-Source-The American Conservative-\
Cory Booker, the Democratic senator from New Jersey, used to be a very credible presidential general election contender, though perhaps not nominate-able in the modern Democratic party.
The criticism of Barack Obama during his successful 2008 campaign—a neophyte with no executive experience, no record of reaching across the aisle, a rigid ideologue—couldn’t have been said of Booker circa 2013, when he was first elected senator in a special election.
As mayor of Newark, he’d cultivated an image of a pragmatic problem solver, ready to work with the Republican governor Chris Christie when it helped his constituents, collaborating with then-school choice activist Betsy DeVos to improve opportunities for children in his city, and defending capitalism against rhetorical attacks by the Obama re-election campaign. As a senator, he even teamed up with Senator Jeff Sessions.
It wasn’t really until 2017—when being in the #Resistance appeared the only path to the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020—that Booker began to turn into something different: a non-credible presidential general election contender, but a nominate-able Democrat.
Booker’s recent statement to New York Magazine, “Of course the presidency will be something I consider. It would be irresponsible not to,” is only the latest ridiculous thing that he’s said. Indeed, it’s difficult to know what’s more outlandish—that he thinks he has a responsibility to offer himself as president or that he says he’s only considering it.
Had it not been for the late-breaking accusations against Brett Kavanaugh, the most memorable moment from the recent Supreme Court confirmation process would have been the “Spartacus moment” that turned Booker into a political parody.
It’s true that what we consider a credible presidential contender has changed significantly since Donald Trump’s election. Democrats might well nominate Tom Steyer in 2020 for an epic Battle of the Billionaires, or Mark Cuban, or someone else unconventional. But it’s also true that the safer wager is to pick a conventional politician to run against Trump: Booker, Elizabeth Warren, and so... Read more
Comments