I see an overt faction trying to ruin Cory Booker on this board. He is a great democrat who was off

[Pisces]

message 1 time. For those posting that they don't know who he is, then you are not democrats.

Cory has done more for democrats and his constituents than most people can even imagine. The usual suspects are out in force
bashing him. It is disgusting.

[cakeislove]

1. great democrat, my foot

He was a right-wing shill that had a bunch of people fooled. Too bad for him, he let the mask slip off. Next time some Koch think tank decides to foist another "reformer" pod-person on the public, they'll probably get a better actor.

http://blackagendareport.com/content/newark-first-domino-hard-right-tests-its-national-black-strategy

Of course, the usual Repuke sockpuppets are also out in force. Some of them have been doing this for a long time. Sometimes there's so many Repukes hanging out in the big tent that you think you've wandered into a Tea Party.

Here's a hint - real democrats (little or big 'D') don't shill for bloodsucking vulture capitalists.

[Pisces]

3. I guess next you will tell me Rachel Maddow is a rightwing shill paid by Kock as a double agent. Ha

what a joke of a post. Do your homework on Booker before you post garbage.

[cakeislove]

5. Wow, Rachel Maddow!? Holy cow, I stand corrected!!!

Yeah, because some talking head on corporate GETV is really the living embodiment of Progressive values. *eyeroll*

Don't look now, but Maddow gets checks every month from the same kind of bloodsucking corporations that Booker is shilling for. No conflict of interest there, nosiree!

Ha, indeed. Coincidence Theorist!

[Pisces]

8. Oh yes, now Rachel isn't progressive enough for some on this board??? Sorry but she worked hard on

Air America pushing her progressive agenda so that she could have a bigger platform. Now she does and she is still
pushing a very progressive agenda, corporate overlords or not.

Save the eye rolls for your mirror.

[cakeislove]

11. I'm sure that she's a wonderful person.

Doesn't change the fact that her entire lifestyle is maintained at the pleasure of the 1%

Ask Keith or Cenk what happens when you slack off on the self-censorship.

He who pays the piper always gets to call the tune. Always.

[Enrique]

22. i like Rachel,

I watch her videos all the time online. Every time I do, I first watch an ad from either Exxon-Mobil or Goldman Sachs.

[leftynyc]

40. So now we have purity police

and even Rachel Maddow doesn't pass your test. You're trying to hard and as a result, you have no credibility at all. I hear they like goosestepping drones on the right side of the dial, perhaps you'd feel better about being a lemming over there.

[FogerRox]

34. How much did Bain donate to Booker in 2002? 36k......

[Pisces]

36. Shocker, you need money to be in politics. Wallstreet donates to everyone to hedge their bets.

[elleng]

4. Just got here, eh?

[cakeislove]

9. Have anything of substance to say defending that waterboy for the 1 percent?

Or did you just want to inflate your postcount further?

I'm sure that everyone is impressed with your contributions. I know I am.

In case you didn't notice, that was sarcasm.

[kestrel91316]

12. You must be inordinately fond of pizza, dear.

[cakeislove]

20. So, nothing, huh? OK

Funny how some people always invite the Republican Wing of the Democratic Party into the big tent but act like there's no room for passionate liberals.

I wouldn't dare speculate on the motives of such behavior.

[JNelson6563]

52. Don't worry.

Some DUers think id you have a low post count and don't agree with them they can bully you. Often times a friend or two show up to complete the tag team. Just ignore that silly nonsense.

Remember, it's never the brightest minds that feel terribly threatened by differing views. Besides, it appears the Booker fans are using a teaspoon to bail out the Titantic. I'd be getting a bit testy too I suppose.

Julie

[elleng]

2. Thanks, Pisces;

100% with you, AND his appearance provided PrezO an opportunity to make it clear that rmoney's lack of experience in governing, compared with his alleged success in private sector, will be a MAJOR issue in this campaign. I think the President's response to the question in Chicago was great, as it explained, in language most can understand, the differences between them.

[proverbialwisdom]

55. + 1

[BeyondGeography]

6. You shouldn't be surprised and people have a right to be disgusted by him

He wasn't just "off message," he was fucking inept and totally disloyal. Inept because he used a false equivalency (which the MSM always loves) to claim "both sides are at fault," blah blah blah. Factual criticisms of Bain are on par with Rev. Wright ads? Uh huh. Disloyal, because he was grandstanding as a wise man, pushing his personal brand at the campaign's expense.

Now it turns out he took in over $500,000 from Bain and Wall St. when he got his start politically. So maybe we can add bought-and-paid for to the list.

Booker has done good as Mayor of Newark. He is not irredeemable. But he needs to understand that what he did, and some of the plausible reasons for why he did it, personifies what is so very often wrong with the Democratic Party.

[babylonsister]

15. Thank you, my dear! nt

[AtomicKitten]

39. well said

[Nedsdag]

50. +1,000,000

n/t

[Chan790]

60. I agree with most all of this...

except he hasn't actually done a lot of good for Newark, Cory Booker's not very good for anything except self-promotion.

[enough]

7. This is not about being"off message."

It's about showing a level of stupidity and disingenuous that previously would have seemed surprising in him. Not stupid because it undermines Obama, stupid because it's stupid. Can an intelligent person actually believe that false equivalency that he finds so "nauseating?"

As a politician, Booker is free to decide what level of support or lack of it he wants to give the President. He may well have decided that Obama is going to lose the election and he's positioning himself for that. That's his prerogative as a politician. They all have to make those decisions. But to use the dishonest and destructive notion of false equivalency "both sides do it," as if there is a parallel between dragging Reverend Wright back into the discussion and talking about Romney's record at Bain -- that is just giving support to the worst elements of our current political discourse -- the element of pure stupidity.

Strangely, by making that equivalency, it's as if Booker is saying that the operations of "private equity" are sacrosanct in the same way that a candidate's religious beliefs are off limits. It's and absurd and destructive idea.

[cakeislove]

17. The Reagan Democrats always spout the same "take the high ground" strategy

It's won a lot of elections for the guys they really support.

[Enrique]

10. why would anyone want to ruin Cory Booker?

people are saying what they think. I dont know if he is a great mayor, if he is, then he is a great mayor who said something stupid, and false, on national TV.

[monmouth]

13. He's another Harold Ford. He's also an old school (Oxford) mate of Rachel's so I'm cutting her some

slack here. She's a good friend, especially when you need one. One of the many reasons I admire her.

[FogerRox]

28. The comparison to Harold Ford is a common one & spot on IMHO

[babylonsister]

14. Baloney. He's a politician and he swerved in the wrong way.

Why did he diss Obama? Bone-headed, but he's friends w/big money...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002712647

snip...


“He’s someone who’s been courting big money ever since he first ran for office,” Codey told Salon today. “It is what it is – not that there’s anything wrong with doing that if you want to. But what Mr. Romney and his fellow millionaires did at Bain Capital is fair game, no question about it.”

Money from Wall Street and the investor class has played a big role in Booker’s rise, helping him level the playing field in his 2002 mayoral bid against incumbent Sharpe James and to ward off serious competition in his follow-up campaigns in 2006 and 2010. His cultivation of and sympathy for Wall Street, though, may come as news to many of Booker’s rank-and-file Democratic admirers.

[MannyGoldstein]

16. I think the problem was that he was on message, but

it was the governing message, not the campaigning message. He forgot to switch gears.

[chollybocker]

18. Have you noticed lately how everyone talks about

Cory Booker's name getting this much exposure?: Even pulling a woman from a burning building hadn't accomplished this.

Bain?: The more the word "Bain" is mentioned in any conversation, the better.

Walkbacks, talkbacks and apologies?: Don't even go there, Rethugs.

African American Democrats blindly believing that Obama is the second coming?: Another meme dies (not counting Steele and West, who are the fringe of the fringe).



Nice job, DNC! You f*cked 'em all this time.

[MatthewStLouis]

45. Exactly! We should be shouting "Bain!" from the rooftops! Bain in no way helps RMoney.

[ingac70]

19. Not off message:

http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/05/21/488002/bain-financial-industy-gave-over-565000-to-newark-mayor-cory-booker-for-2002-campaign/

He was following orders.

[Atman]

21. BZZZZZT! Sorry.

You're full of shit.

[pennylane100]

23. I think that any criticism of Booker's actions are fair game.

I also think that questioning the motives of those who disagree with his statements is not a way to change minds. I was very surprised and disappointed when I read what he had said.

He is certainly entitled to voice his opinion on disagreements he has with Obama. I can think of at least a dozen things that I wish he had done differently. However what amazed, and yes, disgusted me, was Booker's defense of Bain Capital. This was a company that bought up struggling business, stripped them of any profitable assets, and then closed them. The tax payer picked up the tab for the pension plans and the jobs were sent overseas.

When a rising star in the democratic party says that we need to back off criticizing such behavior, I am outraged and I would hope that my fellow democrats would not attack me for speaking out.

[Angry Dragon]

24. Bull

[KamaAina]

25. One time?

He's been trying to privatize Newark's education system since Day One. Now I'm hearing he tried to do the same with its water system, and took $$$ from Bain Capital.

I'd still like to see him kick Christie's fat ass, though.

[FogerRox]

27. Same thing with the watershed issue last year

The entire Newark City council revolted on that one.......

[FogerRox]

26. Come to NJ and say that, in fact come down to Newark and say that,

Come to Newark and say that when Cory Booker doesnt win re election.

And also, maybe you could use a larger paint brush, & make sure you keep up the good effort of maintaining a fair and balanced outlook.

[FogerRox]

29. 393 views and not one rec........... Of course you might have done better @Conservative Underground.

[Pisces]

35. What is incredible is that if you had posted Cory Booker 2016 on Friday many would have rec'ed and

jumped on the bandwagon. I have seen many of those threads before Sunday. The guy has a misstep and now everyone is pouncing.
It is incredible how quickly Democrats will kill off another dem. This is why the Republicans can still compete. They circle the
wagons for their people, they stick by them even when they are stupid dopes like Palin.

Yet we have a guy who is a politician ( no doubt) but working hard for our side. He fucks up and we are ready to bury him alive.
If I had the time or inclination I would pull every Cory Booker post that was positive before Sunday and believe me there would be
a lot. Where are those fans now?? Staying quiet because you don't want unwanted negative attention from the lynching posse???

[socialist_n_TN]

54. Doesn't sound like he's "working hard for our side" to me.........

Sounds like he works for Bain. You know, Bain. The company that bought companies to lay off the working class and sell off the company assets, then bankrupt them? THAT Bain.

I will admit that I liked him the first time or two I saw him on the TV, but quite frankly, this tears it for me. We've got PLENTY of DINOs already. We don't need another.

Privatizing schools??? Really? Privatizing the WATER service??? REALLY? You do realize that we all need water to LIVE, right?

[scheming daemons]

46. Conservative Underground loves Cory Booker

They even started an I-stand-with-Cory website

[MrSlayer]

30. Bullshit. He did this to himself by showing his true face.

Of course, anyone who studied his record ahead of this wouldn't have been surprised. He's a toadie of the 1%.

[FogerRox]

31. Yes, exactly true, I live just a few miles from Newark City Hall, a friend is Newark city councilman

Ron C Rice, west ward. The stories I've heard, Rice was the first to endorse Booker back when Booker ran and lost for mayor, Booker wont even talk to Rice over the last year.

Booker wants to privatize schools, the city council doesnt, Booker wants to privatize the water company, council says WTF no way....

[The Magistrate]

32. He Turned His Coat Sunday, Sir: That is All, And It is His End As A Democratic Figure

The technical term for what he did is 'irredeemable fuck-up'....

[FogerRox]

33. Oh snap, good to see you in these parts. I live just outside of Newark.

Same Dem County Committee as Booker...........We've known hes a Harold Ford type for a while now.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

41. Family who lives in Newark. I wan to hear more about Booker's relationship with

City Council and the people.

I know some people call him a hero. I also know that being a mayor of a city like Newark, sometimes the mayor has to become an economic conservative (happened here in D.C. with Fenty). However, if you have more information to share about his record, please do share.

One thing that I do admire him on is the fact that he is trying to education black ministers on the issue of marriage equality. He's a fighter on that issue and that's one reason why his "mishap" on Sunday is so disturbing for me personally.

[Lint Head]

37. No one is untouchable. Bain gave Booker a lot of money when he ran for office.

I doubt he wants to bite the hand that feeds his politics.

[SpartanDem]

38. It's a fucking election year

and he undercut the President's messaging. It's kinda important that if you're going on a show like MTP as a surrogate, that you don't undermine the guy you're trying to get elected. Booker is either incompetent or traitor either way we don't need him speaking on behalf of Democrats.

[Evergreen Emerald]

42. This is not about being off message: he purposefully disected and attacked ...

..Obama's campaign piece by piece.

He is beholding to Bain and his buddies. And did damage to Obama's campaign

[MatthewStLouis]

43. On a positive note: Thank you Cory Booker for keeping us talking about Bain.

I don't know much about the guy and what he said sounded like a thoughtless rant (and maybe sounded a little too defensive of private equity firms), but you have to give him credit: people are talking about Bain. Asking whether it's fair game. Maybe some are even asking, "What the hell is Bain Capital, anyway?" And hopefully, we will get to tell them!

[scheming daemons]

44. Cory Booker politically kicked the President in the nuts

This was MUCH MUCH more than being off message.

[WI_DEM]

47. His 'off message' has now dominated the news for two days and I'm sure that

Mittens will use his original comments in an ad to refute Obama. The damage he did was pretty big.

[LynneSin]

48. My 2 cents is this - I will judge him when I have to vote for him and based on...

all things he has done and not a few comments here and there.

[MjolnirTime]

49. He's a douchebag who tried to triangulate on Obama. We won't be hearing much from him in the future.

[Arkana]

51. I'm gonna have to disagree with you.

What I saw was yet another Democrat who is both a) bought and paid for by the financial industry and b) convinced that HE'LL be the guy who can make Republicans and Democrats finally come together and sing Kumbaya. Corruption and naivete in one nice neat bundle.

It is never going to happen. You cannot reason with a political party who thinks bipartisanship means "vote our way or we literally stop the government from functioning".

[Honeycombe8]

53. Your head is in the sand. He did more than "go off message" 1 time.

He actively and intentionally took up the Repubican position on Obama's MAIN election point. He was wrong, as well.

Romney has made his Bain experience the cornerpiece of his campaign and proof that he can provide jobs and make the economy grow and govern as President. He said that he'd created over 100,000 jobs while at Bain.

Because of that, Obama quite rightly is pointing out the Romney is LYING...no 100,000 jobs were created by Bain....and Romney in fact has NO experience or history of creating jobs or growing an economy.

How Booker can say that OBAMA is engaging in a "disgusting" campaign because of that...well, that is SO OUT OF LINE, and makes no sense whatsoever, that it is obvious where his loyalties lie. With the financial industry who has paid him to stop ads against one of their own. It is SO OBVIOUS. Because Booker's statements were truly incorrect and nonsensical. Illogical. Wrong.

He didn't misspeak. It was way more than that. And now we know why. He was, in fact, paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in his last election campaign...by the financial industry. No surprise there.

Never heard of Booker before. Don't know why a mayor was on MTP. But I hope I never hear of him again. Hopefully his political career is over.

[grantcart]

56. Well if your in a house that might catch on fire he would be a great neighbor.

[rufus dog]

57. I can't ever recall bashing a Democrat and Booker is an ASS!

If he gets his bought off ass back onto MTP and condemns what he said then fine. I suspect he will turn it into a position like Ford or Rendell, the Democrat who comes on to condemn the Democrats.

[CBHagman]

58. And on top of that, piling on another Democrat is precisely what the GOP wants.

I can't believe the energy, and pure bile, people are expending here.

[politicasista]

59. Bingo

Even though Booker opened up a can of sting worms on the Obama campaign, this is what makes the GOP giddy.