The Booker Prize
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I don’t know if you watched any of C-SPAN’s coverage of Cory Booker’s 24+ hour filibusters in the Senate. I would periodically turn it on, and it was like he got better as the hours went on. The last hour in particular was especially powerful and emotional.
He also threw in some quips, like chiding New York state for only having one football team — the one in Buffalo — since the other two are in New Jersey — and admitting he loved to talk. He was at his most emotional and strong when talking about the late Rep. John Lewis. (And told a wonderful, self-effacing story about being a guest on the PBS show Finding Your Roots very early in his career and feeling all puffed up about it — until he found out the other guest would be John Lewis. And he knew that the comparison between the two would make him look like nothing.)
I was bowled over by the otherworldly job he did. Late in the filibuster, he was clearly getting tired – but if you didn’t know he’d been going on for 21 hours at that point, you’d have had no idea. In some ways, he seemed vibrant. That he was able to string coherent words together – let alone stand – was impressive enough. When he got to Hour 24, he still was looking far stronger than he had any right to.
Democrats were doing a great thing for him – periodically, they ask if he’ll yield for a question, and they usually made their “question” a long speech, which gave him brief time to rest.
By the way, when comparisons were made to Strom Thurmond’s previous record filibuster to block Civil Rights legislation — about as far in topic to what Cory Booker was doing to bring hot attention to Trump’s fascism and threat to democracy — it rarely was noted that during Thurmond’s day it was much easier to filibuster. Among other things, the rules for movement when talking were different, and so were bathroom breaks. Cory Booker could take no breaks (which he alluded to whimsically as he neared his finish…) and even had to stand at his desk and not move around for exercise.
(Beyond what clearly was the importance to Booker of the issues he was talking about for 25 hours and four minutes, it struck me, too, that his occasional references to breaking the record were important to him, as well — not because of being “the record holder,” but because of what the previous record dealt with. And it turns out that an hour after ending his filibuster, Booker was a guest on Rachel Maddow’s MSNBC show and, in fact, did say that it always “stuck in my craw” — I think that was his phrase, or something close — that the record was held for trying to block Civil Rights.)
What was also impressive was how detailed on on-topic his 24 hours of filibuster were. When Ted Cruz had his long filibuster (and much shorter than Booker’s), he memorably used some of his time reading from Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham. For Booker, though he discussed how his staff had prepared mounds of material for him, and didn’t even get to 10 books of it.
It’s hard to know what impact his filibuster will have. I don’t imagine all that much with the public. And it probably didn’t sway any MAGOPs in the Senate much, if at all. Although it’s remotely possible (with an emphasis on the “remotely”) that it could get some of them who are on the edge in the future over a specific issue to give second thoughts to their action. But where I did get the sense it might have had an impact is how it seemed to galvanize and focus his fellow Democratic Senate, who came across as impressed by his words and effort, almost to the point of admiration, putting himself out front so forcefully. And I can see the possibility of it creating a more cohesive and aggressive message and sense of purpose. We’ll see.
And I also think it did major things for Cory Booker’s national profile within the Democratic Party, however he chooses to use that in the years ahead.
Whatever comes next, though, it was needed. And a tremendous effort and sounding of leadership on behalf of democracy.
He also threw in some quips, like chiding New York state for only having one football team — the one in Buffalo — since the other two are in New Jersey — and admitting he loved to talk. He was at his most emotional and strong when talking about the late Rep. John Lewis. (And told a wonderful, self-effacing story about being a guest on the PBS show Finding Your Roots very early in his career and feeling all puffed up about it — until he found out the other guest would be John Lewis. And he knew that the comparison between the two would make him look like nothing.)
I was bowled over by the otherworldly job he did. Late in the filibuster, he was clearly getting tired – but if you didn’t know he’d been going on for 21 hours at that point, you’d have had no idea. In some ways, he seemed vibrant. That he was able to string coherent words together – let alone stand – was impressive enough. When he got to Hour 24, he still was looking far stronger than he had any right to.
Democrats were doing a great thing for him – periodically, they ask if he’ll yield for a question, and they usually made their “question” a long speech, which gave him brief time to rest.
By the way, when comparisons were made to Strom Thurmond’s previous record filibuster to block Civil Rights legislation — about as far in topic to what Cory Booker was doing to bring hot attention to Trump’s fascism and threat to democracy — it rarely was noted that during Thurmond’s day it was much easier to filibuster. Among other things, the rules for movement when talking were different, and so were bathroom breaks. Cory Booker could take no breaks (which he alluded to whimsically as he neared his finish…) and even had to stand at his desk and not move around for exercise.
(Beyond what clearly was the importance to Booker of the issues he was talking about for 25 hours and four minutes, it struck me, too, that his occasional references to breaking the record were important to him, as well — not because of being “the record holder,” but because of what the previous record dealt with. And it turns out that an hour after ending his filibuster, Booker was a guest on Rachel Maddow’s MSNBC show and, in fact, did say that it always “stuck in my craw” — I think that was his phrase, or something close — that the record was held for trying to block Civil Rights.)
What was also impressive was how detailed on on-topic his 24 hours of filibuster were. When Ted Cruz had his long filibuster (and much shorter than Booker’s), he memorably used some of his time reading from Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham. For Booker, though he discussed how his staff had prepared mounds of material for him, and didn’t even get to 10 books of it.
It’s hard to know what impact his filibuster will have. I don’t imagine all that much with the public. And it probably didn’t sway any MAGOPs in the Senate much, if at all. Although it’s remotely possible (with an emphasis on the “remotely”) that it could get some of them who are on the edge in the future over a specific issue to give second thoughts to their action. But where I did get the sense it might have had an impact is how it seemed to galvanize and focus his fellow Democratic Senate, who came across as impressed by his words and effort, almost to the point of admiration, putting himself out front so forcefully. And I can see the possibility of it creating a more cohesive and aggressive message and sense of purpose. We’ll see.
And I also think it did major things for Cory Booker’s national profile within the Democratic Party, however he chooses to use that in the years ahead.
Whatever comes next, though, it was needed. And a tremendous effort and sounding of leadership on behalf of democracy.