From the Columbus Dispatch…
Time to walk the talk, GOP governors told
Beating Obama in '12 means fixing Ohio, Kasich says
Friday, November 19, 2010 02:52 AM
By Mark Niquette
SAN DIEGO - They soon will be governing four Midwestern battleground states that helped elect President Barack Obama in 2008, and all became red states this fall, buoying Republican hopes of defeating Obama in 2012.
But today, Ohio Gov.-elect John Kasich and the incoming GOP governors of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania all face high unemployment with looming budget shortfalls, which could mean unpopular decisions are ahead.
The four Midwestern governors-elect shared a stage yesterday at the Republican Governors Association's annual conference in a session called "The GOP's Midwest resurgence" and said they know they must now deliver.
"Let's just face facts: If this economy stays moribund like it is today, Obama's not going to be re-elected," Kasich said. "(If) he turns the economy around, he'll be very difficult to defeat. Why do we matter? Because our states are all in trouble.
"If our states start to improve, we'll have big voices. By us doing a good job in running our states, we'll have a big say."
In Wisconsin, where Obama won by 14 points in 2008, voters overwhelmingly elected Republican Scott Walker and completely flipped control of the state legislature from Democrat to Republican.
Walker said he doesn't think voters are counting on miraculous economic improvement but expect the candidates to cut taxes and regulations to improve their business climates as promised.
"I think what people want more than anything is action," he said. "I think the best thing for us politically in two years is if we've done everything we said we were going to."
Pennsylvania Gov.-elect Tom Corbett acknowledged the "great challenges" ahead for each state but said he views it "as a great opportunity to change what has not been working for the last 25 or 30 years."
Said Michigan Gov.-elect Rick Snyder: "Now's the hard work. ... It's time to stop talking; it's time to act."
Much was made by both Kasich and outgoing Democratic Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland during the fall campaign about the importance the race had on Obama's re-election chances.
Some political observers say that's overblown and doesn't affect how a state votes for president. But experts agree that having an ally in the governor's office gives a presidential candidate help with raising money and setting up a campaign infrastructure in the state, just as Ohio Democrats did for Obama in 2008.
"Looking forward, the Republican nominee, whoever that may be, is going to have some organizational advantages in these key Midwestern states that John McCain didn't have in 2008," said John Green, a University of Akron political scientist. "Does that make the difference between winning and losing? Well, yes, in a close election, I think it does."
There has been talk that Kasich, who briefly ran for president in 2000, still harbors presidential ambitions. He flatly dismisses such talk, but CNN's John King asked Kasich during a remote interview yesterday whether he thinks he'll be considered as a running mate for a GOP presidential candidate in two years.
"Are you crazy?" he responded. "I have a job to do in Ohio."
Still, Kasich was in high demand from national media outlets during the RGA conference. He did interviews with Time and The Washington Post and also did a television interview yesterday with MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell.
Kasich brushes off questions about being a national figure, saying, "I just want to get our state fixed."
He also downplays questions about whether his popularity will suffer if he is forced to slash spending and make other unpopular moves to fill a projected $8billion budget shortfall next year while also cutting taxes.
"Look, (former British Prime Minister Winston) Churchill says, 'In war you die once; in politics, you can die a hundred deaths,'" he said. "I've died many times on the battlefield. I still have a few deaths to go."
But New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie told the incoming governors yesterday that they will never be as popular as they are today - and that they should resist the urge or advice to play it safe.
"I believe this: that political capital is there to be spent," he said. "It will dissipate if you don't spend it, so you've got a choice: You can spend it, you can put it in that top drawer of your desk and then one day, you're going to open it to spend it and it's not going to be there."
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