Story highlights "This is the craziest time I've ever seen in politics," Kasich said

"I don't think we have enough leadership," the Ohio governor added

(CNN) Ohio Gov. John Kasich delivered a harsh critique of the partisan fight over health care Sunday on CNN, telling "State of the Union" host Dana Bash: "I don't think either party particularly cares about helping poor people."

"Both parties ought to be worried about poor people because I don't think either party particularly cares about helping poor people," said Kasich, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination last year, often positioning himself as a moderate seeking bipartisan solutions. "You look at the rates of poverty, the problems in this country. We have not designed a system to get people work. Everything we're talking about now — getting people healthy, giving them health care — is designed to get them to work. It's designed to give them an opportunity to have a better life."

"This is the craziest time I've ever seen in politics," Kasich told Bash after she showed him an ad funded by America First Policies, a White House-aligned political action committee, targeting Republican Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada for speaking out against the health care bill that the Senate GOP unveiled last week.

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"And maybe this is a signal that instead of people just confessing their loyalty to one party or the other, maybe they ought to be confessing their loyalty to the country," Kasich said, adding that political leaders need to stand up and say what they think about things regardless of potential backlash.

"I don't think we have enough leadership," Kasich continued. "I think too many people cower, you know, in the wings because of partisanship. Not just Republicans; Democrats as well. If you try to get a great number of governors, Republican or Democrat, to speak out on this, where are they? All you hear are crickets and chirping because they're, they're worried about upsetting their base."

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