on the grounds of compassion. That move has proved deeply controversial among conservatives.
“There’s a morality of — why would you want to lock a schizophrenic or a bipolar person in a prison cell? That’s not what America is,” he said. “You know, I don’t like read a Bible to figure out what I think. But I have a heart for people.”
Kasich sounded similar notes on social issues, arguing that Republicans have allowed themselves to focus on too narrow a range of concerns. He said that exceptions to banning abortions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother are “reasonable,” and that “we focus too much on this one issue.”
Among the other issues Republicans need to work on, he said, were early childhood education, infant mortality, the environment, and education.
Kasich, a former Fox News host known for his brash demeanor, also defended his own personality.
“I’m having a ball out here,” he said, noting that he’s polling among the top Republican candidates in the early primary state of New Hampshire.
Being abrupt or loud sometimes, he explained, can allow him to achieve goals. “I’m not a marshmallow,” he said. “I need to get things done.”
