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The knives are starting to come out for one of the GOP's surging candidates

John Kasich Speech
John Kasich Speech

(REUTERS/Brian Snyder)
US Republican presidential candidate Gov. John Kasich of Ohio at a campaign town-hall meeting in Peterborough, New Hampshire, on August 11.

In recent weeks, Gov. John Kasich of Ohio has been enjoying a surge in polls of the Republican presidential primary field.

And as Kasich has been making gains, some of his rivals are arguing he is noticeably to the left of the other GOP contenders.

An operative for an opposing GOP campaign pointed Business Insider to comments Kasich made about the Iran deal at an event on Monday as evidence of his liberalism relative to the rest of the field.

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While many of the other leading GOP contenders have suggested they would nullify the nuclear agreement — with some pledging to rip it up on their "first day" in office — Kasich suggested he would keep it in place and police it. Though he noted that he "wouldn't have" made the deal and hoped "against hope" that the Senate would "reject this deal," Kasich said he would watch it "every step of the way" if he took office after the 2016 election.

The rival operative characterized this remark as suggesting Kasich was "the furthest to the left on standing up to Iran and defending Israel, which is emerging as a huge issue in the primary." The operative also argued that this was not the only issue on which Kasich was out of step with the rest of the Republican field.

Specifically, the operative pointed to Kasich's support for expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act and his past comments indicating he was unconcerned with the budget cuts that stemmed from sequestration and have hit the military. Opposition to both the Affordable Care Act, colloquially known as Obamacare, and the sequester's defense cuts are widely seen as litmus-test issues for the GOP primary.

"He wants to keep the sequester, keep the deal with Iran, and expand Obamacare," the operative said. "Why not just vote for a Democrat? We need someone who's going to be unintimidated to take on the big fights in Washington — not just rearrange the desks in Obama's White House."

John Kasich Chris Christie
John Kasich Chris Christie

(Brian Snyder)
Kasich with Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey.

Another aide for a separate rival Republican campaign agreed with this criticism of Kasich. In fact, this operative argued that Kasich was to the left of the GOP primary field "both on policy and rhetoric."

"A nonpolicy example, since those are kind of obvious, is how he refuses to criticize Hillary even when asked," the aide said.

As evidence, the aide pointed to what the aide described as "a really strange exchange" that occurred when Kasich was interviewed by conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt last month. During that conversation, Hewitt asked Kasich to "talk about Hillary for a moment." Kasich declined.

"Hugh, there's going to be plenty of time to talk about Hillary," Kasich said. "Can we just, can I just talk about me and my record, and what I want to do, please?"

Before Kasich's recent rise in the polls, many observers predicted that being a relative moderate could actually be an asset for Kasich and help him stand out in the crowded GOP field. This conventional wisdom has been challenged by liberals who dispute the notion that Kasich is more in line with their views than other Republicans. The idea Kasich is relatively left-leaning has also been vigorously denied by the man himself.

Indeed, Kasich campaign spokesman Rob Nichols sent Business Insider a point-by-point rebuttal of the comments made by the two rival GOP campaign operatives. Nichols pointed out that Kasich had said he would get rid of the caps on defense spending imposed by the sequester and that Kasich's interview with Hewitt included him vowing he was the Republican best suited to taking on Clinton. Additionally, Nichols argued that Kasich wanted to repeal Obamacare and had a record of opposition to the law.

"The governor is not for Obamacare but is committed to repealing it and replacing it with something actually reduces healthcare costs," Nichols said. "As governor, he said no to a state exchange, no to federal regulation of Ohio's health-insurance market, and no to a federal takeover of Ohio's Medicaid eligibility determination. He's on record calling for Obamacare's repeal and replacement from the beginning, and that hasn't changed."

Potential Republican 2016 presidential candidate Ohio Governor John Kasich speaks at the First in the Nation Republican Leadership Conference in Nashua, New Hampshire, in this file photo taken April 18, 2015.  REUTERS/Brian Snyder/Files
Potential Republican 2016 presidential candidate Ohio Governor John Kasich speaks at the First in the Nation Republican Leadership Conference in Nashua, New Hampshire, in this file photo taken April 18, 2015. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/Files

(Thomson Reuters)
Kasich speaking in Nashua, New Hampshire.

On Iran, Nichols similarly pointed to Kasich's stated opposition for the deal. He also argued that Kasich's suggestion he would "watch" the agreement if he became president didn't rule out the possibility he would nullify it. Rather, Nichols said it simply wouldn't be smart for Kasich to "telegraph" to Iran how he would handle the situation if he took office.

"The governor strongly opposes the Iran deal, would never have made it, and hopes Congress rejects it," Nichols said. "What others promise today they'll do to the deal if they're elected — and Congress fails to reject it — as proof of their so-called toughness, actually only betrays their inexperience.

"Experienced leaders don't telegraph their punches, presume to be able to predict the geopolitical landscape 15 months in the future, or ever make statements on foreign policy that restrict their freedom to maneuver. Since it's not a treaty, the Iran deal isn't even binding on future administrations. The goal is to deny Iran a nuclear weapon, and people should keep their eye on the goal."

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