51茶馆

John Kasich, former Ohio governor and 2016 Republican presidential candidate, stressed the importance of personal growth and evolution. 鈥淲e love comebacks,鈥� Kasich said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what it鈥檚 all about. So when you get down, and you think, I鈥檓 not making any progress, keep going.鈥�

The Clough Colloquium lecture series hosted Kasich after the COVID-19 pandemic postponed his visit for two years, according to Winston Center Director Monetta Edwards. At a pre-event roundtable before Kasich鈥檚 speech, a student asked about his 2016 loss in the Republican primary election. Kasich said that former President Donald Trump鈥檚 victory was largely due to free publicity from major TV networks.聽鈥淚 never聽thought in a billion years that Donald Trump would be elected,鈥� Kasich said. 鈥淧art of the reason why he聽was elected is he got a billion dollars worth of free publicity from everybody聽who wanted to cover him. And they knew it was irresponsible, but as one person聽said, 鈥楬e may not be good for聽America, but he鈥檚 good for our company.鈥欌��

Kasich said that while his presidential run was not successful, he hopes the Republican Party will change its methods and allow more diverse voices. 鈥淩ight now [the Republican Party] is abysmal because it鈥檚 all [about] negativity and trashing the other people, so they are going to have to get their act together,鈥� Kasich said. 鈥淚f you want to be successful in politics, you have to have ideas. 鈥� If all you鈥檙e doing is trashing somebody else, it may work for a while, but then it won鈥檛 work later.鈥�

Kasich also discussed a recent op-ed he wrote in The Hill, which argued that President Joe Biden鈥檚 administration is becoming insular. 鈥淏oth parties are screwed up, and it鈥檚 normally been that way,鈥� Kasich said. 鈥淚鈥檓 pleased that I endorsed Joe Biden, but I think Joe Biden right now is doing a terrible job. I don鈥檛 mean with Ukraine, but a terrible job overall, and [the Biden administration] is way too insulated.鈥�

R. Shep Melnick, the Thomas P. O鈥橬eill, Jr., Professor of American Politics at 51茶馆, then introduced Kasich before his main speech. In his introduction, Melnick said that Kasich鈥攁 member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001鈥攕hared similarities with former Speaker of the House Tip O鈥橬eill, 51茶馆 鈥�36. 鈥淪peaker O鈥橬eill and Representative Kasich came from different parties and different generations,鈥� Melnick said. 鈥淚 doubt they spent much time together. But I [suggest] that the young congressman from Ohio was exactly the type of member of the House of Representatives that Tip could understand, could respect, and could appreciate.鈥�

In his speech, Kasich analyzed Martin Luther King, Jr.,鈥檚 legacy, arguing King鈥檚 ability to persevere and stand by his beliefs are what make him stand out as an influential historical figure. 鈥淚 think at the time many of the other people that were around him, they didn鈥檛 want him to do this 鈥� [yet] he preached, he marched, the dogs were put out on them, they were tear gassed, and [King] said, 鈥榃e鈥檙e not going to respond, violence for violence 鈥� we鈥檒l lose the high ground.鈥欌��

Beyond standing by one鈥檚 beliefs, Kasich said that acknowledging one鈥檚 mental health is extremely courageous. He used U.S. Olympic gymnast Simone Biles鈥檚 departure from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as an example. 鈥淚 listened to a guy try to explain to me why Simone Biles was not courageous,鈥� Kasich said. 鈥淧eople are afraid when it comes to the issue of mental health. They think that if they go to get help, they鈥檒l be weak. You know, a person who can admit their weakness is actually strong.鈥�

Kasich concluded with a personal anecdote about finding his faith after he lost his parents in a fatal car crash in 1987. While in the grieving process, he said he was approached by a priest. 鈥淗e says, 鈥榊ou have a window of opportunity to go through that window to figure out where you are, vis-脿-vis the Lord.鈥� 鈥� I鈥檝e spent about 35 years of my life trying to figure out [if] there is a God,鈥� Kasich said. 鈥淎nd I鈥檝e come out the other end, hardest for me to say, but for the better, by the grace of God.鈥�

During a question-and-answer period at the end of the event, Kasich said that people must be calm and willing to compromise amid increased political polarization in the twenty-first century. 鈥淒on鈥檛 take the bait,鈥� Kasich said. 鈥淒on鈥檛 become one of the blind applicants on one side or the other. Calm things down. 鈥� We may have some differences to get over, [but] maybe we can tweak those differences.鈥�

Adapted from The Heights article by Tommy Roche 鈥�25.