Look, Kasich has done some really good things for Ohio. He is a "good" man.
But I personally believe that states have become so dependent on the federal government for money just to balance their budgets really needs to be addressed.
First of all, it was Gov. Perry who used the stimulus money to balance his TEXAS budget in 2009.
Together with the oil boom, seems things have worked out well there.
I'm sure you remember all the GOP Governors, Senators and Representatives ribbon-cutting 'necessary' projects with stimulus money.
I remember when Reagan wanted so much to close down the department of education and that never happened mostly in part he had to work with a Democrat majority in Congress. States should be in charge of their education. But I am one of those folks who thinks the federal government has taken on much more authority that it was ever intended to possess. And at the same time I see states becoming irresponsible in their own spending needing big blocks of money from the feds to accomplish a balanced budget.
What bothers me in all of these discussions is how it's the Democratic Congress's fault during Reagan's time but Obama's fault with this GOP Congress.
I would like to see the IRS so insignificant that everyone could file their taxes on a post card and the ridiculous tax code in the land abolished. Everyone pay their fair share. No loopholes, no exceptions. If you travel on the Interstate highways and count on the Defense to protect you, you need to be paying something.
It was just-retired GOP Ways and Means Chair Dave Camp who put out his tax rewrite last year--it was never debated on the House floor.
Many of your concerns are addressed in this rewrite.
But I will always hearken back to Sen. Coburn's Back-in-Black grand bargain--we would have been balanced by the 2016 budget.
He called for an 8-for-one swap of cuts to new revenue--only Huntsman raised his hand on that one in 2012.
Both the liberals and TEAs killed his plan.
I'd like to see a real 'replace' to go along with the 'repeal' mantra of the House.
They keep saying they have a plan--let's see it AND debate it on the House floor.
Finally, what we have in the House is two separate GOP parties at full war with each other.
The AANs/Elites/Establishment are viciously attacking fellow TEA members/Freedom Caucus back home with ads, as well as potential 2016 primary foes.
And you've already seen the swift boat ads slamming Rand Paul.
If not for Pelosi providing Boehner votes by not whipping NO,
the government would have shut down last December on the Cromnibus and at the end of February on the DHS bill.
Politically, DEMs should stand back and let the GOP destroy itself from within.
But for the good of the Nation, they won't let that happen .