- The Washington Times - Monday, June 3, 2019

California’s Democrats want socialism — and they made sure to let 2020 presidential hopeful John Hickenlooper know it over the weekend.

A frenzy of boos rang out for 30 seconds Saturday after former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper told California’s Democratic Convention that President Trump cannot be defeated by a pro-socialism candidate.

“If we want to beat Donald Trump and achieve big progressive goals, socialism is not the answer,” Mr. Hickenlooper said, CNN reported.

A loud refrain off boos then rang out among 4,500 delegates at the San Francisco event.

“We shouldn’t try to achieve universal coverage by removing private insurance from over 150 million Americans,” he added. “We should not try to tackle climate change by guaranteeing every American a government job.”

He then tried to placate the crowd by vowing to decree health care a “right.”

“Hold on, hold on,” he said. “I want to give Americans a reason to look forward tomorrow. As president, I will make health care a right, not a privilege with a real public option.”

The Democrat is among 23 vying to take on Mr. Trump and convince voters to make him a one-term president.

Current polling places Mr. Hickenlooper at 1% among his peers.

• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.

Copyright © 2024 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.

Please read our comment policy before commenting.

Click to Read More and View Comments

Click to Hide