April 20, 2018 10:41 AM UTC

The Grand Equivocator

• 4 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper is getting beaten up on social media today because of his penchant for answering one question with two answers…and probably for good reason. Taking multiple sides of a single issue is not a new trick for Hick, but as John Frank of the Denver Post points out, the Governor’s wordplay is getting a little out of hand:

We need a term for this whiplash — because it happens so often with Hickenlooper. I nominate #HickLash #COpolitics #COgov #COleg https://t.co/ge15cVmrO6

— John Frank (@ByJohnFrank) April 20, 2018

Frank is referencing this CNN story about the legalization of marijuana in Colorado (and around the country), in which Hickenlooper suggests that he wouldn’t rule out re-criminalizing the funky herb:

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper has two facts in front of him: Since 2014 crime has been rising in his state, outstripping the national trend, and since 2014 recreational use of marijuana has been legal.

Whether the two are connected is hotly debated — and if they are, then what? For the first time publicly, Hickenlooper told CNN he doesn’t rule out recriminalizing recreational marijuana, even if that’s a long shot.

“Trust me, if the data was coming back and we saw spikes in violent crime, we saw spikes in overall crime, there would be a lot of people looking for that bottle and figuring out how we get the genie back in,” he said. “It doesn’t seem likely to me, but I’m not ruling it out.” [Pols emphasis]

Hickenlooper has never been particularly enthusiastic about legalizing marijuana in Colorado, and that’s fine. But going back and forth like this is a bad look for a guy who is trying to position himself for a potential run for President in 2020, and he’s been doing it a lot lately. Earlier this week we took note of a comment from Hickenlooper in a KUNC story about addressing sexual harassment at the State Capitol:

“There’s an argument that says let’s get it right, let’s not rush into action,” said Gov. John Hickenlooper. “That being said, there needs to be a sense of urgency.”

Yes, there are two sides to every story, and two sides to every coin, yada, yada, yada. But if Hickenlooper is going to have another act in his political future, it would behoove him to present himself as more of a leader and less of a mediator.