Cory Booker Announces Candidacy for President

Good morning and happy first day of Black History Month! Senator Cory Booker has announced that he is running for president!

I’m running for president. Join me on this journey. https://t.co/fEDqOVIfwh pic.twitter.com/h1FTPUYRzo

— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) February 1, 2019

If you click through to the Senator's site, you will find this in big, bold text: "The lines that divide us are nowhere near as strong as the ties that bind us. When we join together and work together — we will rise together."

I don't know if it's true that the lines that divide us aren't as strong as the ties that bind us, but "Stronger Together" worked for me and "Rise Together" works for me, too!

Here is where I insert my usual note about Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden saying they'll only run if no one else can defeat Donald Trump, and the list of people who think they can is getting very long, and I'm pretty sure that Cory Booker has as good a chance as the other senators who have announced their candidacies, which is a damn fine chance.

And here is where I say: You're about to hear a lot of shit about how Cory Booker is too cozy with Big Pharma, and it's important to remember that he represents New Jersey, where a lot of pharmaceutical companies are headquartered. It's always going to be true that senators from New York and New Jersey occasionally make deals representing the interests of Wall Street and Big Pharma, and what matters even more is how they vote on bills that do things like protect unions, guarantee workers' rights and living wages, and increase healthcare access.

I'm not going to tell you how you should feel about Cory Booker, but I will tell you to look at his whole record.

Frankly, that goes for every candidate running.

Anyway. Congratulations to Senator Booker on his brand new campaign! I already regret the ugly racism and sideways commentary about his bachelorhood that he'll be obliged to navigate and respect him for having the gumption and patriotism to do it.