Cory Booker’s Testimony

A spiritual movement

Cory Booker halted the Senate’s business, which these days is mostly terrible, with a rousing speech that lasted for 25 hours and five minutes, eclipsing the previous filibuster record by current hell resident Strom Thurmond. Depriving white supremacists of their historical achievements is a good way for Democrats to occupy their time until midterms.

However, Booker’s floor speech is larger than the legacy of one small racist. “I’m not here because of [Thurmond’s] speech,” Booker said. “I’m here despite his speech. I’m here because as powerful as he was, the people are more powerful.” (Watch below. All clips courtesy of

Aaron Rupar

.)

Considering the name of this newsletter, I should first praise Booker’s performance. It was a brilliant work of theatre. He operated from a detailed 1,164 page “script” but gave himself room for improvisation. He didn’t just read from the phonebook to a captive audience (unfortunately, I’ve seen some theatre like this).

Booker’s black suit and tie were a nod to his hero John Lewis and other civil rights activists of the past, but Booker also directly appealed to the heroes of the next generation. This is their battle, and people like Chuck Schumer should follow their lead.

Jonathan V. Last at the Bulwark noted the spiritual implications of Booker’s performance. I’d add that his speech harkens back to the tradition within the Black church when someone would stand up and offer testimony, an expression of one’s personal faith. When one “testifies,” they are bearing witness, particularly to the saving power of God. From Booker’s metaphorical pulpit, he argued that America itself could be redeemed. (Watch below.)

Of course, the Black church has long provided the foundation for human rights activism. It was once — perhaps still is — one of the few places Black Americans could freely gather without arousing too much suspicion. Black people also truly connected to Christ’s message of love. This version of Christianity was not a blunt instrument to oppress the marginalized. It’s not Donald Trump’s Christianity. It’s not Strom Thurmond’s either. You see, Trump is hardly the first religious hypocrite. He’s no outlier in using religion to promote hatred.

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Booker expressed humility during his testimony, confessing that “I have been imperfect. I confess that I’ve been inadequate to the moment. I confess that the Democratic Party has made terrible mistakes that gave a lane to this demagogue. I confess we all must look in the mirror and say, ‘We will do better.’” (Watch below.)

There was predictable criticism from those who lack humility. Professor Anthony Ballas posted on social media, “Talking for 24 hours straight to try and make up for not doing anything useful for 12 straight years is a crazy flex but go off I guess.” This is shallow cynicism posing as sophistication. Since 2013, Booker was one of the key votes that saved the Affordable Care Act. He actively opposed Trump’s first-term agenda and worked to pass positive legislation during Biden’s presidency. He couldn’t personally strong-arm Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, but that doesn’t mean he did nothing useful.

Moshik Temkin, a historian at Harvard Kennedy School, wrote, “There is nothing —NOTHING — that Democrats love more than empty performative gestures that change nothing for people’s lives. Booker, btw, like all his fellow Democrats on the Senate, voted to confirm Marco Rubio, who is helping Trump turn the US into an authoritarian state.”

Political Nihilism Never Helps Anyone But The Bad Guys

Temkin is paid to discuss history, so he should know that many seemingly “performative gestures” have changed people’s lives for the better. The day after the March on Washington, someone like Temkin could have dismissed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech as merely “performative.”

Yes, Booker shouldn’t have voted to confirm his former Senate colleague Marco Rubio as Secretary of State. That was a mistake, but testimony is often about acknowledging past errors and resolving to do better. I don’t have much respect for those whose hubris insists it’s possible to navigate life without missteps.

Testimony vs. Filibuster

Naturally, Fox News suggested Cory Booker was a hypocrite for conducting a filibuster while having opposed filibusters in the past.

I imagine Kyrsten Sinema might make a similar feckless argument. Booker delayed the business of the Senate, including the confirmation of another one of Trump’s incompetent stooges, but he didn’t set out to block any major legislation. Strom Thurmond set the previous record for longest filibuster in history when he attempted to stop the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957. Segregationists in the Senate had already significantly watered down the bill, but Thurmond filibustered it anyway, which even some of his equally racist colleagues considered grandstanding.

It’s important to mention that when Thurmond was 22, he impregnated a 16 (possibly 15) year-old Black girl who worked for his parents. (That was rape. He raped a child who was in no position to consent.) Thurmond had a relationship, if secret, with his daughter, Essie, but he still devoted his political career to keeping her a second-class citizen.

Thurmond biographer Joseph Crespino described his filibuster as “kind of a urological mystery” or in less florid terms, “how did he go so long without peeing?” Thurmond apparently took regular steam baths prior to the filibuster. This was supposed to draw fluids out of his body and dehydrate himself. It was like he was training for a shredded shirtless scene in a modern-day Hollywood movie. He was truly a method racist.

The Chicago Defender, a Black-run newspaper, claimed Thurmond wore “a contraption devised for long motoring trips” so he could urinate without leaving the Senate floor. According to Bertie Bowman, a Black congressional staffer at the time, Thurmond had possibly worn a catheter. Nothing cements your status as the superior race like peeing on yourself in public.

Thurmond did leave for a bathroom break three hours into the filibuster, so he lasted for less time than someone stuck in the car with a driver who keeps saying “we’re almost there! We’ll stop then.” Thurmond yielded the floor to Sen. Barry Goldwater and used the restroom while Goldwater added an entry to the Congressional Record. When Thurmond left the Democratic Party in 1964, he endorsed Goldwater, the Republican presidential nominee. You never forget the people who help you pee, especially if they share your opposition to civil rights laws.

Booker told reporters that he’d fasted since Friday and stopped drinking fluids on Sunday night. This sounds almost as bad as my colonoscopy prep, although Booker didn’t have to drink the diarrhea shake. After a full day of no food, I just lay in bed watching Law & Order reruns. Booker somehow stood on his feet for more than 24 hours. He’s 55. I’m a few years younger, and I won’t stand for two hours. Access to seating technology is a big deal for me now. Anyone who thinks Booker’s filibuster was “performative” should start fasting now and then show up in a couple days ready to speak almost non-stop for 24 hours.

The most effective testimony serves as an inspiration, and Booker’s feat of endurance should inspire us to press on and not waver. He’s the first to admit that he’ll still make mistakes, still fall short at times in opposing Trump’s fascist movement, but he’ll keep trying. People who sneer at good-faith efforts from their own position of privilege are not testifying. They’re giving glory to a nihilistic idol.