Why not? Hey, nothing says excitement like two governors who found themselves on the sidelines of their respective parties last year looking for ways to be relevant two years from now. Axios reports that a public tour by John Kasich and John Hickenlooper on health-care reform has a longer-term strategy:

Axios has learned that their duet is part of an alliance that’s gaining momentum toward a possible joint independent bid for president in 2020, likely with Kasich at the top of the ticket …

Some establishment Dems are apoplectic about the idea of Hickenlooper teaming up with a Republican. One top strategist told me: “No Dem wants Kasich anywhere near our ticket. Sounds like a No Labels fantasy, but moderate Dems would hate it.”

But a veteran operativeemails: “Our political system is completely broken. Something big and historic needs to happen to break the logjam. I’m a big Dem but I’m for anything that … does away with this hyper-partisanship on both sides that is paralyzing our government.”

Is this on the level? CNN reported that they’ve heard the rumors too:

CNN reporting that they have a source that says Kasich, Hickenlooper are considering a 2020 unity ticket. #elections

— Cortney O'Brien (@obrienc2) August 25, 2017

But Henry Gomez, now at Politico but for years a reporter for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, hears from a half-dozen sources who say don’t bet on it:

In re Kasich: I've heard from 6 people close to his political team/familar with how it operates. All doubt the Hickenlooper thing is real.

— Henry J. Gomez (@HenryJGomez) August 25, 2017

Source fam w/how Team Kasich works: "There’s some people in the orbit who want to keep his name alive, not a lot of action behind the words"

— Henry J. Gomez (@HenryJGomez) August 25, 2017

Another Gomez source calls it “enjoyable fan fiction,” which would make sense if either of these two governors had passionate fans in the first place. Kasich didn’t play well outside of Ohio at all during the 2016 primary season despite having won two terms as governor and a combative enough nature to comfortably push back against Donald Trump. John Hickenlooper barely won his second term in Democrat-friendly Colorado, and never cast even a small shadow in the Democratic primaries.

So much for appeal. What’s the commonality, the connection? Kasich is pro-life and wants to defund Planned Parenthood. He went from an F to an A with the NRA when he jumped into the presidential race in 2015, but has mainly been consistently supportive on 2nd Amendment issues. Hickenlooper spoke at a Planned Parenthood rally in 2012 to attack Mitt Romney’s pro-life conversion. As governor, he presided over the passage of gun-control laws so foolish that they resulted in the recall of legislators shortly after passage and the exit of a manufacturer from the state. Their main convergence is on expanding Medicare, but Hickenlooper endorses ObamaCare while Kasich pledged to repeal it.

Who would jump on board this bandwagon? Presumably, voters who don’t really care about outcomes on abortion, guns, or health care. All five of them. And what will the slogan be? “Can’t make up your mind? Neither can we!” Brett LoGiurato sums it up with the meme du jour:

https://twitter.com/BrettLoGiurato/status/901093598711754752