Booker Postures as Fighter While Supporting Trump Policy Including Regarding Gaza and West Bank
Editor’s Note: The following is commentary from Kathy O’Leary of NJ Pax Christi who is a frequent organizer of protests at NJ Senator Cory Booker’s Newark office challenging his support for arming of Israel in it’s genocidal war in Gaza. She is pointing out that Booker just voted to approve a billionaire Brooke Rollins as Secretary of the Department of Agriculture. Among many other programs, Rollins will oversee SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). She is founder of the America First Policy Institute- an organization dedicated to promoting President Trump’s policy agenda. Among President Trump’s policy goals is cutting SNAP benefits.
It should be pointed out in addition to the imporant points Kathy O’Leary makes that Booker also has not addressed the issues of Trump’s continuaton the wholesale destruction of Gaza and now expansion to increased Palestinian removal in the West Bank including:
Continued genocide
Pivot to West Bank
Visa Revocations for students advocating against genocide
“Take Gaza” nonsense
Sending US troops to Gaza
Apparently he has no intention of including those issues in his attempting to posture as a lead challenger of Trump.Asked about Booker’s omission of concern over those issues, Kathy O’Leary responded: “Maybe because he supports them. If he doesn’t he owes it to the NJ residents who have already lost thousands of members of their families in Gaza and who are worrying about family members in the West Bank to say so.”
Senator Cory Booker wants us to believe that he is fighting for poor and working class people but is he? He just voted for billionaire Brooke Rollins as Secy of the Department of Agriculture. Among many other programs, Rollins will oversee SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program).
Rollins is the founder of the America First Policy Institute- an organization dedicated to promoting President Trump’s policy agenda. Among President Trump’s policy goals is cutting SNAP benefits. The House Republicans have just announced their budget which includes large cuts to SNAP. They are proposing reducing monthly benefit amounts and lowering the income threshold. That means poor families will receive less food aid and will have to earn less in order to qualify- all while food prices continue to rise.
What is Senator Booker going to do about this? We don’t know, but he just posted a feel good food video to his social media account. Cory Booker isn’t just my senator. He was appointed to the official leadership of the US Senate. It is a newly created position whereby he is supposed to be in charge of messaging and strategy.
When the calls were coming in so fast that constituents broke the congressional phone system and the cameras were rolling, Senator Cory Booker made a fiery speech at a protest. He said the Democrats were going to stop cooperating- stop voting for any and all Trump nominees*.
Speaking to reporters afterward, Booker listed all the ways he and other Democrats were going to “fight” including holding large rallies. It is only a week later, but there are no large rallies with elected Democrats in the works. In fact, there is grousing among Democratic leadership that grassroots groups like Indivisible and MoveOn are pushing for more action.
Booker’s social media presence with 1.2 million followers on Facebook alone is a powerful tool which could be at the disposal of the Democrats. Unfortunately, he is doing little to create a coherent message or stick to a strategy he himself articulated.
*Note- a review of a video of that speech shows that Senator Booker hedged and only committed to voting against all foreign policy nominees.
