Confession from Cory Booker today

[senseandsensibility]

Part of his 22 hour and counting speech: "I confess 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.' "


Self-reflection and critique of the party as a whole is not disloyalty. I see a change here. I hope it's contagious.

[SharonClark]

1. "the Democratic Party has made terrible mistakes"

In light of what the Republican Party has done the last 20-30 years, I hope we can attribute Booker’s statement to sleep deprivation.

[senseandsensibility]

2. I have to admit

that I wish he'd left out "terrible". Whatever mistakes we've made pale in comparison to the R's.

[milestogo]

7. Not prosecuting TSF while we had the chance was terrible.

[FoxNewsSucks]

22. So was "looking forward, not back" and letting BushCheneyCo skate

from their crimes.

They laugh at our compassion and niceness. Then they exploit it to do worse.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

47. I don't understand why they don't learn this.

Must be something specific I don't know or worse that they don't want us to know.

Fight for our country with everything you've got elected Democrats! Be creative! Be brave!

[FoxNewsSucks]

52. I know.

Especially those old enough to remember the 60's & 70's. I get not realizing what we were seeing at the time, but in hindsight it couldn't be more clear.

[lees1975]

43. Not a bad adjective.

We failed to get Trump to trial for insurrection for four years. That is a terrible mistake, any way you look at it.

I also think that when we had the chance to pack this damn court, we should have broken the filibuster in the senate and done it. That is the key to the passage of legislation and having it ruled constitutional that prevents criminals from running for office. It would have also prevented the ridiculous immunity ruling, and it would have saved Roe.

But we have a renegade in the White House because he was not, for four long years, ever held accountable for absconding with classified documents related to national security and was not held accountable for inciting an insurrection against the people of the United States. That's terrible.

[quakerboy]

45. Its not a matter of comparison

If it is, we are lost. Being just enough better than the worst isn't what its about. Its about being the best we can be.

And looking at history.. There are plenty of folk alive, probably even a number here, who remember when (D) and Klan were largely overlapping. Most of us understand that times have changed and that it is radically not the same now, but that is still part of our history. The filibuster record that Booker was breaking.. was that of a Democrat trying to prevent the passage of civil rights. Democrats have done terrible things. We need to learn from those things, not ignore them.

[senseandsensibility]

46. I agree with a lot of your points

But I guess my response would be that in that case, I wish he would have been specific about what was "terrible". Leaving it open like that just sets us up for people interpreting it through their own lens. And many will see it as confirming RW talking points, like the Dems are too politically correct, don't care about the working class, or whatever.

[orangecrush]

6. Sleep deprivation

Is far better than reality deprivation.

He spoke the truth.

[SunImp]

14. He's not the only Dem coming out & saying we made mistakes

I really admire their honesty instead of getting hysterical and going nuh uh nu uh Stop bashing Democrats

[writerJT]

26. Agree. I don't get why some folks

insist on not being critical and introspective of our collective movement. Sometimes it almost sounds like blind loyalty. Whatever the case, it’s a recipe for sure disaster.

[True Blue American]

35. I was up at 2AM

Decided to work. Accomplished a great deal. But then thought I am going to bed early.
Then came Cory. Knew I had to be in the pool at 6 AM. But could not sleep. Woke again at 2, there was Cory being interviewed by all the hosts on MSNBC.

I AM WAY OLDER THAN Cory but have a new fill of energy this morning. Then to read the Wall Street Journal headline, MAGA BACK LASH ARRIVES I AM FIRED UP,READY TO GO!🖐️🙏🏆

[orangecrush]

36. Cool!

[calimary]

49. GOOD one, orangecrush!

[orangecrush]

50. Thanks

[Cirsium]

13. Of course the Republicans are worse

Arsonists are worse than fire fighters. Nevertheless, when the fires are burning out of control, we look to ourselves, the fire fighters, to step up our game. Booker is stepping up his game and leading the way.

Job one for us is to stop from happening exactly what is in fact happening right now - an authoritarian takeover. Nothing else matters. There have been many squandered opportunities, much denial, many compromises and surrenders.

"Better than the Republicans" is not sufficient.

Ther is absolutely nothing wrong with each and every one of us asking ourselves and each other what we could have done better or done differently to prevent this nightmare.

"Self-reflection and critique of the party as a whole is not disloyalty."

[Iris]

34. Do R's make mistakes? I think they act with intent. The actions may be clearly wrong to us but not to them

[Renew Deal]

42. What do we attribute denialism and censorship to?

[PatSeg]

48. Yes, I think that was quite an overstatement

Like any political party, Democrats of course have made mistakes, but in recent years, I believe most of them have been far better than most could have hoped for.

My main criticism would be the times when they fought amongst themselves when there were serious threats from the opposition to address. I don't expect them to march lockstep with one another like republicans tend to do, but a little more loyalty and support for other Democrats would make a huge difference. Right now the problems with republicans, MAGATS, and the Trump administration far outweigh any problems within the party.

[Irish_Dem]

3. Was the mistake not fighting back hard enough?

Letting ruthless sociopaths call all the shots?
While Dems played nice.

[senseandsensibility]

4. IMO

Yes!

[wryter2000]

10. Will the critics ever be satisfied?

Why not join up with Gavin Newsom if the Dems are so pathetic?

[Irish_Dem]

12. The critics will only be silenced if we win the war being waged against us.

And we restore our democracy.

[Bluetus]

27. Personally, I'd be willing to be mostly silent if I even saw the effort

I am ambivalent about how useful Booker's performance was, but dammit, it beats the hell out of just sitting around accepting everything Trump is doing without even the slightest objection from us.

We are in deep trouble. We are on the edge of losing our democracy. Those who think that is hyperbole (which seems to include many here and many in the Beltway) are letting the country down, IMHO. At this stage, the odds of saving the democracy are not very good. All I want is to see Dems -- not just Booker, Warren, Murphy, AOC and a few others -- ALL Dems entering the fight with a level of seriousness and passion that matches the moment. We have huge rallies coming up Saturday. This is a time for every Dem to follow Booker's lead and fight like hell.

[Random Boomer]

32. Booker was strategic with his time

Everything he said is going in the Congressional record, and it was all about Trump and the terrible effect his policies are having on the American public. The sins of the GOP are now immortalized.

[True Blue American]

38. Booker had perfect timing!

Schumer was off with his book considering what is happening now.
And I do not believe those million dollar checks.

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2025-04-01/steve-kornacki-exits-msnbc-lands-new-deal-with-nbc-news-and-nbc-sports

Who cares. Steve was as boresome as an old shoe! I finished a chore when he came on.
Funny howp

[TomSlick]

16. That's the thing about critics. They live to criticize.

I am grateful for honest reflection.

Sen. Booker is a hero.

[BlueKota]

20. I admire anyone willing to do

whatever they can to stand up to try and stop the Magats and it seems like Senator Booker is trying to do that.

The only Democrats I have issues with are ones who are remaining silent, or the ones like Newsome who thinks we should be more understanding of the facists. Anyone who thinks that needs to go read books, and watch documentaries about the death camps like Aushcwitz, and what Hitler and Stalin did to terrorize innocent people. I will never believe their modern day counter parts have anything to offer that is positive for human kind.

[BlueKota]

18. Newsome is saying the exact opposite

He thinks we should continue trying to placate Magats which in my opinion is what got us in this mess.

Democratic policies are better. They just need to stand up to the bullies instead of thinking they can appeal to their better side of their natures. Facists don't have a better side. If they did they wouldn't back tsf.

[FoxNewsSucks]

23. Because the answer lies to the LEFT of "centrist" "moderate"

"conservadem" "establishment" etc. NOT with them.

[BlueKota]

17. IMHO too

100 percent yes. It became completely obvious a long time ago that magats weren't going to play by the rules, and yet Democrats continued to insist we had too, and that we had to be bipartisan.

Look where that got us. More need to be spelling it out directly to the people. Cheers to all those Democrats hitting the road to make it clear that this isn't politics as usual, but a veritable fight for the safety of the world from deranged facists.

[orangecrush]

5. Bravo

[wryter2000]

8. Self reflection.is fine

Constant harping how disappointing the party out of power is is self-destructive.

[lame54]

9. Contagious but not wallowing...

Need to move forward

[Joinfortmill]

11. Guy's a damn HERO!

[tavernier]

15. We made mistakes by trusting the Republicans to be patriots.

That is all.

[Bluetus]

25. Yes. And that is a possibly fatal mistake.

Those who have made that mistake should not be leading us now.

[patphil]

19. I'm so proud of that guy! God bless you, Cory Booker!

[LymphocyteLover]

21. Booker was freaking amazing. I think it was fine and true he said this.

[Bluetus]

24. That's exactly what we need to hear

Nobody expects perfection. We all make mistakes. We must, however, learn from them. The biggest sin is to keep making those same mistakes year after year.

We must change, and change quickly. There is not much time left. And some of those changes cannot possibly happen with the current leadership. There are only a few national Democrats I suspect are really bad people, sold out beyond redemption. I think most are people who really love the country and want our democracy to succeed. But those who have presided over this long decline really must step aside now.

[RockRaven]

28. I hope the looking in the mirror that the rest of the party does includes the

widespread realization/acceptance that "continued neoliberalism, but competent management" is going to be a losing strategy/argument in future elections just like it has been in many recent ones.

[Jack Valentino]

29. Cory Booker is my Democratic Party HERO Today---

(joining AOC and Bernie Sanders and maybe some others that I can count on one hand)


YEAH, I hope it's contagious too!

[Blue Owl]

30. I confess.... TRUMP DID IT

TRUMP is guilty of TREASON

[ecstatic]

31. The biggest mistake was not locking tRump up

Sorry that's the one mistake that will be very hard for me to get past. One job!

[DFW]

33. A perfect time to admit mistakes, and imply that we are determined to learn from them

The Republicans are making one disastrous mistake after another, and claiming they are operating with papal infallibility. In a time when the country is starting to realize its colossal mistake, and feel the effects of that disastrous mistake. nothing could present a better contrast.

The country did OK under Biden and the Democrats. We have jumped into a massive sink hole on top of a sewage treatment plant in just two months of solid Republican rule. It is exactly the right time to admit that we are fallible, because the Biden years will look ever better compared to the destructive Republicans, who conspicuously claim they are doing everything right. Cripple our education, health ministry, defense capability, foreign trade, and threaten to attack and annex other countries, two of whom are our closest allies? Fox Noise may be able to spin that for some people, but at some point, every starving man will eventually realize that he is hungry. Remember that Bush Lite couldn't remember one thing he had done wrong. Remember also, that the 2008 general election was one of the worst for the Republicans since FDR.

[LaMouffette]

37. Beautifully put! In other words, "The buck stop here." Compare that to Rump's "The buck stops HERE--in my pocket!"

Rump will never utter a word of apology or remorse for the hellscape he has in the past and currently is creating here and around the world, including the people who have DIED as a consequence of his actions, from the pandemic deaths to the impending deaths of untold numbers of people here and abroad.

Thank you, Senator Booker, for showing us what a real president looks, speaks, and acts like!

[True Blue American]

39. What do we need to change?

The corruption of the right, trying to change the past and take us back 100 years?
No, we need to keep speaking out like Cory and the Senate Democrats did last night!
The wind is changing, let it blow! Clean House!

[Happy Hoosier]

40. A mantra I live by....

... as someone who has made SO MANY mistakes:

"You quality is not determined by never making mistakes, but rather how you respond when you DO make a mistake."

One thing the MAGAts can never do is admit they were wroing about anything. Ever.

[calimary]

44. Well, that's certainly the way of the donald.

Last edited Wed Apr 2, 2025, 02:41 PM - Edit history (1)

… the way that leads directly to Hell.

[Emile]

41. I hope Chuck Schumer +9 paid attention.

[stillcool]

51. oh my god...he admitted

he's human! What's he doing there?