Republican presidential candidate John Kasich has reversed course on his idea of a new government agency to spread “Judeo-Christian values.” One day after proposing the idea, the Ohio governor said “a new agency” is not necessary, The Columbus Dispatch reported.
Kasich told an audience at Regent University in Virginia beach that his idea could be accomplished by “breathing life into something that’s kind of become dormant,” referring to the Voice of America, a government-run broadcast network that reaches 188 million people per week internationally.
RELATED: Kasich eyes new agency for ‘Judeo-Christian’ values
Kasich proposed a new government agency earlier this week during a speech at the National Press Club and in a subsequent interview with NBC News.
“I will consolidate them into a new agency that has a clear mandate to promotes the core Judeo-Christian Western values that we and our friends and allies share, the values of human rights, the values of democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of association,” Kasich said Tuesday.
While Kasich moved away from the idea of a new agency, which did not go over well in conservative circles focused on shrinking the government and reducing the number of government agencies, he maintained a belief that Iran, China, Russia and the Middle East would benefit from western ethic.
“I think it’s entirely reasonable for us to begin to tell the world who we are, what we believe, because it’s really all about hope, science, education, progress and the future,” he said at the Christian college.
The spread of Western ideals is part of a comprehensive plan Kasich unveiled to combat ISIS. It includes working with NATO and Arab allies to defeat ISIS in Syria and Iraq with the use of air power and ground soldiers. He called for a no-fly zone to protect zones for refugees along the Jordanian and Turkish border.
This article first appeared on NBCNews.com.
