Former Ohio Governor and presidential candidate John Kasich joins the Chuck Toddcast for a wide-ranging conversation that keeps returning to one uncomfortable diagnosis: Americans say they want the political middle and then retreat to their partisan corners the moment it counts. Kasich's read on this cycle is bracing coming from a Republican — the democratic socialists are talking about things voters actually care about, while moderate Democrats have stayed conspicuously quiet, which is exactly why the left has struck a nerve. On the data center backlash, Kasich has a straightforward answer — make them provide their own power — and points out that Ohio ratepayers are already footing higher bills for facilities located in Virginia. He's blunt that politicians are beholden to special interests before they're even sworn in, supports public financing of elections, and warns that neither the center-right nor center-left is producing genuinely interesting solutions to anything, least of all a national debt he says is going to hurt everybody if it isn't addressed.

Kasich also addresses recent concerns with the Pentagon, where he brings real budget-committee experience to a question few politicians take seriously: what exactly are we getting for a defense budget this size? He argues Pentagon leadership is deeply resistant to change, that America isn't developing new systems and technology well, that only about 1% of defense dollars go toward new systems, and that we simply don't need this many nuclear weapons — one alone, as he puts it, will ruin your day. He uses the B-2 bomber, built with parts manufactured across a strategically chosen array of states, to explain why reform is so brutally hard, while insisting it remains possible with the right political leadership. From there the conversation widens into Kasich's argument that moderates have historically been the bulwark against the extremes, that outside forces are often what actually force change , and that people outside both parties are about to turn hard on the tech companies. He wonders aloud whether a backlash to private equity could become a genuine threat to capitalism itself — pointing to private equity buying up youth sports to raise prices, and to firms that can effectively choose which regulators they deal with. Kasich closes with Ohio: whether the state is genuinely purple again or just having a bad Republican year, why he thinks it drifts back toward swing status over time, why the Senate race is too close to call, and whether Amy Acton or Vivek Ramaswamy faces the harder barrier to winning the governorship.

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Timeline:

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)

00:00 John Kasich joins the Chuck ToddCast

02:15 People say they want the middle, then retreat to partisan corners

03:30 Voters keep rejecting the party in power

05:45 It took six presidential elections to get beyond Lincoln

06:45 Democratic socialists are talking about things voters care about

07:30 Moderate Dems are staying quiet while socialists have struck a nerve

11:00 Rent control doesn’t work, but sounds appealing to voters in NYC

12:00 The healthcare system doesn’t keep us healthy, only treats the sick

13:30 Healthcare and education have atrophied over the years

15:00 Competition drives change in education, teachers union doesn’t want change

16:15 How would you handle the public backlash to data centers and big tech?

16:45 Data centers should be forced to provide their own power

17:15 Customers in Ohio are paying higher rates for data centers in Virginia

18:30 Politicians are beholden to special interests before they’re sworn in

18:45 Support public financing for elections

20:00 The center right & left aren’t coming up with interesting solutions

21:30 If we don’t fix the national debt it’s going to hurt everybody

23:00 What are we getting from our massive military budget?

23:45 Pentagon leaders are highly resistant to change

25:30 We aren’t developing new systems & tech well

26:00 Only 1% of the defense dollars go to new systems

27:00 Don’t need this many nukes, one alone will ruin your day

27:45 Trying to change the Pentagon is incredibly difficult

28:15 B2 bomber was built with parts all manufactured in different states

29:30 It is possible for the Pentagon to be reformed with right political leadership

32:00 Moderates have served as the bulwark against the extremes

32:45 Who are leaders from the past who electrified the country?

35:00 Bill Clinton isn’t a budget balancer without Ross Perot

36:30 Ralph Nader also forced change from the outside

38:00 People outside the parties will start turning on the tech companies

39:45 Could backlash to private equity become a threat to capitalism?

40:15 Private equity is now buying up youth sports to raise prices?

43:15 Ohio went from #47 to #1 by hiring smart business investors

44:45 Private equity can pick the regulators they want to deal with

46:30 Is Ohio purple again or is this just a bad year for Republicans?

47:00 Over time, Ohio will naturally drift back to swing status

48:00 Ohio senate is too close to call 

50:30 Harder barrier to break: Amy Acton or Vivek Ramaswamy?

51:45 Ramaswamy will run into friction with Ohio voters due to his race

53:15 Would still bet that Ramaswamy will win

54:30 There’s a formula to what makes a good leader

56:00 Rural communities are being devastated by drugs & homelessness

56:45 There is abject poverty in appalachia

57:45 What young leaders have impressed you in the past couple years?

1:00:15 Predictions for Miami’s upcoming football season

1:02:00 Check out the John Kasich Show on SiriusXM