Kasich: 2-party system may be in jeopardy

By Jack Torry

Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — Launching a spirited attack against the Democratic Party, Ohio Gov. John Kasich charged he has “no clue” what Democrats stand for and complained they have “no agenda.”

In a taped interview aired Sunday on “ABC’s This Week,” Kasich offered the strongest signal yet that he may want to run for president in 2020 as an independent, even though throughout the interview he kept insisting he was a Republican.

But while Kasich has been a constant critic of the Republicans, he told ABC’s Jonathan Karl “we are heading into a mid-term election” where Democrats “are counting on the Republicans bouncing the basketball off of their foot out of bounds. And they’re going to have a decent 2018; a good year.”

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“But how can you have a national policy party that has no agenda?” Kasich asked. “No agenda. And Democrats will tell you that.”

Kasich and Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado were jointly interviewed by Karl on Friday as the nation’s governors gathered in Washington for their annual meeting.

Although Kasich repeatedly told Karl he has no idea what he will do in 2020, he and his advisers have clearly attempted to portray him as an alternative to two political parties which have frustrated voters with their lengthy quarrels on issues such as gun control, health care, budget deficits and taxes.

“We may be beginning to see the end of the two-party system,” Kasich said. “I’m starting to really wonder if we are going to see a multi-party system at some point in the future of this country.”

“Because I don’t think either party is answering people’s deepest concerns and needs,” Kasich said.

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Kasich, whose term as governor ends next January, said he would “like to have a voice,” after he leaves office. But when Karl asked him whether he planned to run for president, Kasich said “at the end of the day it’s in the hands of the Lord as what to my future is,” adding, “I don’t know what he wants me to do.”