Republican Gov. John Kasich Frantically Backtracks After Being Caught Praising Obamacare

Ohio Governor John Kasich spent his Monday night calling up different media outlets after the Associated Press ran an article where he was quoted as heaping praise on the Affordable Care Act and stating that the law will not be repealed. The Republican, who is seen as a possible 2016 Presidential candidate, went into full damage control as he didn’t want Republican voters or big money donors to think he wasn’t for ‘repeal and replace.’ What first appeared to be a prominent Republican realizing that Obamacare is not only here to stay but helping millions of people turned into GOP politics as usual.

In the article that was published Monday by the AP, Kasich was quoted as saying that repeal of the ACA just wasn’t going to happen. He then elaborated on it by claiming that opponents of the law were against it for ideological or political reasons.

“The opposition to it was really either political or ideological. I don’t think that holds water against real flesh and blood, and real improvements in people’s lives.”

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Apparently, when the article was finally published Kasich freaked out. Rather than embrace the candor he showed, which would let moderate and independent voters know that he is more concerned with the lives of millions of people than with partisan political standing, Kasich went into excuse-making mode. He insisted that he was misquoted by the AP and forced them to update their story. He also contacted other media outlets to reiterate that he hated Obamacare with a passion. He claims he was only talking about Medicaid expansion and never the ACA. He still supports a full ‘repeal and replace’ policy.

The AP has now added the following portion to its article:

Kasich called The Associated Press Monday night to clarify that he was speaking specifically about a repeal of Medicaid expansion and not of the entire Affordable Care Act __ although opponents in Washington don’t usually draw such distinctions.

He said he believes the ACA “can and should” be repealed, but that opposition to the Medicaid expansion “was really either political or ideological,” adding, “I don’t think that holds water against real flesh and blood and real improvements in people’s lives.”

Kasich made sure to contact the New York Times, Politico, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post, among others, to ‘clarify’ his position. Or, in other words, convince conservatives that he supports their Quixotic quest to repeal a healthcare law that is fully implemented and entrenched on our society while helping millions of people receive quality healthcare at an affordable price. Obviously, you can’t be considered a possible White House candidate for the GOP if you are willing to concede that Obamacare is here to stay.

Governor Kasich told the Washington Post Monday night that it was like he was in “a Kafka novel” and that the AP reporter who interviewed him tried to twist his words around to make it appear he supported Obamacare.

“I support covering a population of people who are drug-addicted and mentally ill. I support eliminating preexisting conditions,” said Kasich. “But that doesn’t have anything to do with my feeling and support to the ACA. I have been opposed to it from Day One — on the record, off the record, any way you want to do it.”

…

“This is like a Kafka novel,” said Kasich. “Somebody was trying  say that I had changed my position on Obamacare. And then people were trying to say — and we went through out here, too — which is, ‘well, because you support Medicaid expansion, you support Obamacare.’ Well, you think Chris Christie supports Obamacare? You think Jan Brewer supports [it]? Of course we don’t.”

In case everyone didn’t quite get the message that Kasich hates the ACA with his Monday night media blitz, he also took to Twitter reiterate his position.

Just so everyone is perfectly clear on this point — Kasich hates Obamacare and wants it repealed. At least until he drops out of the 2016 GOP primary.

Justin Baragona

Justin Baragona is the Managing Editor at Politicus Sports as well as Senior Editor at PoliticusUSA. He was a political writer for 411Mania.com before joining PoliticusUSA. Politically, Justin considers himself a liberal but also a realist and pragmatist. Currently, Justin lives in St. Louis, MO and is married. Besides writing, he also runs his own business after spending a number of years in the corporate world. You can follow Justin on Twitter either with his personal handle (@justinbaragona) or the Sports site’s (@PoliticusSports).