On January 28th, 2010, John Kasich broadcast from Lancaster, Ohio to all 88 counties in our great state. There were over 125 parties across Ohio and thousands of participants. It was an unprecedented grassroots event which gave John the opportunity to share his vision to bring prosperity back to Ohio. He also took some questions from Facebook, Twitter and email. This is the replay of the broadcast.
Media Credit: Thomas Lawrence On Jan. 28 Delaware County Republican Party and OWU’s Campus Republicans hosted an event to listen John Kasich live, drawing attendees from Central Ohio and Delaware County. From left: Senior Sarah Bruno, senior Tommy Harmon, sophomore Kate Raulin, junior Jeremy Horne and senior Trevor Hawley pose with Karen Kasich.
Ohio Wesleyan’s Transcript had an article about Karen Kasich’s visit to the campus during the 88 Counties Event. From the article:
OWU also had a special guest that evening: Kasich’s wife, Karen.
Karen Kasich talked with various attendees and gave a speech introducing her husband before he spoke.
During her speech, she described the qualities her husband had that she said made him a good candidate.
“He was successful in the private sector, but when he saw [Ohio], a state that has given so much back to him, he had to help,” she said.
Karen Kasich also joked about her husband’s run.
“I’m glad John is running,” she said. “People think I’m lying when I say this, but I’m not.”
After she was finished, attention was turned to the screen where John Kasich spoke via a live feed.
He focused on his experience in the public sector, where he served as a U.S. representative for 18 years. He also said that he would be the state’s economic development director, even if he didn’t have the title.
After his speech he answered questions that were posed to him through Twitter and Facebook.
The questions varied from serious, such as how to restrict special interest groups’ control of government (Kasich said he once denied a friend a favor in exchange for changing his stance on an issue) to the more comical, like whether or not an Ohio State basketball star would stay another year in school (he jokingly said his first act as governor was to force all college players to finish their four years at school).
The event was organized by Delaware County GOP and the OWU College Republicans. The College Republicans were mentioned by John Kasich, who said that he was sure they were taking care of his wife.
Here’s an insightful editorial from the Salem News:
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland’s “State of the State” speech last week was like similar addresses made by most governors. Strickland tried hard to be upbeat, while making it clear that Ohio faces many challenges during the next several years.
Unfortunately, the governor still has not offered a blueprint for how the state will cope with severe budget shortfalls. His speech included no substantive recommendations for balancing the budget in the future.
Later in the week, Strickland did talk about money – by telling reporters Ohio will seek more help from the federal government.
State government seems to be suffering from a form of paralysis, with Strickland and legislators of both parties unable to face the fact that while they have done much to keep the budget in balance, much more needs to be done. Asking Washington for more aid in addition to the $8 billion it has provided for the current two-year budget cycle simply is not realistic.
Strickland is facing a tough year, in part because of a strong bid by Republican John Kasich to unseat him. Unless the governor takes a stronger leadership role on the budget, Ohioans may well decide that one term is enough for him.
We encourage Strickland, then, to propose a realistic strategy for balancing the budget as soon as possible.
State Auditor Mary Taylor, who is the Ohio Republican Party’s candidate for Lt. Governor, will address local Republicans Monday, Feb. 8 during the Clinton County Republican Lincoln Day Dinner at the Clinton County Expo Center, at the Fairgrounds on West Main Street.
Opening with a social time at 6 p.m., the Lincoln Day program will get underway at 6:30 p.m., according to Clinton County Republican Party Chairman Geoffrey A. Phillips. Taylor will speak prior to the dinner, which will begin at 7 p.m.
Here are some pictures of a few of he more than 125 events around Ohio for our 88 Counties event on January 28. If you were at one of our events, please email us your pictures and videos at events@kasichforohio.com – we will be posting them soon!
“This was a terrific show of support for the man we believe will be the next governor of the state of Ohio,” John Matthews, Marion County Republican Party Chairman, said in a news release.
More than 100 supporters turned out to watch a live Webcast featuring the Republican hopeful. It was billed as “1 Night — 88 Counties; 1 Promise: A New Way and a New Day for Ohio.”
“There is a great deal of energy locally for the John Kasich-Mary Taylor ticket. Tonight’s event was just the kickoff of our local campaign effort on behalf of this great team,” Matthews said.
On January 28th, 2010, the Kasich/Taylor for Ohio team broadcast to over 150 parties in all 88 counties. John was in Lancaster for the evening. From the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette:
Republican gubernatorial candidate John Kasich enters Billy Crickets on Thursday evening for a statewide online town hall meeting. (Lindsay Niegelberg, Eagle-Gazette)
Republican gubernatorial candidate John Kasich said creating jobs would be one of his priorities, harkening back to the days of former Republican Gov. Jim Rhodes.
Kasich said he would be the economic development director for the state and, like Rhodes, would go anywhere to get companies to locate in Ohio.
“I will go across this state and this country to create jobs,” Kasich said.
He was speaking to supporters at more than 100 parties across the 88 counties in Ohio and in sites in Florida, Pennsylvania and West Virginia during a live Thursday night Webcast originating at Billy Crickets Restaurant in Lancaster.
Kasich said he would create an atmosphere that would foster more jobs and growth.
“We’ve got to get companies in Ohio that can make things again,” Kasich said.
And:
Kasich said he also wanted cabinet officials to be more productive and only would appoint a cabinet officials that would give him their resignations on the day they were appointed.
If they don’t perform, they would be gone, Kasich said.
Kasich appealed to Tea Party people, saying he liked to think of himself as the original Tea Party member.
“The Republican Party had lost it way during the last couple of years,” Kasich said. “But I think the Republican Party is finding its way again.”
Kasich appealed to the people watching at the party sites to help him win in November.
You can read the entire article and see more pictures of the event here.
Recently, The Cincinnati Enquirer published an letter we thought you’d like to see:
Electing Kasich would help Ohio
Posted by Letters Editor January 27th, 2010, 5:06 pm
When I return to Ohio to visit relatives in Cleveland and the Steubenville area, I am saddened to see how hard hit Ohio is economically. Ohio is filled with good people who just need jobs!
Although people want to cloud the issue and make it complicated the formula is fairly simple. High taxes mean businesses have less money to create jobs, especially small businesses. Yes, taxes are needed to provide services to the public but there needs to be limits and balance. I also agree companies need to make commitments to provide work if the public makes commitments to them. That is where John Kasich for governor of Ohio comes in. He a really decent guy, who is smart and has the experience to make it work for Ohio. I was extremely excited to hear he was re-entering the political scene. He has always been involved with public service but only as a private citizen for too many years now. I have no vested interest in his victory except to see my family, friends and the rest of my home state have a bright future again. That is why I am writing this letter. I hope I can help convince people to take a good look at what he stands for and his record to prove it.
