Well, that's one way to stand out from the crowd.
We're not sure if it was a dumb move or the best political move of the year, at least in the Democratic nomination process.
In the dog-and-candidate show going on in San Francisco, where presidential candidates have been genuflecting before the California Democratic Party convention for a week now, one candidate got on stage and told the crowd what it didn't want to hear. His name might not be a familiar one just yet, but if he keeps this up, John Hickenlooper will be a household name. At least in households with political cranks.
"If we want to beat Donald Trump," the former governor of Colorado told the various activists gathered in San Fran, "and achieve big progressive goals, socialism is not the answer."
The crowd booed. As Casey Stengel used to say, you could look it up.
San Francisco may be the most liberal city in America. But we wouldn't chalk this up to a mistake on John Hickenlooper's part. The video of what he said went viral. For a candidate polling near the bottom in a 24-member pool of candidates, he may be crazy like a fox. There are plenty trying to take the title of Most Liberal Candidate from Bernie Sanders. But sensible, clear-headed and practical candidates?
John Hickenlooper's campaign couldn't have bought this kind of publicity. He was never going to win California anyway. But perhaps his principled stand will win him votes in flyover country next year. If a sensible, clear-headed and practical candidate can make it that long in the modern Democratic Party.
Editorial on 06/05/2019