For all the talk about this country’s partisan divide, politicians, who are still predominately wealthy white men, usually have more similarities than differences. So the fact that Republican John Kasich and Democrat John Hickenlooper are thinking of a joint independent bid in the 2020 presidential election shouldn’t come as a total surprise. According to Axios, Kasich and Hickenlooper “got to know each other at conferences.” They “both are proud policy wonks, and their staffs are said to get along famously.” And they are thinking about starting a podcast to “cement” their brand.
But it’s still incredible that, in this political environment, any Democrat would consider teaming up with a Republican, even one who considers himself the prince of light. It is even more ridiculous that, in this unholy union, Kasich will likely be at the top of the ticket, meaning Hickenlooper, as VP, would have very little power in comparison. Kasich might try to bill himself as the sane member of the Republican Party, but he defunded Planned Parenthood in his state and has supported slow Medicaid phase outs. He has supported cuts to Medicare. And he gives Donald Trump a run for his money when it comes to sheer narcissism.
For his part, Hickenlooper told Business Insider after the 2016 election, “I think the political reality for the Democratic Party is, you know, there are two sides. There’s one side saying that we weren’t liberal enough and another side saying we’re too liberal. I think they’re both right.” Good point, John.