Corey Booker's speech

re:(https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/cory-booker-record-speech-trump-filibuster-rcna199065) MSNBC by Hayes Brown

If the Democratic party needed a 25-hour long monologue is what it takes to inject life into their movement, then there is a deeper crisis at hand—one that cannot be finished by reiterated talking points. Real leadership is strategic, impactful, cumulative, and it's certainly not one that a single prolonged TED Talk disguised as activism can replace. 

However, liberals across social media have jumped at the opportunity and become overjoyed with happiness, declaring it a great human feat and a step in the right direction. Supporters have remarked that him overtaking Strom Thurmond, a racist who spoke against the 1957 Civil Rights Act, was monumental. The moment has also been a time to give a voice to the voicess, voters say, reading letters and showing empathy.

While that comparison may feel poetic to some, in reality, it's just semantics. What does it matter that a black man beat a racist white man at an endurance contest. What does it matter that a Black man got a world record for speaking the longest. Empathy is important, but speeches alone don’t build safety nets, pass laws, or block harmful policies. A speech is not the proper way to clear dissatisfaction with the current administration, even at a time like this when there was nothing being passed. 

And if Booker was talking to basically no one for 20 hours, then who is his audience? It's certainly not the senators, nor Trump or Elon who he was largely criticizing. His real audience was the cameras. It was performative politics dressed up as moral urgency. When there is no legislation on the line, no vote being blocked, and barely anyone in the room, it becomes clear: this wasn’t about changing policy—it was about changing perception

And perception is exactly what Booker is struggling with. In recent polling for the 2028 Democratic primary field, Booker has consistently been on the bottom, under other Democrats like Ro Khanna and Gretchen Whitmer. The speech served as a hail-mary, attempting to reinvigorate his career and reinsert himself into a conversation that’s left him behind.