Opinion: Kasich reminds us of much needed bipartisanship

Ohio Gov. John Kasich visited the White House recently to meet with President Barack Obama. Kasich’s visit was prompted due to his support of the Trans Pacific Partnership, which is a contentious topic for those on both sides of the aisle.However, we saw something that we rarely see today: bipartisanship.Today, we live in a country with so much division. We have so much tension among various nations. Muslim men and women live their days in fear for the future of their children. Racial tensions continue the trend of riots and violent protest down the East Coast, from Baltimore to Charlotte.Bipartisanship needs to begin a transformation in the United States. Politicians are too often looking at issues with political affiliations as blinders. When the average person approaches an issue, they think it through and go off of logic, heart and their gut. When politicians approach an issue, they begin to care about what everyone in his or her party wants. Political parties pave the way for how things are done in politics. When a politician has a problem, he or she seemingly has to line up with party ideology. Issues are not the problem of one person, but of a party. If we have learned anything from this election, it is that American idealism is beyond a two-party system. We have a man running as the Republican nominee who is, needless to say, not your typical cookie-cutter conservative. Democrats have a leader and nominee in Hillary Clinton who has had a very high unfavorably ranking, with an average of 54.5 percent.We need more politicians like Kasich. Trust me, I never thought I would be saying that. However, compromise makes everything in life better. Roll out and survey a sample of married couples with different backgrounds and political affiliations. Those individuals will probably explain that compromise is essential to the success of a marriage. Compromising is something we do every day without thought. When the stability of the future is to be concerned, questions do not need to be answered by one side. Our family members, friends and co-workers are all of different political affiliations. If we can make life work as much as we disagree as people, we can make politics with Republicans and Democrats.“When politics is the order of the day and partisanship trumps country, we drift,” Kasich said.“I am extremely concerned by what I see. This is a moment for people to begin to reverse that, to think deep inside themselves about what matters when it comes to public service.”