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Cockburn has never thought much of Senator Cory Booker. At a time when Republicans are forever being accused of demagoguery and playing to the cheap seats, Booker does the same thing, only from the other side and with a smile firmly in place.
That practiced enthusiasm was on full display Wednesday when Booker “questioned” Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. And by “questioned,” Cockburn means “tossed flower petals on the ground before her while weeping uncontrollably.” This clip, in which Booker praises Jackson’s record and lauds her for being the first black woman nominee to the Supreme Court, went viral:
Certainly Cockburn can understand why Jackson’s nomination struck a personal chord with Booker. Certainly, too, he acknowledges just how historic it is. But he would also observe that there’s already a black justice on the Supreme Court. And Clarence Thomas isn’t much a fan of Booker’s grandstanding.
Back in 2018, Booker was once again doing what he does best: drawing attention to himself with a cheap political stunt. He triumphantly announced that he would release confidential Judiciary Committee documents regarding Brett Kavanaugh, who was then mired in accusations that he had been sexually abusive when he was in high school. Booker pronounced, “This is about the closest I’ll probably ever have in my life to an ‘I am Spartacus’ moment.”
It turned out those documents had already been approved for release by the Republicans on the committee. And Thomas, for one, was not impressed. During a conversation at the Federalist Society, he said, “Honorable — if we could use that word about more people who are in public life, people who actually ask the questions at confirmation hearings, instead of ‘Spartacus.’”
The audience cracked up and it’s easy to see why. It’s difficult to think of two more unalike men than Thomas and Booker. One is a pioneering legal thinker famous for staying quiet and listening to others speak; the other is a windy demagogue who fabricated parts of his backstory in order to get elected. With Judge Jackson almost certain to become Justice Jackson, Cockburn can only hope she’s more in the mold of Thomas than Booker.
