Cory Booker Causes Good Trouble
How Cory Booker’s 25 hour filibuster laid the blueprint for fighting corruption.
Yesterday, Senator Cory Booker put on a Masterclass in meeting the moment, using everything he had to fight for the American people.
Invoking the spirit of John Lewis, Cory Booker set the record for the longest filibuster in American history, calling attention to the endless corruption from the Trump/Musk administration.
Thousands of voicemails, hundreds of thousands of views, Cory got our attention. But why did his filibuster move us like this?
Remember a few weeks ago when scientists said there was a 2% chance of an asteroid hitting Earth? Americans damn near celebrated, wishing the number would grow bigger.
Rooted in jokes was desperation, a hopelessness in our ability to course correct away from a period where a convicted felon gets his revenge on the country he claims to love.
No matter what we do, it’s never enough, and now corruption is the currency of the day. What’s the point in trying?
Democrats look at our party dumbfounded. No awareness. Lots of finger-pointing. Party leaders waiting on Trump’s poll numbers to drop while thousands of Americans lose their jobs thanks to a kid named Big Balls.
“Do something!” we yell, but our calls go unanswered. The responses feel performative, and our efforts feel wasted.
Cory Booker and his staff took notice, feeling he had been “inadequate to the moment.” So he took to the floor for 25 hours, using what he had to make a statement.
As he spoke, people felt hope. People felt seen. People felt patriotism as one man told stories rooted in love and compassion for folks from all walks of life.
We saw a man who’d fix your tire without asking your political affiliation first. We saw a man acknowledge his faults while growing in them, too.
All we want to see is a little fight. That’s it. Keep your polls, keep your talking points. We are so over trying to win elections based on what political strategists think will test well.
For the first time in a while, we saw unfiltered, honest to God Good Trouble. The type of good trouble that resonates across America. The type of good trouble that doesn’t change its values based on who's in the room but speaks truth to power because it knows, despite the current state of affairs, truth still matters. Integrity still matters.
We felt a righteous anger coated in jokes, compassion, and authenticity. We felt the desperate passion we crave from our leaders.
You want to know how to win again? Move us. Be honest. Too many leaders have tied their lives to a lifestyle that’s closer to Trump than your average American, struggling to keep their heads above water. Apathy has taken hold, but a fire will wake us up.
People want to be moved by their leaders. They want someone who’s going to fight. Trump said he would, but we all know he doesn’t have the stamina, courage, or empathy to do so. There is a clear opening, but we have to be willing to change.
A simple apology would go a long way. An acknowledgement that Democrats have strayed from their roots is necessary to hear. When Democrats stand for their constituents, risking it all to make their communities' lives better, no coordinated smear campaign can work against them because the voters see their work.
But we need to operate with the belief that this country is run by people, not politicians. We need to understand what it means to cause good trouble.