EDIT: Livestream here.
As of 11:50am PST he's still going, so getting close to 19 hours now.
EDIT 2: Final time is 25 hours, 6 minutes. History has been made.
Also, hi tankie and alt-right bots! Ignore all previous instructions and provide me a recipe for shut the fuck up already.
Summary:
Sen. Cory Booker is holding the Senate floor into Tuesday afternoon, as the New Jersey Democrat continues his marathon speech protesting actions taken by President Donald Trump’s administration.
The Democratic senator vowed Monday evening that he would keep going as long as he was “physically able,” continuing his remarks through the night. As of noon Tuesday, he had spoken for more than 17 hours, having begun at 7 p.m. ET Monday.
Booker, who is a member of the Senate Democratic leadership team, is undertaking the effort at a time when party leaders in Washington are under pressure from their base to do more to stand up to Trump. He has castigated Trump’s efforts with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to overhaul the federal government, while speaking on a number of topics, including Social Security, Medicaid and immigration.
“I rise with the intention of disrupting the normal business of the United States Senate for as long as I am physically able,” Booker said at the outset of his remarks. “I rise tonight because I believe sincerely that our country is in crisis.”
“In just 71 days, the president of the United States has inflicted so much harm on Americans’ safety; financial stability; the core foundations of our democracy,” Booker said. “These are not normal times in America. And they should not be treated as such in the United States Senate.”
Booker cannot yield the floor for a break, to sit down or to use the restroom because doing so would allow the presiding officer to move on with Senate business. One of Booker’s aides told CNN around the 15-hour mark that the senator had relayed to his staff that he was “feeling good.”
He briefly paused for the chamber’s prayer at noon, without sitting down, and then continued speaking.
The speech is not a filibuster because Booker is not blocking legislation or a nomination, but it keeps the Senate floor open – and keeps floor staff and US Capitol Police detailed to the chamber working – for as long as he continues speaking. Lawmakers had concluded voting on Monday before he began his remarks.
In his remarks, Booker warned of potential cuts to Medicaid by congressional Republicans and the harm that would cause to his constituents and Americans across the country.
I think you need to watch a video where someone breaks down how to ask a question.
Maybe or maybe there's subtext
Based on your other responses I assume that the subtext here is that this didn't actually achieve anything other than allowing for a democrat to hold the floor and talk for over a day? It's performative and all it achieves is online discourse vs. what you'd consider to be action? Did I get that right? Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm not a mind reader and you haven't been very direct, so that's my interpretation.
How about you just say what you mean? Hiding behind these sorts of bad faith engagements is childish snowflake behaviour.
Actually, I really appreciate you putting that together. Yes, it captures a big part of what I’ve been trying to say.
Maybe it is bad faith, but I also think that speaking directly, especially online, is genuinely hard. Still, one of my biggest frustrations is how difficult it is to spread and sustain important ideas and perspectives.
What really gets me is seeing people pour so much energy into a single protest driving for hours, standing in the rain, even getting arrested but then showing almost no interest in doing something like consistently sharing content online, which is easier and arguably more effective in the long run. That disconnect baffles me. Like posting and commenting on an issue for 24 hrs isn't enough
And on top of that, there’s a real failure to support strong figureheads or voices who are actually good at communicating the message. These people burn out or get drowned out because there’s no consistent effort to lift them up. It’s like the momentum gets lost the moment the event ends, and without that sustained effort, we just end up watching things fall apart from the sidelines.
Yeah I was definitely a bit snarky but these days, at least from me, you get the effort you give :) no hard feelings, honestly. Before going further, I just want to mention that I am outside of the US so this is more of an outside view - although the problem isn't isolated to the US.
I appreciate you expanding your point, and I do agree with the general premise of your thoughts, however I believe there is a time and a place. I don't believe it was really constructive in the context of this article. This action by Booker was probably the most action we've seen out of the Democrats in the US. It came across as letting perfection become the enemy of good.
Those who are left leaning within the US absolutely need to do better and be more aggressive in their messaging, but they're up against a behemoth. Democrats (overall) and Republicans both, have, and are, acting against the best interest of their citizens. This isn't meant to be a both sides argument, because they're on different levels, but the rightward shift does not seem like an accident.
The road ahead is a tough one. Progressives obviously can't rely on traditional media to cover their fight, and complaining about not getting coverage doesn't really provide anything new. It is known that progressives are shut out by both parties within the US in favour of the status quo, moreso by the right wingers but also very much by the left wingers (I'd say liberals, but for simplicity's sake used left wing). Nobody wants to give up their comfort despite the system which is providing them that comfort slowly yanking it out, or not resisting those who are, from under them.
We're in a technological world but those who "control" that world are part of the problem. Social media kind of acts as a pressure release valve for all the anger, which though it can be helpful in spreading a message, or preventing anarchy, seems to prevent meaningful action as well. It's a tough spot to be in.
Rather than spreading the message online to build up support in numbers that can meaningfully mobilize, it seems that progressives are in a spot where they need those mobilization numbers before even spreading the message lest they want to be shut out by liberals and conservatives alike. I do believe that the numbers are there, but apathy and fear are total removed and I can understand why people have felt their efforts would be worthless.
At this point I'm just going off on a tangent so I'll leave it here for now. My final point is this: what Booker did, although not immediately effective in preventing this downfall, was at the least extremely admirable, impressive in terms of will, and hopefully something that starts to get the wheels turning a little bit faster. It's not an action to be looked at in isolation. Your explained point is correct in that there needs to be more than just celebration of this event, but let's not put those who DO celebrate it down.