OH Gov Kasich Faces Racism Charges: Hires All-White Cabinet

Ohio’s newly elected Republican Governor John Kasich came under heavy fire this week for hiring an all White cabinet. When confronted with his failure to hire any persons of color to do the “people’s work,” the Republican said “I don’t need your people.” By “you people,” he was referring to African-Americans, according to Democratic State Sen. Nina Turner, who witnessed the statement first hand.

But Kasich’s spokesperson said the Governor has been misquoted and that the comment at issue was merely intended as a partisan attack. Kasich meant to say: ”‘Your people are Democrats, we don’t need them on our cabinet, ” says Kasich’s representative. Even if this defensive statement is true, Kasich’s explanation does not settle why he has no people of color in his cabinet. After all, the former Republican National Committee Chairman, Michael Steele, is Republican.

The governor was a commentator on Fox News Channel, hosting “Heartland with John Kasich,” from 2001 to 2007. In the 2010 Ohio gubernatorial election, Kasich helped Republicans give Democrats a “shellacking,” narrowly defeated Democratic incumbent Ted Strickland.