If this sounds too honest/good to be true, it's because Kasich lost no time walking back his comments using a deeply stupid rationale [which I'll post next] ~ Sooz

GOP governor: Obamacare has made ‘real improvements in people’s lives’
10/21/14 08:40 AM—Updated 10/21/14 04:31 PM
By Steve Benen

Once in a great while, a politician will slip and accidentally tell the truth. Take Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R), for example, who inadvertently praised the Affordable Care Act.


You could almost hear Kasich’s national ambitions evaporating as the AP article made the rounds.

In context, it’s hard to tell whether the Ohio Republican was speaking about the Affordable Care Act overall or specifically the part of the law related to Medicaid expansion, which Kasich has long supported. In either case, for a prominent GOP policymaker – a former Fox News analyst, no less – to admit out loud that all or part of “Obamacare” is making “real improvements in people’s lives” is a striking development. Kasich’s assessment, which happens to be true, is a reminder that the right’s repeal crusade has already died with a whimper.

Of course, Kasich was forced to scramble last night, undoing the political damage done by his candor. The Ohio governor turned to Twitter to say, “As always, my position is that we need to repeal and replace,” but the damage was already done. Kasich has already made clear – in words and deeds – that he sees no future in repealing the entirety of the federal health care system. Indeed, was fairly explicit on this, telling the AP that the right-wing arguments don’t hold water “against real flesh and blood.”

Jonathan Cohn added a good point:


In fact, I’d add that Kasich, during his congressional tenure, introduced a health care reform plan of his own, and looking back at his 1994 blueprint, Kasichcare looks pretty similar to Obamacare.

In the short term, Kasich’s candor on health care probably won’t have much of an effect on his career – the incumbent governor has a big lead in the polls over his Democratic challenger, and with just two weeks remaining, it’ll take more than honest rhetoric about health care to shake up that race.

But in the long term, the Ohio Republican has committed a mortal Republican sin by giving away a secret the GOP tries to keep hidden: President Obama’s health care reform system is actually helping people, and its opponents on the right largely deserve to be ignored. Were Kasich to run for national office, this would be quite an albatross.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/gop-governor-obamacare-has-made-real-improvements-peoples-lives

Kasich is nothing more than a good little GOP/TPer soldier ... even when it makes HIM look petty and stupid ~ ~ emphasis/bolding below is mine, and there are "live links" to more/corroborating information in the original ~ Sooz

Kasich draws distinction between ACA and provisions of ACA
10/21/14 04:55 PM—Updated 10/21/14 06:02 PM
By Steve Benen

We talked earlier about Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R), who was quite candid in recent comments about the politics of health care. In fairness to the governor, it’s only fair to note the degree to which he’s scrambled since.

To briefly recap, Kasich, who’s already run one failed presidential campaign and is rumored to be interested in a 2016 race, told the AP that repealing the Affordable Care Act is “not gonna happen.” The Ohio Republican added, “The opposition to it was really either political or ideological. I don’t think that holds water against real flesh and blood, and real improvements in people’s lives.”

The ensuing chatter about his comments has left the governor scrambling, reaching out to news organizations to clarify.


As part of the pushback, Kasich told Politico, for example, “I have favored expanding Medicaid, but I don’t really see expanding Medicaid as really connected to Obamacare.”

This is a bad argument. To say that one opposes a law, except for one of the law’s most important provisions, is inherently problematic. The simple truth is, Medicaid expansion wouldn’t exist without the Affordable Care Act – one is literally part of the other. To repeal “Obamacare” would mean the repeal of Medicaid expansion, too, which according to the Ohio governor, is making “real improvements in people’s lives.”

It’s left Kasich in a bizarre position: he’s fully committed to repealing the entirety of the successful health care reform initiative, except for the giant part of the law, which he happens to like.

The governor is trying to find some wiggle room, telling one reporter, “You repeal Obamacare, you don’t repeal Medicaid.” That’s true; Medicaid would still exist, even if Republicans destroyed the ACA system and took health care benefits away from millions of families.

But as Kasich knows, we’re not talking about whether or not Medicaid exists; we’re talking about whether expansion of the Medicaid program under the ACA would exist. He’s seems to be trying to play a little rhetorical game, hoping people won’t notice, but he’s not playing the game very well.

The Ohio governor added that he also wants to keep protections for Americans with pre-existing conditions, which makes his posture that much more ridiculous.

Indeed, the entire Republican stance has devolved into farce: they’re absolutely disgusted with the failure of Obamacare and its disastrous provisions, which must be repealed to rescue our nation … except Medicaid expansion, which is a good idea. And the protections for those with pre-existing conditions. And the coverage for adults until they turn 26. And the tax breaks for small businesses. And the benefits for seniors on prescription medication. And the cost-savings. And the deficit reduction. And the improved efficiency throughout the system. And the improved Medicare finances. And on and on.

Kasich added, in an apparent threat to the health security of millions of American households, “If the House and the Senate [are Republican-controlled] and we have a Republican president, Obamacare will be repealed flat out. Flat out. And it will be replaced.”

That should be a little terrifying to those whose access to affordable medical care is on the line – Kasich is effectively promising more uninsured Americans, worse insurance, less coverage, higher taxes, and a higher deficit if Republicans control the levers of power – and of course Americans have been waiting for several years for GOP leaders to tell us what they’d replace the U.S. health care system with.

What we’re left with is a prominent Republican governor and likely presidential hopeful who’s dug a hole for himself and climbed in. Kasich wants to destroy the health care system, which would do real damage to millions of people, except for the parts he likes. Simultaneously, the GOP governor seems to believe other Republican governors who’ve balked at Medicaid expansion have made a horrible mistake for partisan and ideological reasons.

As national platforms go, it seems Kasich’s approach to health care needs some fine tuning.

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/kasich-draws-distinction-between-aca-and-provisions-aca