John Kasich has managed to make himself look like the responsible moderate in the horror movie that is the Republican presidential primary, but it’s important to recognize that he’s neither responsible nor moderate. If he seems that way to you, it’s a measure both of how awful and extremist his competitors are and of how effectively Kasich has flown beneath the radar. Kasich showed off some of his reality, though, in a Wednesday night town hall, blaming high infant mortality on “the minority community:”
I will tell you this: The issue of infant mortality is a tough one. We have taken that on, and one of the toughest areas to take on is in the minority community, and the community itself is going to have to have a better partnership with all of us to begin to solve that problem of infant mortality in the minority community, cause we’re making gains in the majority community. We don’t ignore any of this, Chuck. These are serious issues and they need to be addressed and I don’t put my head in the sand and if I’ve got to get people upset doing it, that’s life.
Way to spin worsening racial disparities as the fault of the people being left behind! “We’re making gains in the majority community” therefore “the minority community” is at fault for their babies dying. No chance that something about your efforts and outreach to make gains in “the majority community” is more effective than your efforts and outreach to “the minority community,” or that different groups of people face different—and in some cases, bigger—challenges that their government is failing to address.
According to data released last summer, Ohio ranked 45th nationally on infant mortality overall, and:
- Ohio's rate of black infant mortality (13.57) was second highest nationally for the 39 states where a rate could be calculated. Only Wisconsin (14) and Kansas (14.18) fared worse.
But the answer is all about how “the community itself” needs to go crawling to Kasich and “have a better partnership with all of us to solve that problem of infant mortality.” Well. Isn’t that a promising approach for a presidential candidate to take toward solving infant mortality, or any issue of racial disparity?