Hello Everyone,
Today is all about gratitude.
WHAT’S going on and WHY it’s important:
Senator Cory Booker just made history, holding the senate floor for over 25 hours to fix a beam of light on what we all feel acutely: the dire state of our democracy. “These are not normal times in America,” he said, telling the American people his intention “of disrupting the normal business of the United States Senate for as long as I am physically able.” (To prepare, Booker fasted for three days and abstained from water for 24 hours.)
Ultimately, Senator Booker’s message was about us—we the people. "We've seen the arc of the moral universe bent not by the people here, not by the people in this body. You think we got suffrage because of a bunch of men on the Senate floor?... It happened because the power of the people is greater than the people in power... You think we got civil rights because one day Strom Thurmond… came to the floor… and said "I've seen the light?"... No! We got civil rights because people marched for it, sweat for it, and John Lewis bled for it."
By the time he finished, Booker’s speech had been liked 400 million times on TikTok. As K. Starling wrote on We the People Dissent, Senator Booker now “yields the floor to us.”
HOW we can engage:
Send a thank you to Cory Booker! Call his office at (202) 224-3224 or send him a written message here. Perhaps there is something specific you want to thank him for saying (watch speech highlights) or perhaps you want to simply express your gratitude for Senator Booker acting in a way that is congruent with the extreme moment we are in… or for listening to us, the people… or for having the courage to get into, as John Lewis put it, some “good trouble.”
While you’re at it, express your thanks to Bernie and AOC for their rousing, record-breaking “Fight Oligarchy” barnstorming last week. (AOC: 202-225-3965; Bernie: 202-224-5141 or 802-862-0697.) Like Booker, AOC and Bernie are showing the rest of the party how to offer Americans a bold, inspiring, and inclusive alternative to “business as usual.”
Photo credit: Alice Donovan Rouse
Final Note:
“Senator Booker is telling us that we can't rely on institutions to save us. He's reminding us that history shows that protest works. And he is calling on the American people to take to the streets and stand up for what is right.” - Alison Nihart, Executive Director, Rights & Democracy
As Nihart reminds us, we have the opportunity to do just that! This Saturday, April 5th, will be a day of mass mobilization. Read more here and find a rally near you.
And One Last Note: Wisconsin for the win!
“Wisconsin stood up and said loudly that justice does not have a price. Our courts are not for sale.” - Susan Crawford, elected Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice