topical.day

‘Don’t Question My Integrity!’: Spartacus Returns In Dramatic Senate Floor Showdown ‘For Jersey’

Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) took to the Senate floor on Tuesday and scolded members of his own party — in particular, Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-NV) — over their support for bipartisan police funding bills.

The fight began when Klobuchar and Cortez-Masto pushed for the bills — which would provide law enforcement with trauma kits and cover family death benefits — to pass by unanimous consent. Booker immediately proposed an amendment that would force public safety resources to be divided between states without any consideration for political leaning.

Both Klobuchar and Cortez-Masto pushed back, saying that while they agreed funding should not be withheld for political reasons, Booker should have brought up the amendment during the markup process instead of waiting until the last minute.

“Tacking on a poison pill language to these bills won’t guarantee any additional funding makes it to New Jersey, Nevada, or any other state. Instead what it will do, it will keep critical bills from passing in the first place. You gotta question what is going on here,” Cortez-Masto said, clearly suggesting that Booker was grandstanding.

Booker objected, saying that Trump had threatened to withhold funding from sanctuary states after the bills in question had already gone through that process. He then pivoted to attack his own party for not doing enough to stand up to Trump.

“The Democratic Party needs a wake-up call,” he said.

WATCH:

Booker accused law firms, colleges, and even media networks of “bending the knee” to Trump, claiming that Stephen Colbert — who was ousted from his gig at “The Late Show” over a reported $40 million loss — was taken “off the air because [he] dared to insult a president.”

He continued in that vein, getting progressively louder and more animated until he was shouting: “It’s time for Democrats to have a backbone. It’s time for us to fight. It’s time for us to draw lines. Don’t question my integrity. Don’t question my motives. I’m standing for Jersey! I am standing for my police officers. I’m standing for the Constitution, and I’m standing for what’s right. And dear God, if you want to come at me that way, you’re going to have to take it up with me.”

Booker didn’t stop there, but instead started shouting about rights being taken away and “secret police” who he claimed were “running around this country” and taking people off the street who were in the country legally.

He concluded by saying that if Democrats didn’t “stand together,” they would “deserve to lose.”

Read More Stories