after barack obama got elected, not a single person in the entire region was represented by a republican in the house of representatives. made some gains in 2010, but we lost some in 2012. as far as newt gingrich goes, listen, i invite him to the party. i mean, anybody that is out there talking about the need for the republican party being positive, for us to not just tear down barack obama, for us not just to say we re going to shut down the federal government because of obama care and instead do, i m sorry, people don t like hearing this, what we did in 1994, where we had an alternative to everything. if you had a democratic budget, if bill clinton had a democratic budget, guess what, john kasic had the alternative, an alternative that americans liked. if bill clinton was raising taxes, we had an alternative on what taxes needed to be cut. if we didn t like what hillary clinton was doing on health care there were three, four, five
pattern here. this week in texas a standoff spanning two months, one marathon filibuster from wendy davis culminated when governor perry signed law banning abortions after 20 weeks. perry seems interested in running for republican presidential nomination in 20 16. in ohio governor john kasic also in the mix for the 2016 gop nomination. so is wisconsin s scott walker who used the slowest news day of the year, the friday after the fourth of july, to stage a camera-free signing ceremony for a ban mandating ultrasound for women seeking abortions. marco rubio is being pressured to lead the push in the senate for a ban on abortions after 20 weeks that house republicans recently passed. we ve talked a lot since last november s election about fracturing or potential
them. chris christie, very tough in new jersey. the guy s got a 70% approval rating but he sat down and worked with democrats and tried to make them partner in the. we re going to do it my way but i ll try to meet you as close to the middle as i can. you have the same thing in the case of john kasic. a little confrontational at first. things didn t go so well. so much doesn t have to do with ideology. so much with temperament, it has to do and john, as i or harold, always say you ve been saying this for a while. does not involve having to cave on conservative principles or being a pushover to democrats or to public employee unions. these guys are not pushovers. they re tough but they managed to convey it toughness without conveying a sort of endless partisan warfare. yeah. they re displaying toughness around issues people care about and want toughness. donny is being kind. if your party would find its way
fourth of july issue. featuring a quiz testing your knowledge of america. that this weekend. i hope most americans take it and see if we can pass it. you take that test or the border amusement ride. both. with us now from the politico playbook we ve got politico s editor in chief, john harris. john, republicans are not good morning, joe. republicans aren t doing too well in some parts of the country. certainly not in national elections. boy, as politico reports today, as we were talking about i think yesterday or the day before, if you want to see how to win as a republican, look to the midwest. absolutely. vandehei and alan have an early valentine to ohio governor john kasic, a really positive piece on his record in ohio. but the point it makes is exactly the one you re making, joe, which is there is a model for republican success, be they
say. they ve pined it in the midwest with kasic in ohio, in wisconsin walker, and elsewhere, that puts the emphasis not on social issues and not on partisan bickering but on a record of genuine toughness and job creation. and, you know, when we last checked in on kasic he was unpopular, a posterchild for the problems that republican governors are having, the unemployment rate has gone down in ohio, now below the national average and his approval ratings are up over 50%. clearly is a model for republican success. there as chief executives in the middle east. wow. we re all shocked here because we re amazed if republicans walk away from social issues and focus on fiscal responsibility and the economy that works. that to me was shocking and we should have been ahead of this curve. the thing is john kasic is conservative when it comes to social issues as well. it s just what your emphasis, getting people back to work and not working overtime to offend