From the Democratic Party perspective it makes complete sense. They can roll out another ‘Never Trumper’ to bash the Orange Man. From John Kasich’s frame of reference his speech was akin to a personalized political obituary. He may not know it yet. I have an open letter addressed to him....A ‘Dear John’ with the irony noted.
Dear John
I remember very clearly watching you in the 2016 Republican Party Presidential Primaries when you made the case for yourself from the perspective of one loyal to the Reaganesque tradition. It was a noteworthy effort that seemed to vaunt principle and policy to the level that it should be. You reminded the viewer of what Reagan’s vision was for the United States and how it reflected the Conservative ethos. To all who listened you placed yourself in the framework of carrying on that tradition.
John Kasich and Ronald Reagan source: Wikimedia Commons
I personally never warmed up to your campaign but I cannot fault you for your appeal to conservative values.
That however was in 2016 and while your campaign admittedly stumbled in the face of the Trump wave I was under the impression - wrongly as it seemed - that you would still hold your nose and endorse Trump in the absence of any type of feasible conservative alternative. Policy and overarching Principles count more than personalities. The latter as we know is fleeting.
Conservatism as you no doubt know in the American sense has always stood for the maintenance of workable tradition, the rule of law, individual sovereignty, deference to the Constitution and the championing of the nation’s realized exceptionalism. It sees the US as edging toward best vision of the Founding Fathers while still urging necessary change driven by prudent empiricism and moral judgement, to ensure that these ideals are actualized. This was the message of Frederick Douglass. It sits at the foundation of the GOP.
Frederick Douglass - He challenged the politicians to live up to the ideals of the constitution. source: biography.com
Donald Trump is certainly a man with flaws but I needn’t point out that perfection has eluded every other President as well. Many hide theirs better than him. The electorate knows this. What matters more is the national direction of the country, which I thought you were convinced was best served by the conservative ethos mentioned above. Trump as fate would dictate is the vehicle for the political realization of this ethos today. I realize that the image may be disturbing, but reality does not bend to our preconditions
Lets examine this further. Trump’s administration is well aware of the need for controlled legal immigration, while at the same time recognizing the threat of illegal immigration to the integrity of the nation. Each of these principles were ones that both parties largely agreed with even if the actions of individual politicians from either side failed to live up to this intent. Often the short term gains of cheap labour triumphed over the broader concern of the future of the American worker and the sanctity of national boundaries.
Trump has at least tried to live up to this shared vision. Not so the contemporary Democrats. In fact as it stands it appears that they may have scuttled the principle altogether in light of the party’s stonewalling of necessary legislation in this regard. With each passing day the evidence is mounting that the party of JFK is moving away from this common agreement to what can only be described as Open borders. You no doubt saw this with the rhetoric offered by the majority of candidates in the Democratic Party Presidential race. How could one not?
The graphs below from Pew reflect an underlying trend.
The Republican party has shifted somewhat to the right. The leftward shift of the Democratic Party is however far more significant .
In other areas it is clear that Trump carries the torch of Ronald Reagan. He is far closer to the Gipper with respect to tax relief, the removal of unnecessary economic regulation, the Second Amendment, Conservative judicial appointments, freedom of speech, the right of the unborn, military spending, and opposition to race based politics than anything that the Democrats and Joe Biden have to offer.
His foreign policy has been prudent and effective – ISIS is a small shadow of what it once was. Their leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is hopefully toiling in Hades alongside General Qasem Soleimani. Both were executed by Trump authorized strikes and the world is better for it. The Democrats warned us of the world nearing war, especially after Soleimani’s demise, but their hysteria was not realized.
Trump is correct in pushing the NATO allies to increase their military funding. The US taxpayer should not be the brunt of funding European security. The alliance is vital but it must be a shared imitative. He is also justified in withdrawing from the disastrous Obama negotiated Iranian deal that was pushed through by Executive order in spite of a lack of Congressional support. Pressure on Iran is key. Reagan understood this with the USSR.
The master stroke of the US-Israel-UAE agreement will no doubt serve as a platform for future initiatives in the Middle East and is a bold step forward. He has also avoided the folly of interventionist wars.
Trump is also correct in calling out China for their unfair trade practices, their lack of transparency in the COVID-19 crisis, its disdain of Human Rights and their flagrant abuse of its Most Favoured Nation privilege.
He has many successes (economic growth and job creation) to boast of and almost all of this aligns with the Conservative philosophy that you once cheered along.
This brings us back to the Democrats and your decision to ally yourself with a Party that is fast shedding American ideals. At present it marinates in the toxicity of race/class based Identity politics, the reformulation of the shared history through the warped narrative of the 1619 project and gives a giant wink towards Democratic Socialism. None of this will heal the nation. All of it is divisive.
Its big city mayors and governors have performed terribly as riots engulfed their respective jurisdictions while their Presidential nominee Joe Biden makes the occasional basement appearance to offer a muffled response. The fundamentals of the US are being attacked and that includes the Lockean notion of private property ownership not to mention the rule of law.
The Democratic party today is the antithesis of Conservatism. It stood by some Conservative ideals under Bill Clinton but since the Obama era these have rapidly evaporated. The momentum of the party is with its Progressive element. You saw this with the Sanders campaign which was so successful that it required a concerted effort by the Democratic establishment to take him down not once but twice.
Source: Your DestinationNow
Bernie Sanders, as you must know once carried water for the ‘Evil Empire’ that was the Soviet Union. He will still enjoy the last laugh though as his policy proposals frame an overriding scripture that will of course be articulated by others.
What you have done, John Kasich, by speaking at the DNC is give a giant finger to Conservatism. You have allowed your hatred of Trump to overshadow your devotion to Conservatism. The figure you cut at the DNC was not one of heroism or courage but one of Pathos. What I saw was a man who turned his back on Reagan’s legacy to curry favour with a Party that Reagan himself would repudiate in a second.
And what have you gained? Nothing. You are too white, male, fuddy-duddy and ex-Republican to be of use to them and they know it. The conservatism you once espoused is exactly what they detest and they will throw you to the curb as soon as possible. The party is far more AOC than it is John Kasich. I am not sure what bill of goods you were sold but they are the ones laughing all the way to the bank.
Meanwhile you have severed ties to the GOP, which admittedly has its problems but is a far better defender of the ideals of the Founding Fathers and Conservatism than the Democrats. It is somewhat shameful that you have stooped this low.
Best wishes.
A long time fan of Ronald the Right.
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