Representative John Kasich (R-Oh.) spoke in 28 Silsby to about 50 students and members of the community Saturday afternoon, one of Kasich's first stops in New Hampshire as a 2000 presidential hopeful.
Kasich used the event as an opportunity to promote his campaign platform of less government regulation and a greater degree of individual freedom.
"I don't like rules," Kasich said, explaining his lifelong sympathies for the Republican party as well as his current platform, "You never have to worry about government getting too little."
Kasich also said he wants to see the development of stronger local communities and encourage Americans to gain a greater sense of trust in their neighbors.
He spent the majority of his time Saturday discussing his plans to encourage the United States to focus on community issues and run the country from the "bottom up."
"I'm just going to lay out for you what I think the key is for the next century. ... [the question is] where's the power going to be -- is the power going to be in our hands or is the power going to be in someone else's hands?" Kasich said, describing the nature of the debate between federal government and community control.
Kasich spoke briefly on plans to offer a new "charity tax credit" as well as a 10 percent tax cut -- programs he said are designed to encourage investment in local communities as well as to give people greater choice in what is done with their money.
The funds for these new tax plans will come from the current budget surplus, he said, though he also wants to use part of the surplus to protect the future of Social Security.
Taking on many of the same issues of his initial campaign for Ohio state senate in 1978, Kasich is attempting to run a grassroots campaign, speaking to small groups of people and getting their opinions of what issues are important.
Kasich denied, however, that he will run his current campaign based on constantly changing day-to-day opinion surveys. "I think there should be a law against polls," he said.
Following the elimination of his state senate district in 1982 he ran for U.S. Congress in the 12th district of Ohio, beginning his current nine-term tenure as a member of the House of Representatives.
Kasich currently serves as Chairman of the House Budget Committee and is a member of the House Armed Services Committee, and played an important role in the creation of a balanced budget and the elimination of the B-2 "Stealth" Bomber project.
As a member of the Armed Services Committee, he has played a major role in the formulation of congressional policy on the NATO air strikes in Kosovo.
Kasich said he does not support the use of force in the Balkans. "I have reluctantly concluded ... that military intervention -- through air power or ground troops -- is not in the national interest," Kasich wrote in a New York Times article Friday.
He also wrote that he considered a "mediated settlement ... the considerably wiser choice in the future."
Kasich also discussed his strategy for the campaign. He said that he is currently focusing his campaign in his home state of Ohio along with Iowa, which holds the first caucus, and New Hampshire, which holds the first primary on February 15.
Kasich's staff said that since several states have moved their primaries to dates in early March it will be more difficult than ever to campaign in the days leading up to the elections.
