Kasich cancels conference; plans statement at 5pm

[FloFTW]

IT'S HAPPENING.

www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2016/05/john_kasich_cancels_news_confe.html

CLEVELAND, Ohio --€“ John Kasich is wrestling with whether to continue his presidential bid hours after GOP frontrunner Donald Trump's big victory in the Indiana primary made his path to the White House all but impossible.

The Ohio governor was to speak Wednesday morning at Washington-Dulles Airport, during a news conference originally scheduled to kick off a day of D.C. fundraising.

But after leaving reporters waiting there for nearly 45 minutes, and with Kasich's plane still on the ground in Ohio, the campaign canceled the news conference and scheduled an announcement for 5 p.m. in Columbus. It's an ominous sign.

Several sources close to Kasich's campaign told cleveland.com that the governor was prepared to fly to Virgina for the news conference but before takeoff initiated conversations with several close advisers as he considered his options.

Trump, according to an Associated Press count, has won 1,047 of the 1,237 delegates needed to be the nominee. At the rate the New York businessman has been rolling, he likely will reach the magic number before the end of primary season, even with others in the race.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Trump's closest challenger, dropped out Tuesday night after a do-or-die push in Indiana. That left a two-man field of Trump and Kasich.

Kasich on Tuesday night announced plans to stay in the race until the end, with campaign advisers saying voters deserved a choice. They have believed their argument that Kasich was the most electable in the fall against Democrat Hillary Clinton might resonate. An hour before Wednesday's news conference, his campaign took to Twitter with a video play on Star Wars Day -- May the Fourth be with you --€“ and proclaiming Kasich "our only hope."

But RNC Chairman Reince Priebus has made clear that he sees Trump as the presumptive nominee and that it was time for others to unite. And on Wednesday morning an RNC spokeswoman confirmed the party will begin working with the Trump team to plan the convention.

The pressure on Kasich to drop out is intense, and it will only get worse.

[WanderingWinoZ]

buh-bye!

[Deleted]

Have ice cream for lunch since this clearly indicates that the end is nigh.

[picksthemusic]

This is the apocalypse, isn't it?

[One Girl In All The World]

SEE BERNIE, EVEN THE CRAZY GOP CANDIDATES KNOW WHEN TO QUIT.

[gpw]

Congratulations. "Republicans". You have officially nominated a buffoon.

[silva]

I always hoped that america wouldn't bring another Sara Palin into the political ring. I was so wrong. What the f is happening to our country?

[sugarglider]

Hmm. I just got a fundraising email from his campaign an hour ago...

Friend - Sen. Ted Cruz just dropped out of the presidential race and it's up to us to stop Trump and unify our party in time to defeat Hillary Clinton.
...

[meshaliuknits]

May 4, 2016 11:02:21 GMT -5 sugarglider said:

Hmm. I just got a fundraising email from his campaign an hour ago...

Friend - Sen. Ted Cruz just dropped out of the presidential race and it's up to us to stop Trump and unify our party in time to defeat Hillary Clinton.
...

lol

[josieposy]

I literally just asked why he was still in this thing!

[isabel]

q13fox.com/2016/05/04/john-kasich-drops-out-of-republican-presidential-race/

[isabel]

May 4, 2016 10:49:16 GMT -5 @idaholakelady said:

Have ice cream for lunch since this clearly indicates that the end is nigh.

We're having a dessert meeting at work this afternoon after lunch and our admin just came over to tell me she bought mini things of Haagen-Daz and Ben & Jerry's.

I ate cookies last night. Ice cream today.

[meshaliuknits]

May 4, 2016 11:10:41 GMT -5 josieposy said:

I literally just asked why he was still in this thing!

He had to finish one last free meal before he dropped out.

[downtoearth]

sugarglider, fundraise to the end! Or maybe he's getting money to run independently? Hmmm...

[downtoearth]

May 4, 2016 11:20:46 GMT -5 meshaliuknits said:

May 4, 2016 11:10:41 GMT -5 josieposy said:

I literally just asked why he was still in this thing!

He had to finish one last free meal before he dropped out.

Bwahaha - I just snorted at my desk.

[downtoearth]

CNN says sources say he's out tonight...

(CNN) — John Kasich is dropping out of the Republican presidential race, two sources familiar with the plan confirmed to CNN.

Kasich's decision came after he improbably became the last challenger to Donald Trump, who emerged as the presumptive GOP nominee Tuesday night when Ted Cruz dropped out.



Even before winning his home state of Ohio in March, Kasich was facing pressure to get out of the race, with no clear path to victory. His campaign never became more than a spoiler run, designed to keep Trump from getting the 1,237 delegates needed to win the nomination before a contested convention.

But he was not yet ready to quit. Kasich had fundraisers scheduled in the Washington area Wednesday, and was on a plane at the Columbus airport when he had a change of heart.

After having the plane taxi back from the runway, according to one source close to Kasich, he then called four of his closest friends, and said, "My heart is not in this." The source said that his friends then told Kasich that if his heart is not in it, he ought to do what he needs to do.

Kasich was always a somewhat offbeat Republican contender, who laughed at himself on the trail, occasionally took positions more in line with Democrats (like expanding Medicaid in Ohio) and touted his ability to work across the aisle. He sometimes even joked that he would have done better in the Democratic primaries than in the crowded Republican field.

John Kasich fast facts

The two-term governor attempted to distinguish himself from the the raucous GOP field by avoiding direct attacks and striking a more positive tone. (His affiliated super PAC, however, was not shy about criticizing opponents for being negative.)

Kasich hugged one supporter at a South Carolina town hall who shared a deeply personal story of losing his friend to suicide and comforted another woman at a Virginia town hall as she spoke of her son's autism. And Kasich, himself, shared the deeply personal story of how he found God after losing both his parents in a car crash.

GOP wakes up to Trump victory -- and plenty of questions

The future has clearly been on the mind of the candidate: As of Tuesday night, there were clearly very high level discussions about what he should be doing.

One of his outside advisers said Tuesday night that he expected Kasich to pull out, but then reversed the story. A senior campaign official said that Kasich would be staying in the race despite Cruz's withdrawal and would challenge Trump to debates.

The official Tuesday night said that Kasich was staying in because there was "too much to fight for: the soul of the GOP and the future of America."

Publicly, Kasich's campaign also insisted he would stick around.

"Sen. Ted Cruz just dropped out of the presidential race and it's up to us to stop Trump and unify our party in time to defeat Hillary Clinton," Kasich campaign manager Ben Hansen said in a fundraising email to supporters Tuesday night.

And Wednesday morning, a senior outside adviser held a call with donors, with the game plan to continue to the convention. Another adviser, who was planning to attend a national security meeting for Kasich, was then told that the meeting was off.

Kasich could potentially still end up on the Republican ticket -- he has been floated as a possible pick for vice president, based in part on his popularity in Ohio, a crucial swing state.


Kasich's establishment path

Kasich, who served 18 years in the House before a lucrative stint at Lehman Brothers, was long viewed as a 2016 dark horse, running in the crowded "establishment lane" with candidates such as Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio.

He pinned his hopes early on New Hampshire and dedicated the vast majority of his time and resources there. Kasich did well there, finishing second after attending 190 events in the Granite State, according to the NECN candidate tracker.

His Granite State focus helped him win the support of key New Hampshire figures including former Sen. John E. Sununu, son of former New Hampshire Gov. John H. Sununu and veteran New Hampshire Republican leader Tom Rath, who was instrumental in Mitt Romney's 2012 bid. He also won endorsements from The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Nashua Telegraph and other New Hampshire papers.

Throughout the race Kasich played up his fiscal bona fides as the last House Budget Committee chairman to craft a balanced federal budget, during the Clinton administration.

Some Republicans say they're breaking away from the party now that Donald Trump is presumptive nominee

He also talked extensively about his working-class upbringing in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, just outside Pittsburgh. He often told the story of when, as a freshman at Ohio State University in 1970, he wrote a letter seeking a private audience with President Richard Nixon.

And his punchline to his Nixon visit? The White House granted him five minutes with Nixon, but he refused to settle for that and took 20 minutes.

On the trail, Kasich occasionally stumbled with voters, delivering blunt answers that were not always popular. In September, he told supporters at a California golf club that "you leave a little tip" for Hispanic maids, drawing criticism from some Latino groups.

And a few weeks after that comment, he told one voter that she would have to "get over" proposed cuts to Social Security.

He earned a spot on the main stage at the first Republican debate last August, riding a bump from his late-July announcement and staying off the undercard stage for each debate afterward. But Ohio ended up being his only moment of triumph.

www.cnn.com/2016/05/04/politics/john-kasich-drops-out/index.html

[tripleshot]

He's speaking now. It's on the local Cleveland news. He's telling stories about how great all the people are and how much he loves Ohio. And he keeps getting choked up. Cut the crap, Kasich. Shut up. You put on a fake, gentle public persona, while you take away women's rights and health care, and education in our state. There are probably millions of people who think he's such a nice, gentle, kind man and aren't paying attention to what is really happening.

[FloFTW]

BLA FUCKING BLA KASICH I HATE YOU

[aurora]

So, tripleshot and FloFTW said pretty much the same thing, right?

[lyssbobiss, Command, B613]

The best moment of the whole thing was when the news cut back to Chuck Todd on MTP and he goes "wait, did I miss a Trump endorsement?" No, you sure didn't!

[5kcandlesinthewind]

I still can't believe this cockopotamus was the last sane ("sane") one standing.
I'm just glad he dropped out in time for the 538 live show tonight...

[downtoearth]

May 4, 2016 16:54:57 GMT -5 5kcandlesinthewind said:

I still can't believe this cockopotamus was the last sane ("sane") one standing.
I'm just glad he dropped out in time for the 538 live show tonight...

When does it start - I couldn't find it online and I use iTunes podcasts?

I loved the last one on the "legacy of Bernie" as if he was already way gone.  

[OscarQ]

May 4, 2016 16:54:57 GMT -5 5kcandlesinthewind said:

I still can't believe this cockopotamus was the last sane ("sane") one standing.
I'm just glad he dropped out in time for the 538 live show tonight...

So jealous!
ETA:  I assumed you were going.  Did I make an ass of myself?

[isabel]

May 4, 2016 16:54:57 GMT -5 5kcandlesinthewind said:

I still can't believe this cockopotamus was the last sane ("sane") one standing.
I'm just glad he dropped out in time for the 538 live show tonight...

I'm so excited for the podcast!

[isabel]

May 4, 2016 17:09:55 GMT -5 downtoearth said:

May 4, 2016 16:54:57 GMT -5 5kcandlesinthewind said:

I still can't believe this cockopotamus was the last sane ("sane") one standing.
I'm just glad he dropped out in time for the 538 live show tonight...

When does it start - I couldn't find it online and I use iTunes podcasts?

I loved the last one on the "legacy of Bernie" as if he was already way gone.  

As far as I'm aware, they're not broadcasting it live. I think it will be available tomorrow as a podcast.

[5kcandlesinthewind]

Not going, (I wish!), but they said they'd post it on Thursday.

Harry Enten's disdain for Bernie is one of my favorite things in life right now.

[isabel]

May 4, 2016 17:13:48 GMT -5 5kcandlesinthewind said:

Not going, (I wish!), but they said they'd post it on Thursday.

Harry Enten's disdain for Bernie is one of my favorite things in life right now.

I like the NPR Politics podcast too, but you can tell a couple of them are for Bernie. I love how goddamn reasonable the 538 folks are.

[5kcandlesinthewind]

May 4, 2016 17:19:13 GMT -5 isabel said:

May 4, 2016 17:13:48 GMT -5 5kcandlesinthewind said:

Not going, (I wish!), but they said they'd post it on Thursday.

Harry Enten's disdain for Bernie is one of my favorite things in life right now.

I like the NPR Politics podcast too, but you can tell a couple of them are for Bernie. I love how goddamn reasonable the 538 folks are.

I know - I refused to listen for a while, but I actually find it reassuring. I'll have to look for NPR one. I also really like the Keeping it 1600 podcast with the two former Obama staffers (Jon Favreau and Dan Pfeiffer).

[OscarQ]

May 4, 2016 17:19:13 GMT -5 isabel said:

May 4, 2016 17:13:48 GMT -5 5kcandlesinthewind said:

Not going, (I wish!), but they said they'd post it on Thursday.

Harry Enten's disdain for Bernie is one of my favorite things in life right now.

I like the NPR Politics podcast too, but you can tell a couple of them are for Bernie. I love how goddamn reasonable the 538 folks are.

This!

I mean - was it last week - Nate pretty much admitted he registered as a R and voted for Kasich because it was the most bang for his buck.  And his district went for Kasich.  Good job Nate!

[ESF]

May 4, 2016 16:54:57 GMT -5 5kcandlesinthewind said:

I still can't believe this cockopotamus was the last sane ("sane") one standing.
I'm just glad he dropped out in time for the 538 live show tonight...

WAIT, what is this?!?! Is this on the internet? What time?