Democrat Running for President Gets Booed For a Solid Minute
This weekend, many of the candidates running to be the Democratic nominee for president descended on San Francisco for the California Democratic party's annual convention. Every second of publicity counts in such a crowded field, especially now that the national party has set high donor and polling requirements to qualify to appear in prime time debates.
The California convention is also a good preview of the coming fights inside the party, namely between the left-leaning, more progressive wing and the centrist, more corporate-friendly Democrats. No moment better summed up that split than when John Delaney, a former congressman from Maryland, used his time at the podium to attack Medicare for All.
"We need, as Democrats, to build an economy that works," Delaney said, "but it's gotta be with smart policies. Medicare for All may sound good." At this point, you can hear some very light applause. But then Delaney kept talking: "But it's actually not good policy nor is it good politics."
After that came a solid wall of boos. Delaney tried to keep going, but ultimately had to wait until the crowd died down. And that took nearly a full minute, which is an eternity in public-speaking time. "We should have universal health care," he finally continued, while literally wagging his finger, "but it shouldn't be the kind of health care that kicks 150 million Americans off their health care."
Delaney is admittedly facing an uphill campaign right now. He's only polling as the top caucus choice for one percent of Iowa Democrats, despite the fact that he's basically been campaigning there for nearly two years, according to Vox. But the overwhelmingly negative reaction he got highlights the challenge that centrist Democrats like him are facing. And if their strategy is, like Delaney's appears to be, relying on people's warm feelings for private health insurance companies, they may be in for a lot more booing.
Originally Appeared on GQ
