Kasich calls for more power to be given to states

by Rebecca Savransky - 02/16/16 9:02 PM ET

Republican presidential candidate John Kasich on Tuesday said states should have more control on issues like education.

“My goal is going to be to turn a lot of power back here,” the Ohio governor said during a town hall in South Carolina on Tuesday night.

{mosads}”I want it to come back here, to all the states where we can be the laboratories of innovation.”

Kasich said the solutions to these issues shouldn’t come from Washington.

“That’s not what’s going to fix this little town right here,” he said. “It’s us. It’s the way we run our schools. It’s the values we give our kids. It’s the way in which we man the food banks.”

Kasich also called for minimum wage raises to be determined by states, noting that in Ohio, the minimum wage is raised a little bit each year.

Politicians should sit down with businesspeople and determine what is feasible, he said.

“Can we do a little bit better for people?” he asked. “If they can, we should do it.”

Kasich went on to say that the GOP can only achieve solutions if the party can get on the same page.

“We got to stop yelling at each other, and we got to stop yelling at each other inside the Republican Party,” he said, adding that the polarization of the two major parties keep things from getting done.

Kasich touted his conservative record of balancing the budget and cutting taxes, addressing accusations by some of being a moderate.

“Am I not a conservative because I don’t hate Democrats?” he asked. “I never hated them. I can disagree with someone without having to be disagreeable.”

“I’m a Republican,” he said, “but I consider myself to be an American before.”

Tags John Kasich