Stand For Something, by John Kasich: on Government Reform


John Kasich: Limited government supported by our Judeo-Christian ethics

American is a special place because of our Founders' vision. They believed that a nation could be built on the back of self-governance, that making laws didn't necessarily give us the solutions that free markets and conscience-driven individuals would also approve. They believed in the limits of government as much as they did in the power of government. And they believed that a free market economy and a limited government would be supported by our shared Judeo-Christian ethics to provide a fundamental sense of duty and conscience to all American citizens. Indeed, our moral foundation continues to flow from the shared values that have been passed down for generations, and these values are simple, straightforward, and widely held: honesty, integrity, personal responsibility, faith, humility, accountability, compassion, forgiveness. They're a part of us, whether or not we want to cop to them. What's wrong with America is that on a societal level we have swung away from these fundamental values.
Source: Stand For Something, by John Kasich, p. 3-4 May 10, 2006

John Kasich: 1970s: No judge pay raise until state employee pay raise

In the State Senate in the 1970s, I found myself in another tense meeting with a group of local judges who were pushing for a pay raise, this at a time when state employees were feeling the economic strain of a decades-old wage scale. I finally said, "Gentleman, I'm not going to vote for a pay raise for judges until our state employees get a raise."

If any one of these guys had a gavel, he would have cited me with contempt of court. As it happened, all I got was their contempt. These people were just furious with me, and I'm not sure I was right and that the judges weren't entitled to pay raises for all their hard work and good counsel, but I told them what I thought. It was a priority to these judges, but only on a personal level; in my mind the lower-level state employees had to come first.

Source: Stand For Something, by John Kasich, p. 81 May 10, 2006

John Kasich: Money affects ability to honestly assess policy situation

A great majority of the people who initially set out for a career in politics do so for reasons that are noble and admirable. It's what happens next that's got me so concerned. You need money to win elections--and yet it's the reliance on money that gets us into trouble, and it's the insatiable desire for more of it that ultimately limits independence. You get your money from the people who have it, and too much of that money comes from special interest groups.

Just because someone or some group gives money to your campaign, it doesn't mean they own you. Like every other politician, I took money from special interest groups, but it never amounted to much, and these special interest groups became less inclined to contribute to my campaigns because they could never count on getting anything in return. I worked hard to ensure that money never got in the way of my good judgment, but a lot of folks don't make that effort. It takes the edge off someone's ability to make an honest assessment of a situation.

Source: Stand For Something, by John Kasich, p. 83-84 May 10, 2006

  • The above quotations are from Stand For Something:
    The Battle for America's Soul    ,
    by Rep. John Kasich.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Government Reform.
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  • Click here for more quotes by John Kasich on Government Reform.
  • Click here for more quotes by Arnold Schwarzenegger on Government Reform.
Candidates and political leaders on Government Reform:

Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:
GA:Chambliss(R)
IA:Harkin(D)
MI:Levin(D)
MT:Baucus(D)
NE:Johanns(R)
OK:Coburn(R)
SD:Johnson(D)
WV:Rockefeller(D)

Resigned from 113th House:
AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
SC-1:Tim Scott(R) 		Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
OK-5:James Lankford(R)
PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
WV-2:Shelley Capito(R) 		Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
CA-11:George Miller(D)
CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
CA-45:John Campbell(R)
IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
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Page last updated: Feb 24, 2019