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Put-down from Mr. Compassion

Put-down from Mr. Compassion

In New Hampshire to promote the candidacy of Chris Sununu in that state’s Republican gubernatorial primary, Gov. John Kasich went into a bookstore and came across Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. That’s when he stumbled, offering unnecessary remarks on the religious convictions of the star of the Harry Potter movies. 

The Concord Monitor reported the following: “You know that Daniel Radcliffe has declared himself an atheist?” Mr. Kasich said. “I’m serious. What a weird thing. Why would a guy who has had all that success just, I mean, what the hell is wrong with him?”

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What the hell is wrong with John Kasich?

And why is our governor back in New Hampshire rather than buckling down to his job in Ohio? That job was much ignored for a year while he traveled the country running for president.

The second question is easily answered: Mr. Kasich has presidential fever. When he talks to the press, he prefers national outlets. When he travels, it is not to Findlay, Circleville, Ada, Toledo, or Youngstown. 

He is already running hard for 2020 and he has his boots on the ground in New Hampshire. Ohio is in Mr. Kasich’s rearview mirror now. 

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Will attacking Daniel Radcliffe help his perpetual presidential campaign?

The problem is not that Mr. Kasich disagrees with Mr. Radcliffe about the existence of God. That’s his right. 

The problem is that the governor implied that something must be “wrong with” a successful person who is an atheist. That’s dismissive and disrespectful. Mr. Kasich insulted Mr. Radcliffe and all other atheists, a list that would include scientists such as Stephen Hawking and Richard Dawkins and philosophers like David Hume and George Santayana.

Instead of debating atheism on the merits — making an argument for God — Mr. Kasich argues ad hominem and implies that someone he doesn’t understand must be weird or dumb.

According to a 2014 Pew Research Center study, just 3.1 percent of Americans identify as atheists. They are a disliked minority. According to Pew, Americans gave them a score of 41 on a “feeling thermometer” scale of one to 100, substantially “colder” than their feelings toward Jews, Catholics, and Evangelicals, all of which scored in the 60s. A slight majority, according to Pew, said they would be less likely to support a candidate for president who did not believe in God. And there are, according to Pew, zero atheists in Congress.

What Mr. Kasich did, then, was express contempt for a minority that is already disliked. That’s unbecoming in a governor and a once and future presidential candidate who wants to be known as a compassionate conservative.

First Published September 11, 2016, 4:00 a.m.

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