Cory Booker Says Voters ‘Very Understandably’ Angry at Democrats Inspired His Record Filibuster | Video

Shortly after the conclusion of his 25-hour filibuster on the Senate floor, New Jersey Democrat Cory Booker spoke to Rachel Maddow about why he decided to take that ultimately record-setting action.

Booker told Maddow it’s because he’s spoken to constituents “who were demanding, who were scared, who were angry, and very understandably taking that anger out on Democrats, who have to take some responsibility for being where we are in American history right now.”

“Those people were demanding to me to catch up, to try to do what they’re doing. This is really about folks leading from their hearts and deciding ‘I’m not going to just let business as usual go on in my life. And so I’m hoping that this is one part of a larger effort that tries to stop [Republicans] from doing what they’re about to do later this week or next week,” he said also.

Watch the full video below:

Maddow began the conversation by bringing viewers up to speed on the filibuster which, if you missed it, saw Booker speak for more than 25 hours on a range of topics. This included much criticism of Trump administration policies and Republicans, a detailed explanation of how Trump, enabled by Republicans, is acting unconstitutionally, and calling attention to various problems related to both.

She also noted that the previous filibuster record-holder was segregationist Strom Thurmond, the South Carolina Senator who spoke for 24 hours in an attempt to kill the 1957 Civil Rights Act. Then speaking to Booker she also recalled his Democratic Senate colleague Chris Murphy’s 2016 filibuster to force a vote on a gun safety bill.

Booker for his part said he was mindful of both of those things when planning for his marathon speaking session.

“When my team and I decided to do this, we just said, let’s take some risks. Let’s go out there and see how long we can last. And, to be candid, Strom Thurmond’s record always kind of just — just really irked me that he would be the longest speech, that the longest speech on our great Senate floor was someone who was trying to stop people like me from being in the Senate,” Booker said.

Maddow then asked Booker about how and why he decided to do this.

“I do really credit constituents who were impatient, who were demanding, who were scared, who were angry, and very understandably taking that anger out on Democrats, who have to take some responsibility for being where we are in American history right now,” Booker said.

“And so the more I thought about it with my team, especially after the decisions we made revolving around the continuing resolution,” he continued, the more he felt the need to do something public.

Incidentally, he was referring to the recent Trump-backed funding bill that most Democratic voters and even a large number of elected Democrats urged Senate Dems to filibuster, part of a larger call for Democratic leaders to more actively fight back against Trump. Instead, 9 Democrats led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer switched their support to the bill at the last minute, a decision that ultimately backfired badly for Schumer in particular and the party generally, inspiring the anger Booker mentioned. (Booker was not among the Senators who voted for the bill.)

“And to read from my staff people rendering their most personal stories about their fears or what’s happening to their families, and so my staff and I said, let’s try to bring those voices to the Senate floor. Let’s see how long you can last. They’re demanding something different. This will certainly be different,” Booker said also. “And I think that a lot of that energy from the folks that I have been seeing in Jersey and across this country really helped carry me through.”

Later in the conversation, Booker elaborated that “My constituents, the letters, the calls, the demands were definitely an ignition point for me, but we have got to continue to ignite this movement. The only thing that stopped Donald Trump from tearing away the Affordable Care Act was the engagement of tens of thousands of Americans who didn’t think they would become little lobbyists or activists or come down to the Capitol or protest in their communities.”

Americans, Booker said, are not “waiting for us in Congress to lead. They have decided to take matters into their own hands and do something different. Those people were demanding to me to catch up, to try to do what they’re doing. This is really about folks leading from their hearts and deciding I’m not going to just let business as usual go on in my life. And so I’m hoping that this is one part of a larger effort that tries to stop them from doing what they’re about to do later this week or next week.”

There’s more of course, and you can watch the full video above.

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