Not everyone affiliated with the Democratic Party is thrilled that John Kasich, the Republican former governor of Ohio, was invited to speak at the Democratic National Convention this week, especially when someone like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) only has 60 seconds to say her piece. But Kasich, who said he was approached by the party, made the case for why he should be up on the stage in an interview with BuzzFeed News.
The former GOP presidential candidate and frequent critic of President Trump said that while members of both parties, including the progressive Ocasio-Cortez, "have new ideas" and receive "outsized publicity that tends to define their party," he ultimately believes "this country is moderate," which means people will want to hear from someone who is willing to ignore partisan barriers.
Other Democrats are backing him up, including Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who called him "a Republican with some spine" and urged other GOP members to follow his lead. Nancy Patton Mills, the Democratic chair in Pennsylvania, said it's "important" for people in her state to hear from Kasich after 2016 when "Hillary Clinton did not perform well in red counties" in the Pittsburgh area where Kasich grew up. Read more at BuzzFeed News.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
August 23 editorial cartoonsCartoons Saturday's political cartoons include deficit dimness, steamroller-in-chief, and more
-
5 museum-grade cartoons about Trump's Smithsonian purgeCartoons Artists take on institutional rebranding, exhibit interpretation, and more
-
Settling the West Bank: a death knell for a Palestine state?In the Spotlight The reality on the ground is that the annexation of the West Bank is all but a done deal
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
