It’s that time of year again: election time, when uninformed teenagers like me get to haphazardly stitch together their political beliefs in order to sound intelligent.
With that being said, here is a breakdown of two of my favorite Republican candidates: John Kasich and Ben Carson. Donald Trump is not discussed in this article, simply because there is not enough space to do him justice.
A short disclaimer: this has some opinion in it, and it will be biased, but if you disagree with me, you’re a communist and you hate freedom.
Kasich, the current Governor of Ohio, impressed me during the first debate. He was poised, well spoken and clearly stated many of his points.
In terms of experience, Kasich is a veteran. Not only has he served as Governor of Ohio, but he also spent 18 years as a member of the House of Representatives. This makes him far more appealing than other surprise candidates such as Carson, a retired neurosurgeon who, while extremely smart, lacks a strong political record.
What I like most about Kasich are his conservative fiscal politics. He cut spending in Ohio and thus erased an eight billion dollar deficit, and he has long been an advocate for decreasing taxes. He wrote the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and since then has continued to slash any budget he can get his hands on.
While his fiscal politics are extremely conservative, Kasich has shown a moderate side that could be extremely helpful in swaying independent voters. He supports a path to citizenship for illegal aliens, and he has fought hard to maintain the common core education system in Ohio.
Additionally, in what was perhaps one of his most notable decisions, Kasich strayed from the path of many other Republican governors and accepted a Medicaid expansion through Obamacare.
Despite the fact that Kasich’s fiscal policies and moderate views on the issues discussed above are popular among many, he has religious views with which many young voters, including me, tend to disagree.
While he is on record for accepting the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage, he still states that he only believes in “traditional” marriages. Likewise, he is formally against abortion.
I still think, though, that if Kasich follows the rulings of the Supreme Court and continues to uphold moderate views on important social issues, he could turn out to be a great candidate.
Carson is another candidate who has made a legitimate push in the last few months. Personally, I love his style. His simple, to the point answers throughout the debate were key, and he showed that he has the ability to transition from a medical genius to a political stud.
Carson advocates for a simple tax code and limited government interference in the free market. These two ideas are attractive to me as a young Republican voter, and Carson’s idea to let the economy run “the way it’s supposed to” is reassuring.
My favorite thing about Carson, however, is his outsider status. Carson rarely gives in to the histrionics and grandstanding to which candidates like Rand Paul are prone. Instead, he offers blunt, straightforward statements about his beliefs.
When asked about race, he is quick to acknowledge the issues plaguing our country, which is something that many other Republicans seem afraid to do. He advocates for police officers to wear cameras in an effort to curb abuse and violence, and he believes that with the implementation of these cameras, instances of police brutality will decrease by 85%.
Despite the fact that Carson is personally against gay marriage and abortion, he has formally stated that the Supreme Court ruling should be followed. Likewise, he supports abortions up until 20 weeks. Hopefully these stances are moderate enough for independent voters.
I think that Kasich and Carson are two impressive candidates who have a real shot of challenging Trump for the Republican nomination, and I am excited to see how the race develops.