Update–

Cory Booker on the Senate floor “will not sit down for hours and hours if God gives me the strength”. At 7 p.m. edt., Booker, the Senior Democrat Senator from New Jersey, began speaking to protest the grave threats to our “Democracy” represented by President Donald J. Trump. If Booker continues his overly dramatic act, he won’t make it three hours.”

Just before he took to the floor of the Senate to be recognized, Booker lauded himself for his bravery on X:

Time to speak up pic.twitter.com/03r0s5yGPX

— Sen. Cory Booker (@SenBooker) March 31, 2025

Not since Cory Booker told us that he was “Spartacus” has he been such a hero, even if he does say so himself. The Talking Points Memo was fortunate enough to review an embargoed copy of Booker’s opening remarks and they seem to agree:

“These are not normal times in our nation. And they should not be treated as such in the United States Senate,” Booker plans to say, according to the prepared remarks the senator’s office shared with TPM. “The threats to the American people and American democracy are grave and urgent and we all must do more to stand against them. Generations from now will look back at this moment and have a single question — where were you?”

In the prepared version of his opening remarks, Booker goes on to point to Trump’s unprecedented wave of firings across the federal government and his attacks on American institutions including the press and major law firms.

“I rise tonight because to be silent at this moment of national crisis would be a betrayal, and because at stake in this moment is nothing less than everything that makes us who we are,” Booker said.

After delivering those opening remarks, Booker plans to deliver a multi-part presentation on the ways he thinks Trump is harming the country. The senator plans to start with letters from his constituents.

And at 8:48 p.m., Cory Booker is reading utterly heartbreaking letters from his New Jersey citizens whose lives will utterly collapse if there Medicaid is changed or reduced in any fashion. The Senator keeps telling us that Republicans want to cut $880 billion from Medicaid. They do want to. Over 10 years, but $88 billion doesn’t have the same gut punch that $880 billion does, does it? And, it’s all so that Elon Musk and Donald Trump will have more money, according to Booker. The evil stuns.

Senator Chuck U. Schumer stood up at 9:00 to ask Cory Booker how he ever got the bravery and strength to stand up so heroically. Booker talked about the hardships he and Schumer face at they travel their states. From The Hill:

Booker added that both Democrats and Republicans have told him as he’s traveled across the country that “bedrock commitments are being broken.”

“Unnecessary hardships are being born by Americans of all backgrounds, and insitutions (sp) which are special in America, which are precious, which are unique in our country, are being recklessly, and I would say even unconstitutionally affected, attacked, even shattered,” he added.

Booker, on paper, seems to be an incredibly smart man. Stanford University for his B.A. and M.A., Queens College in Oxford and Yale Law School. But he doesn’t have a great speaking style or flow and he is often very melodramatic. He also does this crazy eye thing that is off-putting. I feel confident in dissing him because I have been listening to him for two and a half hours.

He is only two and a half hours in and although he paints a dire portrait of life under President Trump, Senator Booker goes from the SNAP program to HIV programs so fast that it’s difficult to follow. See for yourself:

Back to the Talking Points Memo:

Booker apparently has a lot of material. His office said Booker’s move to commandeer the Senate floor is modeled after a filibuster on gun control Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) held in 2016. Murphy’s filibuster lasted for just shy of 15 hours. Booker stood with Murphy for hours during that filibuster. This time around, Murphy plans to be there supporting Booker.

That’s so sweet. More:

The current record for the longest speech in the history of the Senate is held by the late segregationist Strom Thurmond of South Carolina who spent 24 hours and 18 minutes filibustering against the Civil Rights Act of 1957. Rules for marathon speeches require members to continuously speak and to remain on the floor, which raises difficult logistical questions, including about bathroom breaks.

Meh, remember that lady astronaut that drove cross country wearing a diaper?

This year’s Medicaid budget is $615 billion. $88 billion is 14% of that budget. If we get rid of the waste, fraud and abuse, we could possibly come close to $88 billion or maybe they would be able to add more to the budget from other areas. No one wants to see a disabled person go without their very expensive medication, but we cannot continue to spend our great-great grandchildren’s inheritance.

If Cory Booker truly believes that people like Musk and Trump want more money in their pockets from the taxpayers and to deny the taxpayers needed services, Booker isn’t that smart.

Update-As of 11:11 this morning, with assists from Chuck Schumer, Chris Murphy, Elizabeth Warren and others is still speaking. Talking about nuns and Darfur at this moment. Sniffling so bad.

Cory Booker literally a idiot holding floor 11 hours to do nothing but vent to the air pic.twitter.com/7BWurKt1jb

— MAGA Elvis (@BenStanton77) April 1, 2025

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