New Jersey Senator Cory Booker has broken a 68-year-old Senate record for holding the floor and bloviating for more than 25 hours. The record had previously been held by Democrat South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond – who railed against civil rights legislation with a 24 hour and 18 minute filibuster. Booker waxed on for 25 hours and 5 minutes.
Thurmond’s record still stands as the longest filibuster in history. That is because Booker was not engaged in a filibuster. He did not take the floor to stop legislation. His sole purpose was to gain publicity for a long, rambling rant against the Trump administration. Gaining publicity was the objective – and in that Booker was very successful. His physical and oratorical achievement was greeted with widespread publicity – and with the predictable hyperbolic praise of political allies.
Yes, Booker has secured himself a place in the history books as the greatest windbag in American history. Other than that, what has he achieved? I say, “Not much.”
Based on media reports, virtually nothing he said was reported substantively. It would be hard to find any American – including those who piled on the hyperbolic praise – who could refer to what he said other than a snippet here and there. In fact, most folks hardly knew this marathon oration was taking place until the final moments garnered media attention.
The speech was a publicity stunt to be infused with concocted significance by home team cheerleaders. It appears that any true awe associated with his record breaking speech centered on questions of urination. Was he wearing a secret catheter and bag? (His staff says “no”.) If that is true, Booker’s greatest achievement may be the human record for not urinating.
(If he was not secretly and discretely urinating and orating at the same time, I would have expected him to break the record and RACE to the nearest persons’ room. But he hung around without any display of urgency. Now THAT is amazing.)
In his Gettysburg Address, President Lincoln said, “The world will little note, nor longer remember, what we say here …” While Lincoln was wrong, that self-assessment could more accurately apply to Booker’s speech.
There were no memorable passages. No great vision. Nothing that makes memorable speeches memorable. Booker gets a footnote in history. Nothing more.
Other than political performance, the Booker speech lacked the substantive gravitas to be more than a physical and biological achievement worthy of the Guinness Book of Records – right up there with Gerard Jessie, who holds his own “hot air” record by extinguishing the most candles with flatulence.
So, there ‘tis.
