GOP presidential contender John Kasich said during an interview Sunday he thinks conservatives “focus too much on just” abortion as a social issue.
Speaking with CNN host Dana Bash on State of the Union, Kasich said he doesn’t “read a Bible to figure out” what he thinks.
The Ohio governor continued:
I think (abortion) is an important issue, but I think there’s many other issues that are really critical. Early childhood. Infant mortality. The environment. Education. I think we focus too much on just one issue, and now that the issue of gay marriage is kind of off the table, we’re kind of down to one social issue.
Kasich said he presses on issues such as improving mental health care because he cares about people.
“Conservatism is giving everybody a chance to be able to be successful,” he said. “That’s the way (Ronald) Reagan was. I mean, that’s common sense.”
Despite Kasich’s statement that he does not need to read a Bible to figure out what he thinks, he has justified both his expansion of Medicaid in his state and his acceptance of same-sex marriage in biblical terms.
In late March, Kasich cited the Bible to justify his Medicaid expansion made possible by Obamacare.
“He’s really calling into question the character and the motivation of those who disagree with him on the Medicaid expansion, pretty much literally saying that you’re going to rot in hell if you didn’t agree,” Avik Roy of Forbes told The Columbus Dispatch following his challenge of Kasich on the issue.
According to the report:
While Kasich contends that the expansion is saving money by decreasing emergency-room visits, he also justifies it by scriptural references. One is Jesus’ admonition in Matthew 25 to care for “the least of these,” followed by a warning that those who don’t will be sent to “eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Another is a more general reference by Kasich who says when you arrive at the gates of Heaven, you won’t be asked whether you balanced the budget, but whether you helped the least of these.
“I would say that it’s highly probable that many conservative Christians will be offended that they’re not good Christians if they don’t support a massive expansion of government health care,” Roy added. “I would say that’s almost disqualifying in a Republican primary.”
Earlier this month, during the first Republican debate in his home state, Kasich was asked by moderator Megyn Kelly how he would explain his opposition to gay marriage to a son or daughter who was gay or lesbian.
Kasich, however, responded that despite being a person who believes in “traditional marriage,” his feeling is, “the court has ruled…we’ll accept it.”
He then launched into a story about attending his gay friend’s wedding and ended with the statement, “So if one of my daughters happened to be that, of course I would love them and I would accept them. Because you know what? That’s what we’re taught when we have strong faith.”
Once again, calling upon God to justify his response, Kasich continued, “So, look, I’m going to love my daughters. I’m going to love them no matter what they do. Because you know what? God gives me unconditional love. I’m going to give it to my family, and my friends, and the people around me.”
As the Christian Post notes, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins wondered whether Kasich thought the 1973 decision in Roe V. Wade should be accepted as the law of the land for abortion as well.
“If I would have been asking a follow up question,” it…”would be: ‘Is that your view on Roe v. Wade?’ Because if it is, you can’t be pro-life,” Perkins said.
“It tells me that he is a judicial supremacist and believes that the court has final say on all issues,” he continued. “I would assume that means on the Second Amendment. I would assume that means on the right to life and on private property rights. John Kasich’s view would suggest that we can save the country a lot of money by eliminating the Congress by letting the courts rule the country.”