Corey Booker is running for President

Corey Booker is running for President. Who didn’t see this coming? I knew he was gonna run for President when he was doing all those passionate speeches about how he was “seething with anger” regarding Donald “Human Version of Unseasoned chicken” Trump over his “shithole countries” remarks. When I saw all the praise that establishment media was giving him, I knew this day was coming. 

So let’s examine some of his record, and see if Corey “Barack Obama 2” Booker is a worthy recipient of the PROGRESSIVE vote. 

According to one of my favorite online magazines, The Root(which sometimes glosses over the negative sides of people like Booker and Kamala Harris a little more than they should), Booker has some issues that need to be addressed:

“But Booker has his own critics; he has similarly been called out for disingenuous behavior and pandering, and he’s gotten heat in the past for accepting Wall Street money (he’s since expressed opposition to taking funding from super PACs) and voting against a bill that would make prescription drugs more affordable, after which he pivoted and supported a similar bill, citing consumer protections for the initial decision.”

So, he’s flip-flops his positions when convenient, which is not a good sign that he would fight for anything if his attitude towards major policies can be swayed so easily. However, that’s not all that makes me nervous about dude. Let’s continue.

According to The Atlantic:

“As mayor of Newark, New Jersey, he drew criticism from liberal allies for embracing charter schools and voucher programs advocated by libertarians. He also championed ‘enterprise zones,’ a free-market approach to solving urban blight credited to the late Jack Kemp, a hard-core supply-sider and occasional Republican presidential contender who helped raise money for Booker's first mayoral campaign."

So, in other words he’s in favor of privatizing education. Doesn’t seem very “progressive”, but let’s keep going.

According to his own website, he says “Iran poses a threat to American and Israeli security. He wants all options, including military action, that prevents Iran from gaining nuclear weapons.” So he’s OK with Military intervention in Iran if he thinks they have access to nukes. Got it. Even though he ultimately backed the Iran deal implemented by President Obama, that’s still problematic to say the least. 

Now, with all that said. He’s actually on the right side of basically all the important other issues. He’s pro-Medicare for all, pro-Afghanistan/Iraq withdrawal, pro-gay rights, anti-drug war, and pro-criminal justice reform, in rhetoric. His voting record basically matches up, which is a great thing.

I’m slightly less skeptical of him than I am of Kamala Harris, who I view as a much more flawed candidate. I think Corey Booker would be my 3rd choice based on who has announced so far. Number 1 being Tulsi Gabbard, 2 being Elizabeth Warren, 3 being Corey Booker, 4 being Kamala Harris, and 5 being Kirsten Gillibrand. Shift everyone’s number down a slot if Bernie jumps in.