Heading into the 2020 Presidential election, the rise of Democratic Socialism has been a contentious topic in the United States.
Not only have some Democratic leaders like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected the political ideology by calling it a “phase,” but President Trump has also rejected the notion that it will one day be the ruling political system in the United States.
Earlier this year, he even gave a speech at Florida International University’s Modesto Maidique campus, which saw a large number of South Florida’s Venezuelan population attend to support the rejection of the political stance that has been made popular in recent years by 2020 Presidential candidates Bernie Sanders (D) and New York rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D).
The battle has also impacted the Democratic party, who’s members have been careful to criticize any member espousing the ideology because of the goal of beating President Trump in the upcoming election.
Over the weekend, one candidate did just that, and the response was less than welcoming.
Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper, one of the many Democratic candidates challenging President Trump, spoke at Saturday’s California Democratic Party State Convention and asserted that socialism “is not the answer” to defeat President Trump in the upcoming election.
“Let me be clear,” Hickenlooper told attendants, “if we want to beat Donald Trump and achieve big progressive goals, socialism is not the answer.”
To this, Hickenlooper received loud boos.
In the speech, he detailed that “As Democrats, if we don’t define a clear space between us and socialism, we run the risk of helping to reelect the worst President in American history, and we should take that very seriously.”
At the event, loud chants of “Bernie!” erupted, and Senator Sanders is currently polling in second place behind former Vice President Joe Biden (D).
If there is a clash between political ideologies in the Democratic party, the main question is whether or not the far left wing of the party and those towards the center will be able to compromise when the nominee is ultimately chosen.
Till then, it looks like Democrats will have to fight themselves in an internal ideological battle of where the party is headed while slamming President Trump in between.
“The Republicans are definitely already trying to paint us into a corner as socialists, and we need to be very clear to say we are not socialists,” warned Hickenlooper.
He further added that “we believe we can create a better country, with a better future, but it’s not through massive [expansions] of government.”
