I hate you, Colorado Peak Politics
We thought that former Democratic governor John Hickenlooper would differentiate himself though a more centered, pragmatic approach to the campaign for the 2020 Democrat nomination, given that the far left is already pretty crowded. Color us wrong.
After the absurdity of the Green New Deal was shown to the world – no cows or airplanes, 100% renewable energy in ten years – Hickenlooper proudly posted that he will be “happy to embrace” 99 percent of this foolish agenda. As of this moment, no one is sure which one percent of the plan he is not on board with.
What an odd shift in position: the governor who was so confident that fracking was safe he drank a glass of fracking fluid now wants to wipe out the most important industry in the state. We can rest assured that if he gets any traction in early primary states this inconvenient story will magically surface some how, and crush him in the eyes of the far left that he seems to be pursuing right now.
In fact, during almost every year of his governorship, Hickenlooper worked to make it easier for oil and gas developers to operate in Colorado: reducing red tape in the permitting process, proclaiming that fracking fluids do not contaminate ground water, promoting natural gas as a way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, fighting cities that try to ban drilling, and support for the export of US crude products, to name just a few. Let us be clear, this was a good, pragmatic position to take.
But he won’t let that future certainty of this information coming out curtail his presidential dreams right now. Just on Thursday he mimicked the rhetoric of the “keep it in the ground” crazies – “the time for incremental change to address climate change has passed…the time to act is now.” Translation: he’s with the elites’ agenda to make your fuel more expensive, your electric bill higher, your commute more torturous, your houses smaller, and your possessions fewer.
Of course Hick and his friends running for president are rich and these policies won’t impact their lives that much. It’s just to control the rest of us.