Go after ISIS and it’ll take ground troops and get it done.
That brought applause to the crowd at a Virginia Beach noontime fundraiser for John Kasich and his presidential bid. Not surprising, given the military makeup of the area.
A strong showing of elected officials attended, including Virginia Beach’s Vice-Mayor Louis Jones, Del. Ron Villanueva, City Council members Jim Wood and Rosemary Wilson, and former Governor “Virginia Beach’s Own” Bob McDonnell.
Rebuilding our military was a big part of Kasich’s talk, but he also covered balancing the budget, cutting taxes and spending, and block granting a great deal of federal power and money to states.
Illegal immigration was a key topic in the Q&A. On building a wall: “You lock your doors at night so people just don’t walk into your house, don’t you? Then why wouldn’t the country want to secure its borders?”
Kasich isn’t your 8-second soundbite expert, but he was pretty good on this today. Time was short because Kasich was soon on his way to Regent University for another speaking engagement. He does love to tell his “Here’s what we did in Ohio” stories, though.
Kasich had an air of confidence today, likely due to his qualification for the Virginia ballot for Super Tuesday (not an easy task! Only Trump filed faster).
But what was most interesting was the diversity of the crowd. Tea Party, establishment, they all came together for a Kasich event.
Kasich best polling state is New Hampshire, who votes February 9th. But his Virginia numbers are low.
Kasich has the street cred on military issues (18 years on Armed Services Committee) and balancing the federal budget (he did it for four years). Kasich is ready made for Virginia’s mainstream. If he puts in the time and resources, he can vault to the top tier here.
If this week is any indication, Kasich is all in.
