All the Ways John Kasich and Ted Cruz Are As Bad As Trump
Many sensible Americans are focusing their energy on the #NeverTrump movement. It's easy to see why. Trump's fascist rhetoric, nonsense ideas, and general douchebaggery are appalling and definitely worthy of some civil disobedience, but before you invest time and energy fighting Trump in the primary, you have to ask yourself how he differs from other Republicans.
Sure, Ted Cruz's fierce ideology and John Kasich's compassionate grandpa schtick sound a lot better than Trump's pungent combination of arrogance and ignorance, but would a Trump presidency look much different than a Kasich or Cruz Administration? Not really.
Let's take a point by point look at how the other Republican contenders are just as bad as the Donald.
Foreign Policy
Trump: "You would have to put boots on the ground. I would knock the hell out of them, but I'd put a ring around it and I'd take the oil for our country." "We will not be ripped off anymore."
Cruz
Ted Cruz's foreign policy is basically lifted straight out of Dr. Strangelove. Bomb them all and let Ted sort 'em out.
At a December GOP Debate, as all of the candidates had a d--k-swinging contest over who could destroy an entire region of the world the fastest, Cruz talked of nuking the Middle East. He said, “I don’t know if sand can glow in the dark, but we’re going to find out.”
Kasich
Though Kasich hasn't expressed an explicit interest in giving Middle Eastern deserts a neon green hue, he still advocates for a school yard bully foreign policy. He has said, "Mark my words ... at some point it will require boots on the ground from the world to be able to deal with this problem." If boots instead of bombs is "more realistic" to you, he's your guy.
Economics
Cruz
A national flat tax is the centerpiece of Cruz's economic plan, which would make aging war criminal Donald Rumsfeld and other rich jerks very happy.
His plan would certainly be shi--y for the rest of us. Under his plan, there's a huge tax cut for the rich and a modest one for the middle class. The loss of revenue that would come from not taking money from the wealthy would be made up with a Value Added Tax on businesses (VAT). If you aren't familiar with VAT, here is a nice diagram.
And, oh by the way, Cruz is also opposed to raising the minimum wage.
Kasich
Kasich's economic plan is basically the same, just less insane. He wants to reduce regulation and lower taxes. This has been the plan of every Republican in recent memory, and though he isn't as radical as Cruz or as bombastic as Trump, Kasich's economic policy is functionally the same.
Women's Issues
Cruz
Long an opponent of womens' rights, Cruz has a long history of anti-woman policies formed with a combination of Medieval logic and a fear of cooties. He has gone on record saying that there is "no right more precious than the right to life" and has crafted and supported anti-abortion measures like those that John Oliver called out as bold-faced attempts to circumvent the Supreme Court.
Kasich
Like Cruz, Kasich is against all forms of abortion. He signed a law banning late-term abortions in 2011, signed a bill requiring ultrasounds for women seeking abortions, and pushed formal agreements between hospitals and clinics for abortion services. The result of these policies prompted women to flock to neighboring Michigan for women's health services. As Ohio governor, Kasich has also cut funding for Planned Parenthood and rape crisis centers in his state.
Social Justice
Trump: “We have to give strength and power back to the police." "I think that we should definitely disallow any Muslims from coming in." "I'm just for traditional marriage."
Cruz
Cruz has publicly stated that the Black Lives Matter movement is "embracing and celebrating the murder of police officers.” In addition to his inflammatory rhetoric, Cruz has taken active steps against issues near and dear to the African-American community, such as derailing criminal justice reform and gutting the Voting Rights Act.
Kasich
Unlike his opponents, Kasich has said "black lives matter," but do his actions match his rhetoric? When asked about the high infant mortality rate among the Ohio Black community, Kasich said, "the community itself is going to have to have a better partnership with all of us to begin to solve that problem with infant mortality in the minority community, because we’re making gains in the majority community." Under Kasich enacted welfare reforms, "the six counties with the highest rate of terminating food stamps for able-bodied, childless adults were all counties populated mostly by minorities." If Black Lives Matter to John Kasich, he has a funny way of showing it.
Health Care
Cruz
Who could forget Ted Cruz's dumbass Green Eggs and Ham speech during his anti-Obamacare filibuster?
Unfortunately, Cruz's deep opposition to the idea that Americans shouldn't go bankrupt when they are sick or injured is far less funny than his children's book antics. What would Ted Cruz propose as an alternative to Obamacare? The truth is that he doesn't have one.
Kasich
The relationship status between Kasich and Obamacare is complicated. The first sentence on the health care portion of his website is "Obamacare is the wrong diagnosis and must be repealed and replaced." As Ohio governor, Kasich accepted Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. Republicans don't like that, so he has had to apologize for that. No matter how you look at it, Kasich is to the right of the mainstream, even if he isn't as radical as Cruz.
Immigration
Trump: Build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico. Deport 12 million illegal immigrants.
Cruz
On immigration, the only thing that differentiates Ted Cruz from Donald Trump is one tremendous, wonderful, perfect, imaginary wall. To be clear, Cruz is for building a wall, just not as big as Trump and he hasn't claimed he'll make Mexico fund his.
Kasich
On this particular issue, Kasich would be better than Trump or Cruz, just like getting punched in the stomach is better than getting punched in the face. Of course, it's hard not to have a leg up when your opponents favor mass deportation and the refusal to admit desperate refugees into the country.
But, don't get too warm and fuzzy: Kasich supports building the wall.
For those keep score at home that's WALL: 3 REALITY: 0
Guns
Trump: "The Second Amendment to our Constitution is clear. The right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed upon. Period."
Cruz
Ted Cruz firmly opposes any form of gun control. He is fond of using mass shootings as a call to arms. He takes gun control so casually that he was filmed making "machine gun bacon" in a video for the Independent Journal Review.
Kasich
Like Cruz and Trump, Kasich is running on a pro-gun platform. Kasich brags about having "signed every pro-2nd amendment bill that has crossed his desk" on his campaign website. In 1994, Kasich voted in favor of an assault weapons ban, earning an F from the NRA. Apparently, he learned his conservative lesson. Since then, he has worked to get back in the good graces of America's gun lobby, and currently enjoys an A rating.
There are a lot of reasons to hate Donald Trump and we should fight to stop him. But, you might as well save yourself the headache and wait until after the convention in Cleveland.
Before we actually get to Cleveland, what we learned in this video might really surprise you. Watch what happens when liberals blind-taste test Donald Trump's wine.