U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., made history recently as he concluded a 25-hour, 4-minute speech, now the longest speech on the Senate floor in American history. In those 25 hours, Sen. Booker read countless letters written to him by his constituents, giving voice to the millions of Americans whose lives would be irrevocably damaged by the proposed Republican cuts to Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security. At times, Sen. Booker was moved to tears as he read accounts of Americans’ struggles with debilitating health diagnosis like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, diseases that prove crippling even with the financial help from Medicaid, let alone without it.
Without sitting down, without eating, without even going to the bathroom, Sen. Booker confessed he had intentionally dehydrated himself in the days leading up to the speech so he wouldn’t need to use any facilities; he put his body on the line to speak truth to power, to call us to action, to take the focus of the news cycle off this despicable excuse for a president and instead on something a good many Americans desperately crave: hope.
That same day, Judge Susan Crawford won in Wisconsin, beating her Donald Trump-backed opponent who got millions of dollars donated to him by Elon Musk.
I am inspired by Sen. Booker’s tenacity and that of those who joined the nationwide protests and rallies on April 5.
Shannon Ozog Somes
Monroe
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