Well Done, Senator Booker!

 

Senator Cory Booker (D., NJ) has surpassed Strom Thurmond's record, holding the Senate floor for an astonishing 25 hours! (Get yourself a well-deserved rest!) As he closed his speech, during which he spoke to the Trump agenda and the ways that it will hurt working families, he invoked the memory of John Lewis:

"This is a moral moment. It’s not left or right; it’s right or wrong. Let's get in good trouble," Booker said as he concluded his remarks and was met by a standing ovation from Senate colleagues. "I yield the floor."

Democratic lawmakers have been facing pressure from their constituents to respond more forcefully to the Trump administration’s sweeping policy changes, including massive cuts to the federal workforce, ramped-up deportations and sweeping tariffs.

Booker's remarks clearly resonated with many who watched them. A live feed of the speech on the senator's TikTok account had more than 220 million likes by early Tuesday night, before he exceeded 24 hours on the floor, and users were posting fan edits.

This was a demonstration about what our Democratic representation in congress can do even if they do not have the majority in either chamber--they can hold the floor adn speak to the values and concerns of the people they represent. 

That's what we want them to do--represent US. 

You Won't Steal Our Joy

The Senate confirmation hearing of Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson got super emotional when Sen. Cory Booker brought Jackson to tears with his touching testimony on racial progression. https://t.co/imXiGk6ZeS

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) March 23, 2022

Where Republicans mugging for the camera and showing every willingness to swim in the sewer to drag an exceptionally qualified Black woman through the mud for the dopamine hit of a Fox News spot exist, I am refreshed to focus on the only US Senator who brought Judge Jackson to tears, Senator Cory Booker, because he supported and respected and showed his joy for this glass-ceiling shattering woman. 

If the calumny and slander of the mugging mental mites, the political parasites, the social media self-checkers like Cruz and the drama-queens like Lindsey Graham, the unapologetic militant police state loving fuckfaces like Tom Cotton and the weasel-headed insurrectionist sumbitches like Josh Hawley made anyone ever want to take a long Silkwood-style shower, he gave us this refreshing moment, this shower of love, to study how Judge Jackson has borne up during an onslaught intended to rattle her and shake her faith. 

And she has persevered throughout questioning that has more to do with right-wing axe-grinding and the next election cycle than her own nomination. She is being accused because less qualified candidates than her were rightly challenged, but a party that no longer has a grip on right and wrong can only see tit for tat. 

I've raged, because I can, watching this, and she cannot, because she is living this and has to be professional. When Sen. Cotton accuses her of loving terrorists because of her service as a public defender, I want to intimately introduce him to the concept of due process that actually is a cornerstone of the Constitution he himself swore an oath to and is pretending now not to know about by shoving said document down his narrow throat. Also, I think GWB and company actually are guilty of war crimes and I've been saying so for years. 

When Josh Hawley accuses her, a woman and mother of daughters, of being soft on sex criminals, I want to throw out the discussion of whether he was slow as MO AG to investigate Gov. Eric Greitens' crimes until it was politically convenient to do so. His silence on Roy Moore. And the general disapprobation he is rightly receiving for this slander. 

As a woman, I cringe at the contempt and condescension thrown her way, the interruptions by men who think they are great because the Fox News camera is going to love them. I can only imagine what it would be to be a Black woman seeing this appalling display of white men in power, trying to disempower a woman every bit their equal in education and dignity, and their superior in mastery of herself. 

I have no doubt she will be seated on the highest bench, but I am appalled at this display by such obvious political maneuvers by pure partisan shitheads. Have they no shame? Of course not. Can their shame-glands be kickstarted by anything at all? I don't even know, but I have feet and time. 

Biden Condemned Violence, Trump Defends It

Biden returned to Pennsylvania on Monday to offer his most comprehensive response yet to Trump's claims that he's weak on rioters and looters https://t.co/o0tartwCmu

— POLITICO (@politico) September 1, 2020

It should not have actually shocked anyone that former Vice-President Joe Biden strongly condemned violence and and vandalism in Pittsburgh yesterday, because he had strongly condemned them in Philadelphia back in June:

But there is no place for violence.

No place for looting or destroying property or burning churches, or destroying businesses — many of them built by people of color who for the first time were beginning to realize their dreams and build wealth for their families.

Nor is it acceptable for our police — sworn to protect and serve all people — to escalate tensions or resort to excessive violence.

We need to distinguish between legitimate peaceful protest — and opportunistic violent destruction.

It also isn't that shocking that the Trump Campaign (and the White House, since heaven knows there is no barrier between them anymore) misrepresented Biden's words--as departed White House Counsel KellyAnne Conway said quite out loud and in front of cameras, TrumpWorld thinks that violent images work for them.

It is a bit shocking, however, how nakedly Trump can't even decry an actual case of murder, using a White House press briefing to promulgate a self-defense case for Kyle Rittenhouse.

What is beyond shocking, however, is that in what anyone would consider a friendly interview with Laura Ingraham, Trump compared police shootings to a bad day on the links, dabbled in batshit conspiracy theory (it must have killed him not to use the name "Soros"), and insinuated that America's suburbs were in danger from....Cory Booker.  Basically, he made it pretty clear he was going to actually double-down on racially divisive and inflammatory rhetoric, and that he was A-OK with violence he considered to be "on his side".

The difference couldn't be more stark.

Cory Booker is Out

It’s with a full heart that I share this news—I’m suspending my campaign for president.

To my team, supporters, and everyone who gave me a shot—thank you. I am so proud of what we built, and I feel nothing but faith in what we can accomplish together. pic.twitter.com/Fxvc549vlJ

— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) January 13, 2020

Along with Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Julian Castro, Booker was one of the candidates that I felt positive would make it through Iowa--only, that was way before the primary got started. Sigh. Is it possible that a candidate can fail to catch fire for just being too positive and heckin' nice? Because I feel like Booker is one of those people who doesn't have a public persona/private persona divide and is just actually like that, and really? Maybe we can get politics like that back again, someday.

I mean, not today, no. But someday.

Thoughts About the 2020 Democratic Primary

With the news that former NY mayor Mike Bloomberg is now seriously considering entering the 2020 Democratic primary, I'm tempted to just link to my 2016 blogpost about him and step out of the way, but it occurred to me I've been woefully remiss in not covering Democratic politics, so I figured I'd deliver some takes--but first of all, who asked Mike Bloomberg?

I don't have anything against the man, I seriously don't, anymore than I had against Howard Schultz or even have against Tom Steyer (who has his heart and his money in the right place--mostly!) but I'm going to be very honest--the Democratic party might just be working out how we can best appeal to the 99%, and having a handful of .01%'ers out here is a hard sell in this environment. I'm not the one who is going to argue that the actual existence of billionaires is a policy failure, but I am going to inform you that the maxim that "to whom much has been given, from him much is expected" is definitely a whole mood right now. While being a billionaire could mean a person is an excellent manager with innovative ideas who will disrupt day-to-day politics and whatnot, we've had Trump for the last fucking three years.

Please, I beg, go fund down-ballot races. We need progressive statehouses to ensure voting rights are protected and encourage good local environmental protections and maybe local minimum wage increases where we can't get a national one and for goodness sakes don't forget about the US Senate! Because a Democratic president can't get shit done if Mitch McConnell still can block everything.  Even if Democrats didn't capture the presidency, a strong Democratic congress could counter much Trump fuckery. Our worst problem on the progressive side isn't a people problem, they exist. It's an access and money problem. Go fund groups that support voting rights and restoring former felon rights to vote and fund independent media!

Now, another thing--Joe Biden went in on Elizabeth Warren for elitism. This was a response to her claim that he was running in the wrong primary regarding his comments on her plan for funding Medicare For All. Elizabeth Warren is not an elitist and Joe Biden is not a Republican, and regarding any improvement on the ACA, I can tell you right now that I have a spending plan for my winning Powerball ticket. I have seen the GOP go rabid shithouse up the wall "All you goddamn Democrats are Commies" twice in my life in person and it was the Contract for America class of 1994 rejecting the Clinton universal health care plan, and the Tea Party goobers against Obamacare. I understand they went the same kind of apeshit over Medicare the first time around. Here's a plan--we need to win the White House and the Senate and hold the House. Until then, why get extra fucked-up over the details? It's fantasy football league.

I'm just saying--at one time Warren called Hillary Clinton an apt student. (I don't think that was actually any shade in that context.) Learn from the difficulties "Hillarycare" faced. And the ACA--Biden was there. There is not any bit of it that will go down easily. But I agree with her that you do have to fight--I just submit you also have to do all you can to be armed and recognize some ground may be yielded strategically.

You want to know what's trending on Twitter right now? A hashtag: #PeteForGovernor. It really just cropped up. I have had my concerns about Buttigieg's age and experience, and his invitation to walk with Julian Castro around South Bend set my teeth on edge. Castro has been under-recognized despite a great understanding of issues and an awesome bio--and for that matter, I don't understand why Cory Booker hasn't really had a "moment" in this campaign, yet. Anyhow, Booker can stay a Senator, and do great stuff because he just does, and yet--you know? There's really something to this idea that Buttigieg should consider winning the Governor seat in Indiana. For one thing, doesn't Indiana deserve a good governor? And that was Pence's former job. And it would show he can do more. Middling town to President is just such a big leap.

I don't know who is advising Kamala Harris on primary strategy, but because I love her and parking herself in Iowa isn't going to do for her what she needs done, I wish something better was happening for her. With the wildfires, she could go hard on climate, utilities, fossil fuels, etc. (She has solid environmental principles.)  She is at her best in her prosecutor mode. I want her to put on the best case she can for herself. In the meantime, I don't know what to make of a Steyer aide (now fired) who stole Harris data).  I guess they were fixing to poach supporters from what they saw as a campaign that wasn't firing on all cylinders? (There was also a solicitation re: endorsements in Iowa by Steyer's campaign which is just weird. Not unheard of--but weird.)  Anyhow, I wish her campaign was getting all the good attention for her competence and wit and so on.

Anyway, where female politicians are seen as angry or elitist, I guess I want to just end with Amy Klobuchar, because she really is funny and smart and down-to-earth and reminds us that "Minnesota nice" has an icy edge to it.

I like these folks a lot--I haven't got a real bad feeling for any of them. I just think we're at a time when if you're Messam or Sestak you should probably take your five dollars in donations and your six supporters and do some other stuff.  (Of course, Gabbard going on Brietbart is just her own entire thing, with a definite "triggering the libs" level of provocation.)  And everyone needs to get real about what they offer, and how they want to serve. Because that's what the people want to see. Real means serving with your feet by leaving the race, and with money, by lifting up someone else if that's what gets rid of Trump and advances progressive goals.