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May 31, 2012 04:03 AM UTC

Hickenlooper Gleefully Replants Foot In Mouth

  • 11 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

THURSDAY UPDATE: Gov. John Hickenlooper’s office further clarifies in a statement:

“It’s abundantly clear that nowhere in the interview did the Governor express opposition to the individual mandate,” said Megan Castle, a spokeswoman for Hickenlooper.

“What he said is that, put in the right context, most consumers will want to buy coverage if it is made available and affordable. If the Supreme Court strikes down the federal mandate, Colorado will be forced to consider other options to provide insurance, and that hypothetical is what the Governor responded to.”

—–

FOX 31’s Eli Stokols, here we go again…

In a long interview with Ryan Warner of Colorado Public Radio, Hickenlooper said he wouldn’t push for a state-level health care mandate like that passed by then-Gov. Mitt Romney in Massachusetts.

“I’m not sure a mandate is the right word for it,” Hickenlooper said. “But I think we have said from the beginning we want to find ways to expand coverage to more people, to improve outcomes and to control costs.”

Supporters of the individual mandate argue that it’s not only Constitutional, but necessary to get more buyers into the health care market in order to drive costs down.

“You’ve got to get people in the pool, but there are a lot of different ways to do that,” Hickenlooper said.

Colorado Republicans pounced on the statement, firing off a press release titled: “Hickenlooper opposes Obama’s individual mandate”, contrasting what they interpret as the governor’s opposition to the mandate with Colorado’s trio of Democratic congressional candidates who support it…

So first of all, Republicans are overreaching more than a little when they say Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper “opposes Obama’s individual mandate,” since that’s not what he was actually talking about. Hickenlooper was asked in this Colorado Public Radio interview if he would call for a state mandate for health coverage in the event that the Affordable Care Act were to be struck down by the Supreme Court next month. That’s not really the same thing.

And the fact is, this isn’t West Virginia. Colorado voters soundly rejected Amendment 63 in 2010–a ban on mandated health insurance. Gov. Hickenlooper has repeatedly defended the Affordable Care Act. So we can skip the Earl Ray Tomblin comparisons.

But obviously–mind-blowingly, exasperatingly obviously–a Democrat governor telling the press that “I don’t think you have to mandate” health insurance, right now, is going to be seized upon and regurgitated by adversaries of fellow Democrat Barack Obama from sea to shining sea. Hickenlooper can plead he’s being taken out of context, and that he supports the Affordable Care Act, which he does, but do you think Karl Rove gives two shits about the context?

Thus John Hickenlooper fails Political Sensibility 101. Again.

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11 thoughts on “Hickenlooper Gleefully Replants Foot In Mouth”

  2. Hickenlooper needs a primary challenger in 2014.  Any pols out there willing to take him on?  The CO Dem Party might not be happy, but there are a great many Democrats and progressives who would be thrilled.

    1. I’ve been nothing but underwhelmed by his time in office thus far. He needs to be primaried so that we can either get a Democrat in there who will BE a governor instead of playing one on t.v. or remind Hick what being a liberal is supposed to look like.

      1. You  really think the individual mandate is the defining factor for a liberal these days? Really? It was an invention of the Heritage Foundation, championed by congressional Republicans not that long ago, a centerpiece of Romneycare (as opposed to Vermont’s mandate less health overhaul, which achieves almost exactly the same results without a mandate), and opposed by candidate Obama. Pols may be right that a very selective out of context quote of what Hickenlooper said on the radio gives Obama foes ammunition, but his position hardly puts him outside the liberal mainstream on this.

        1. looks like has very little to do with support for the mandate (or lack thereof) in particular and more to do with his governing style (or lack thereof). He needs to meet up with Mayor Hickenlooper and get some advice on governing with principles.

  3. Hickenlooper will not be challenged, by his own party in 2014, because he is the Democrats’ best chance to retain the governor’s chair.

    The governor knows most voters — including Colorado voters — do not support Obamacare, and the opposition has been remarkably steadfast for over two years.  

    http://www.rasmussenreports.co…

    Hickenlooper has no intentions of linking his political fortunes to this president.    

    1. Really?

      Most voters don’t support affordable health care for people with pre-existing conditions?

      Most voters approve of insurance companies rescinding health care coverage for people who do get sick?

      Most voters want children with pre-existing conditions to be denied affordable health care?

      And yet if you ask a Republican, they will proudly tell you that they are “Pro-Life“.

      Has there ever been in America a more hypocritical, uncompassionate bunch of fucking assholes?  

      1. The poll results consistently show a majority of people favoring repeal.  Clearly, they aren’t all Republicans.  

        Democrats have had over two years to sell this program and most people are not buying it.  Folks don’t like being told they have to have health insurance.  

        The answer to your first three questions is “No,” but they recognize that Obamacare is not the way to accomplish any of those goals.  I suspect the Supreme Court will find that to be true to some degree.  

        As far as your last question…

        I’ve stated this before:  When someone starts resorting to profanity, it is a good sign that they’ve run out of legitimate arguments to make.  You have proved that point once again.    

        1. “Obamacare’ is a made up word that the GOP has drummed into the national mindset as a negative thing. So it is correct to say most poeple oppose “obamacare” but it also has be said in the same breath that most have no idea what “obamacare” is.

          If people are asked if the support the specific provisions of the Affordable Health care Act, they overwhelmingly say “yes” to each one.

    2. Fascinating read from Forbes that digs into the reasons why polls appear to support the notion that people don’t like “Obamacare”.

      Dan Willis below nailed it — Most of it hasn’t been implemented yet, and so far the only public discourse has been driven by the GOP FUD-makers.

         Surveys that offer three or more choices to better reflect respondents’ sometimes conflicted views on the subject find far less enthusiasm for complete repeal. For example, the Pew Research Center has simply asked Americans what “Congress should do with the health care law, expand it, leave it as is [or] repeal it?” They found 38 percent choosing repeal, 20 who want to leave it alone and 33 percent favoring an expansion of the law.

         Other pollsters asking about repeal using a similar three-category format, including the Bloomberg News and Suffolk University national polls, have found roughly the same number (between 34 and 37 percent) favoring repeal. The Kaiser Family Foundation, which added a fourth choice to “repeal the law and replace it with a Republican-sponsored alternative,” only boosted combined support for total repeal or “repeal and replace” to 41 percent of adults.

      So basically, you’ve got roughly 35% that really want a repeal of the protections it provides, and another 4% that believe Republicans can come up with something better.

      That leaves 20% that believe this is all we’ll probably ever get, and 33% that believe we need to do better by expanding coverage, things like single payer, or at a minimum, the public option.

      Kinda puts a little vinegar in your tea, doesn’t it, RR?

  4. is his complete lack of political sophistication. His “Aw shucks, Andy” bumbling demeanor works for him, to the tune of 67% approval in April of this year. http://www.fciruli.blogspot.co… Apparently, Coloradans don’t just love an underdog during election cycles, they like them in office as well.

    Will a stronger progressive primary him (and one name undoubtedly jumps to everyone’s mind)? First, they’d have to consider this: the anti-incumbency campaign theme requires the challenger to attack the incumbent… hard.  When the incumbent is seen as nerdy/geeky/flawed and dopey, but loveable and transparent, does the challenger win any brownie points in the attack, or just come off as a bully? Anyone considering such a challenge should plan carefully from day one. JMHO. No room for mistakes.

    A second thing to consider is this (and like Herman Caine on this point, “I have no proof to back this up”), progressives I know seemed very disgusted with Hick over fracking. A month ago, primarying him would have been a walk in the park. The Special Session attempt over Civil Unions boosted his approval among progressives substantially, I think. (Anyone know if there are any studies to back this up?)

    Where will Hick’s approval rating be within his own party in the future? Anyone’s guess.

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