As former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper drops out of the presidential race, the Democratic Party should be ashamed that he proved too “moderate” for its nomination.
The only real waves Hickenlooper made in his short-lived presidential adventure was when he was booed unmercifully for insisting, quite sensibly, that capitalism is a system worth saving while socialism is, well, idiotic. That this bit of basic common sense is seen by Democratic activists as a detriment is a sign that the party has gone ideologically loco. Only historical illiterates deny that socialist economics have never worked anywhere, at any time. All they bring is financial misery and curtailment of freedom.
Writing as a successful entrepreneur himself, Hickenlooper insisted that “capitalism is the only economic system that can support a strong middle class, a growing economy, and innovative entrepreneurs leading global technological advancements.” Such a statement should be so obvious an observation as to be a truism, but among Democratic activists, it is heresy.
What a shame. In rejecting him, Democrats reject one of the only people in their presidential field with significant, largely successful executive experience. Hickenlooper did competent jobs both as mayor of Denver and as governor, leaving both jurisdictions in solid economic shape. He also is a welcome rarity in today’s politics: a cheerful leader, good-humored, and largely unwilling to personally denigrate opponents. In this age of Trump and perpetually angry Democrats, Hickenlooper might have been just the tonic the country needed to restore “normalcy” and civic decency.
On national policy, though, one should not praise Hickenlooper too abundantly. He pushes a lot of the “progressive” nostrums that should have made him popular among his party’s voters, but which just don’t work on a national (or international) economic scale. Among them is his call to “raise the hourly minimum wage to $15 and permanently index it to the regional cost of living so that it automatically rises as prices do.” The proposal is pure fairy dust, already proving to be a big job-killer in localities where it has been tried. The reality is simple: If it costs too much to hire unskilled workers, businesses won’t hire them. And to mandate the policy nationally, taking no account of local conditions in Middle America where the cost of living is lower, would be preposterous.
Hickenlooper also advocates various tax hikes: a bad enough idea even if intended to cut horrendous deficits, but even worse if used, as Hickenlooper would, for even more spending elsewhere. He also has said he “would be happy to embrace” as much as 99% of the nonsensically expensive, strategically reckless Green New Deal.
As Hickenlooper considers a run for U.S. Senate, Colorado voters should not be fooled into thinking that he is anything but an old-fashioned liberal, with many of the same old terrible liberal ideas. But he’s a good man and a capable one, far too reasonable for this Democratic presidential field.
