Stand For Something, by John Kasich: on Homeland Security

Dick Cheney: 1980s: Supported squadron of 132 B-2 stealth bombers

And we weren't talking about just one B-2. Initially, there was to be a squadron of 132 of these bombers, a number that was whittled down to 75 & eventually to 20, although that figure remained open for discussion.

At one point, Cheney made a deal with me to freeze the number of planes on order at 20, in exchange for my agreeing to back down in my fight, which [B-2 supporters] could then take as my grudging support. We even shook hands on it, and yet a year or so later Cheney was out there thumping for 40. I went onto the House floor and accused him of breaking his word, and to this day he despise me for it, but I felt it was the right thing to do, to call him out in this public way.

For my money, which I tended to see as the American taxpayer's money, I wanted to cancel the plan and redirect some of those funds to develop standoff weapons.

John Kasich: $1B per plane for B-2 is a colossal misuse of money

Newt Gingrich: 1980s: Supported squadron of 132 B-2 stealth bombers

But I didn't think it was good government to keep signing up for these ridiculous expenditures. Most ridiculous of all, I came to think, was the development of the B-2 stealth bomber. At anywhere from $1 billion to $2 billion per plane, it seemed a colossal misuse of taxpayer monies.

And we weren't talking about just one B-2. Initially, there was to be a squadron of 132 of these bombers, a number that was whittled down to 75 and eventually to 20, although that figure remained open for discussion.

At one point, Dick Cheney made a deal with me to freeze the number of planes o order at 20, in exchange for my agreeing to back down in my fight, which Newt Gingrich and company could then take as my grudging support. We even shook hands on it, and yet a year or so later Cheney was out there thumping for 40.

Ron Dellums: Worked with John Kasich (R-OH) to kill the B-2 Bomber

It was the fight of our political lives. You don't just kill a major weapons system, but that's what we set out to do. After ten relentless years, during which Ron Dellums and I refused to back down and managed to bring a whole bunch of good people over to our side of the debate, from both sides of the aisle, production was stopped after [the first 20] planes, and it marked the first time in the 20th century that a major weapons system had been halted.

John Kasich: Cheap Hawk: Strong on defense; tight with a dollar

I was astonished to discover wasteful spending in the Pentagon budget; I was even more astonished that hardly anyone was speaking out against it. The mantra in Washington at that time was to trim the fat from our social welfare and entitlement programs. But to take the welfare out of the Pentagon? Well, to do so as a cheap hawk Republican, who walked the political tightrope of being strong on defense and tight with a dollar. One of my congressional colleagues even called me a traitor to our country, that's how out there my position seemed to be among the hawks in the Republican Party, but my feeling was that we needed to ferret out this waste no matter where we found it.

John Kasich: Walked out when preacher opined against missiles in Europe

I'll never forget sitting one Sunday morning in an Episcopal church, and for no good reason the minister started reading a letter from the bishops discussing why we shouldn't put missiles in Europe. I stood straight up and left. I thought, What do these bishops know about missiles in Europe? Fact is, it was those very missiles in Europe that bolstered the historic negotiations that ultimately led to the tearing down of the Berlin Wall, but I didn't walk out because the politics was all wrong. I walked out because right or wrong, it had no place in the church.

John Kasich: Fire professor who said 9-11 victims brought on attack

My own take was that he should have been fired, despite his tenure, because his freedom of speech should not extend to scurrilous remarks that defile the memories of thousands of innocent men and women who died in those buildings. His comments, which he later claimed were intended as provocative, hit so many hateful, hurtful notes. Certainly, his speech should be protected, but tha protection should not extend to his job, because with his comments he discredited himself and his university. A public institution like the University of Colorado should not be in the business of underwriting such invective with taxpayer monies.