Hickenlooper, Inslee on climate change

One candidate — former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper — took a more moderate approach in his remarks, and suffered the crowd’s displeasure. The former governor was booed after he argued against socialism, saying, “We shouldn’t try to achieve universal coverage by removing private insurance from over 150 million Americans. We should not try to tackle climate change by guaranteeing every American a government job.”

Later, Hickenlooper seemed unfazed by the reception.

“I wasn’t surprised,” he told NPR after leaving the stage. “We know this is not a popular message with a certain portion of the Democratic Party, but I think it’s a message that’s got to be said.”

Sunday, former Maryland Congressman John Delaney faced the same fate as the former governor. Delaney used part of his speech to reject Medicare for all, and reportedly received “sustained boos.”

Hickenlooper was followed by current Washington Governor Jay Inslee, who avoided the crowd’s derision by returning to the message every candidate before the former governor delivered.

“I am a governor who doesn’t think we should be ashamed of our progressive values,” Inslee said to applause; his speech on embracing progressive ideas, particularly with respect to his signature issue of climate change, reportedly received a standing ovation.