Posted on 06/01/2019 6:21:22 PM PDT by yesthatjallen
Democratic activists booed former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) on Saturday after he warned party faithful about the perils of embracing socialism and socialist positions ahead of next year's presidential race.
Hickenlooper, a former governor of a purple state Hillary Clinton won by just 4.9 percent of the vote in 2016, said Republicans would use the Democratic flirtation with socialism to paint the entire party as outside the mainstream of the political spectrum.
"If we want to beat Donald Trump and achieve big progressive goals, socialism is not the answer," Hickenlooper told delegates to the California Democratic Party convention.
Some delegates, meeting in perhaps the most liberal city in America, booed.
Hickenlooper, polling near the bottom of the 24-candidate Democratic field, anticipated the reaction. He amassed a centrist record as governor, working with a Republican-controlled legislature for most of his two terms in office, though he scored progressive wins in his final two years on the job after Democrats reclaimed control of the state House and Senate.
He said allowing Republicans to define the Democratic brand would hurt the party's chances of winning the White House in 2020.
"If we don't draw a clear distinction between Democrats and our candidates and socialism, the Republicans will paint us into a corner that we can't get out of," Hickenlooper told The Hill in an interview shortly after his speech. "Massive government expansions may not be strictly speaking socialism, but trust me Republicans will make it seem like socialism. In places like Ohio and Michigan and North Carolina and Wisconsin, places we have to win to beat Trump, we'll be starting out ten yards behind."
"We need to be laser-focused on winning this election, and that's going to mean focusing on kitchen table programs that will actually improve people's quality of life," he said.
If he is included in the first Democratic presidential debate later this month in Miami, Hickenlooper is likely to portray himself as a pragmatic contrast to candidates who have positioned themselves much farther to the left.
Hickenlooper has met one of the Democratic National Committee's two thresholds for being included in the debate after receiving at least one percent support in three public surveys.
He has not yet collected the 65,000 donors necessary to meet the second threshold. If more than 20 candidates qualify for the debates, those who have not met both thresholds risk missing out on the debate stage.
Chickenpooper would be the perfect demonrat nominee.
Is there no video of the event? I’ve been looking and can’t find any.
As a two term governor of a medium size state, Hickenlooper may be the only Democrat Party candidate who is at least notionally qualified by experience for the office of President of the United States.
(Guess I should also include Biden since “creepy Uncle Joe” was VP under Obama.)
Not saying I’d vote for the governor but he at least has some idea of the day-to-day requirements and complexities involved in directing a big government bureaucracy made of multiple departments with geographically widespread operations and constrained by law, regulations and budget.
(Come to think of it, take Biden off of the list.)
“I don’t know what I like more about socialism, the totalitarian oppression, or the abject descent into poverty...”
Hilarious. I’m gonna use that.
Socialism is too right-wing for the Demonrat Stalinist hordes.
Looper knew this would get a reaction and headline. He bounce now from 0.5% to 2%.
They are Communists first, Jew haters second, and baby killers third
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Not sure your order applies to all of them. Many like the killing most of all, with babies and Jews alternating in first and second place.
I have no problem with people admiring socialism and wishing that was the system we had here. Those people deserve our sympathy, not our hatred.
I do have a problem with assuming that the opinions of such mental defectives are valid in the same way as a normal person and thus acting as if their votes count.
Correct. He needs attention. But will it work? He’s somehow already met the polling threshold to make the master debates, short on donors.
Gillirand keeps going harder and more psychotically to the left but nothing is happening for her.
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