I had dinner with John Hickenlooper last week...

[brooklynite]

He has a caravan of tractors driven by Colorado farmers (including Republicans) ready to roll into Iowa.

[hlthe2b]

1. His gubernatorial campaign tv ads and antics were legend. He will liven things up, I'd imagine..

[lapucelle]

2. Well, I wish him luck. I don't know much about him,

but I'm going to watch the next year with an open mind for the new voices.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

3. I had dinner with him yesterday.

[Blue_true]

4. Did you stay sober? nt

[Autumn]

10. Had lunch with him today. He brought a lovely bottle of Gnarling Halliburton Frackfluid 2010.

Paired lovely with the fish.

Seriously. My Governor drank Halliburton fracking fluid.

[Tipperary]

18. Lol!

[Hassin Bin Sober]

22. Ah yes, quite!

[shanny]

5. So, what does he think about capitalism?

[brooklynite]

6. John Hickenlooper: A lesson on capitalism for President Trump

I believe in the market as a driver of growth and innovation. As a small businessman, I started a company from scratch and ultimately created over 1,000 jobs in brewpubs and other businesses across the Midwest. As a Governor, I cut red tape and bureaucracy that bogged down the openings and expansions of small business. I worked closely with the private sector to help pull Colorado out of the recession. During my eight years, we went from 40th in job creation to the number one economy in the nation. Colorado now also has one of the fastest growing rural economies in the nation.

So I may be a capitalist, but I’m sure not a Trump capitalist. We didn’t achieve economic success in Colorado by letting corporations and the wealthy run wild. We expanded training and apprenticeship programs, created high-quality pre-K for four-year-olds in Denver, invested in light rail, and much more — things that markets alone don’t accomplish on their own.

America only “works” if people have equal opportunities to compete. It is well established that where you are born determines if you start on first, second or third base. Racial discrimination and wealth disparities create advantages that have been intractable over generations. Trump capitalism disinvests in average people, reduces competition and slows growth even as it widens advantages for large companies, very wealthy individuals, and the politically connected.

The solution to bad economic policy is not government takeover. But we need to make American capitalism work a whole lot better for the workers and consumers who make up the bulk of our nation or the demands for bad policies — whether socialism, protectionism, or crony capitalism — will only continue to grow.

https://medium.com/@johnhickenlooper/a-lesson-on-capitalism-for-president-trump-f8d42007e01e

[shanny]

12. Funny Gov. Frackenlooper doesn't mention the economic driver that was oil and gas production...

with its attendant issues.

But actually that was a trick question, since capitalism has failed Americans horribly for 40 years and is now destroying the ecosystem of the only planet we have.

Thanks for the info (platitudes?), but definitely not my guy.

[Sneederbunk]

7. The tractors will need some lead time to reach Iowa.

[Tipperary]

8. Lol. Gonna be some pissed off motorists along the way.

[rzemanfl]

9. Iowa could build a wall if they know a caravan is coming.

They could call out the National Guard. Bigly.

[Bettie]

20. All they have to do is use the right term: Tractorcade

everyone in Iowa knows that one.

They also know that you have to drive 20 mph for hours until you find a place to pass 80 tractors.

[Tipperary]

23. !!!

This. Think how impressive the tractorcade will be with the line of cars behind it!

[msongs]

11. how much $$ did he take in his first day after announcing? nt

[shanny]

13. excellent question

also too: where did it come from?

[brooklynite]

19. $1 M + in first 48 hrs...

[bluedigger]

14. They better be really nice tractors, because nobody knows tractors like an Iowan.

Kind of a "coals to Newcastle" thing he's trying to pull off there.

[forklift]

15. I had dinner with Scott Marx last week

He is not running for POTUS and I don't think anyone on DU knows him either.

The important thing is that *I* had dinner with him and shared it on DU.

[dalton99a]

16. Scott Marx just called me looking for something to eat

I told him to go to McDonald's

[Tipperary]

24. This thread is cracking me up.

[Byronic]

17. That sounds great.

Hickenlooper has a history of innovative campaign ads and ideas. Getting noticed in such a star-studded and talented field is going to take something a little bit different.

[WeekiWater]

21. K&R

Get them moving!