John Kasich (R)

Pro
Should the Death Penalty Be Allowed?

"But I've had these grieving families come to see me, Chuck, people who've had their mothers, who have been gunned down. And look, it's about justice. And it isn't about revenge; it's about justice. And I support the death penalty and will continue to do that, because a lot of times, families want closure when they see justice done."

Pro
Does Lowering the Corporate Income Tax Rate Create Jobs?

"Tax Cuts for Job Creators: Lower taxes and incentives to invest will restore global competitiveness to America's business to help create new jobs."

Pro
Should Social Security Be Privatized?

"On entitlements, they all need to be, so I will give you my basic feeling about it. If you're on it, we don't want to take it away. The Baby Boomers are going to have to give some on it, not sure what it's going to be yet because I've got to go back and do all of the numbers again. For the younger people, I still like the idea of giving them the opportunity to earn money through the strength of our American economy, with Social Security included."

Pro
Are the Common Core Standards Good for Education in America?

"[Chris Wallace:] You say opposition to Common Core educational standards is quote, your word, 'hysteria.' We had Bobby Jindal, the Governor of Louisiana, on here a couple of weeks ago and he said Common Core is a stalking horse for federal takeover of education.

[John Kasich:] Well, I mean, these were governors who helped create Common Core, Chris. The Common Core was written by state education superintendents and local principals. In my state of Ohio, we want higher standards for our children, and those standards are set and the curriculum is set by local school boards. Barack Obama doesn't set it. The state of Ohio doesn't set it. It is local school boards driving better education, higher standards, created by local school boards. I've asked the Republican governors that have complained about this to tell me where I'm wrong, and guess what, silence."

Pro
Should Parental Consent Be Required for Pregnant Minors to Have Abortions?

Pro
Should the United States Continue to Build the Fence/Wall along the US-Mexico Border?

"In my opinion, there is a solution here to this issue of immigration. Finish the wall. And make it clear. Anybody that comes over that wall once we have done it, you're going back. And then the 12 million that are here, legalize them, but make sure we don't have anybody — any of the criminal element here and have a guest-worker program."

Pro
Should Undocumented Immigrants in the United States Be Allowed to Become Legal Residents?

"And could you imagine again what it would be like in a family of somebody who came here illegally but has been law abiding when they get the notice that they're going to have to leave and maybe leave their children here?

When you hear those things, I think somebody's got to stand up and call it out. I do think we need a fence. I think we need to control our border for sure. But if you're a law-abiding person that has lived here, we'll give you a path to legalization, not a path to citizenship. It is important that we control our border. We lock our doors so people don't wander into our homes.

The country has a right to control its border, too. To say we're going to pick 10 or 11 million people out and shove them out of here, do you remember after World War II when they imprisoned Japanese and what a dark spot, a dark stain on our history. The idea that we're just going to deport all of these people is not going to happen. And it's just not right.

So it may be appealing right off the bat for people who are frustrated about illegal immigration. And I am, too."

Pro
Should the United States Continue Its Use of Drone Strikes Abroad?

"I would not have [the drone program] in the CIA. I would have it located in the Pentagon. They're not the target experts. The experts in targeting is the Pentagon, the Air Force. The CIA's supposed to give us the intelligence to figure out whether the targeting makes sense... The expertise behind them is so absolutely critical. I'd use CIA intelligence and I'd be extremely careful when I used it."

Pro
Should the United States Send Ground Troops to Fight ISIS?

"[John Kasich] We're not going to solve this problem [ISIS] just by bombing... it never fixes it all. Even in the Gulf War we had the early bombing but then boots on the ground.

[Gloria Borger] But Americans don't want boots on the ground.

[Kasich] Americans will go for leadership that makes sense. Our job, you know, as public officials, is not to put our finger in the air. Our job is to listen and then lead… I'm just suggesting to you that at some point in dealing with ISIS, you mark my words, whether John Kasich, you ever hear from him again, at some point it will require boots on the ground from the world to be able to deal with this problem. And I would rather deal with it sooner than later, but you don’t just go running over there. You've got to have a battle plan."

Pro
Should the US Military Budget Be Increased?

"John Kasich will set priorities and then make the tough choices to get spending under control and then shrink and dismantle the Washington bureaucracy to keep spending under control for the long term. National security is a priority, however, and he will increase defense spending to restore our military and help keep Americans safe... Non-defense discretionary spending will be frozen for eight years at $593 billion annually. Defense spending will increase $102 billion—17 percent—between 2017 and 2025. At the same time, the weapons development process must be made more efficient and the Pentagon bureaucracy must be streamlined so that our troops in harm's way get the maximum benefit of additional defense spending."

Pro
Should the National Security Agency (NSA) Continue to Collect Phone and Email Metadata on US Citizens?

"I think there's a middle ground. I do think we have to gather intelligence. As a governor here, from time to time, I'll get a briefing on threats. So I know that intelligence is important. But I also think civil liberties are important.

So I do think they ought to continue the [data-gathering] program. But all that data probably ought to put -- be put in some sort of an organization, maybe some sort of quasi-government organization. And we ought to extend the power of the FISA [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance] court. That's the court that says if you're going to go and use this kind of surveillance, it has to be approved by somebody.

And you know, when you talk about domestic surveillance, I think we've got to extend the power of that court.

So to me, there has to be a review.

Secondly, I don't like the government holding onto this data. This could be a case for Congress to actually shine and strike the proper balance between surveillance and the need for civil liberties. And I think that's the direction they ought to go."

Pro
Should Women Be Allowed to Serve in Military Combat Positions?

"If women are capable of being in combat roles then they should be permitted… I think some of them have demonstrated an incredible capacity to be able to serve as aggressively as men, and so I think that makes a lot of sense."

Pro
Should Colleges and Universities Use Affirmative Action for Admissions?

"I think affirmative action is good. I think quotas are not. Affirmative action is that we must make positive movements to make sure everyone has an equal chance. Quotas are an artificial category that's established that denies opportunity to some.

I think we also realize that polarizing Americans isn't going to fix any of our deep problems, because even though we're richer, in many respects we're poorer in spirit."

Pro
Should the United States Authorize the Keystone XL Pipeline to Import Tar Sand Oil from Canada?

"The pipeline would not only constitute a boon for our economy, but also for our energy security. Many of our states are at the forefront of America's energy boom, producing more alternative energy, oil and natural gas than ever before. Yet even as we make strides toward improved energy security, we continue to rely on hostile energy sources to meet our needs, and we remain vulnerable to global disruptions that can send prices skyrocketing for hardworking families. The Keystone XL pipeline would pump approximately 830,000 barrels of oil a day to U.S refineries, expanding access to a more stable and affordable energy supply from one of our closest friends and allies."