QOTW #5: Cory Booker?
Why I told you last week he might be the next candidate to experience a surge
Dear Readers,
Happy Father’s Day! Saoirse is marking the day by being completely adorable and laughing at my jokes.
I was so thrilled to hop on Twitter this AM and see this tweet from President Obama lifting up the work of my friend and former Praxis fellow, Charles Daniels, and his organization Fathers Uplift:
I think Charles is going to be getting a few more calls from potential partners and supporters than even he’s used to this coming week.
Our Question of the Week from a paid subscriber this week relates to a parenthetical comment I made in our Monday politics email last week that raised a few eyebrows related to 2020. Before we get to that, last week I made it official: this month I’ll be launching The Faith 2020 Podcast. This podcast will demystify the role of faith in 2020 through analysis from one of the handful of people to lead religious outreach for a winning presidential campaign (it me), and interviews with politicos, journalists and religious leaders. I plan on this podcast not only analyzing the news, but making some news. Subscribe on iTunes.
I’m able to do offer this podcast for free, largely because of the support of our paid subscribers of this here publication. So thank you. And if you aren’t a paid subscriber, consider becoming a paid subscriber to support this work, and get exclusive benefits like being able to ask your burning question for QOTW. Send your questions to RHNQuestions@gmail.com.
Last thing before I get to the QOTW…I made this Chocolate Mousse Torte last night and it’s pretty special. The whole experience left me feeling like a real patriot.
Here’s the QOTW:
In your last Monday politics/2020 newsletter, you mentioned your thought that Cory Booker might be the next candidate to surge. I don’t get it. I’ve been underwhelmed by him so far. Can you say more about why you think Booker has a chance?
Cory Booker is suffering right now from the fact that he is a known commodity among all of the people following 2020 closely right now. I do not think Booker is likely to win the primary, but I would not count him out. At the very least, I think he’s going to have a moment. There are a few reasons why:
1) Cory Booker is a heck of a politician
We take politicians who have been around for longer than, oh, five minutes, for granted. Booker’s charisma has dimmed for those who have suspected he would someday run for president for the last decade, but in these early primary states and on the debate stage Booker is going to be able to introduce himself to millions of Democrats for whom he will be almost as new as Buttigieg or Beto. Booker’s combination of charisma and actual legislative accomplishment could be potent in a field where that is relatively lacking.
2) Cory Booker has great staff
Booker has hired some top-notch staffers, including his campaign manager Addisu Demissie and political director Tamia Booker. These folks and others are top of class, and will help to ensure Booker at least has a shot at making his case to the American people.
3) Cory Booker is the hope candidate
These are dark times, I know, but never, ever count out the hope candidate in a Democratic primary. Much of the political commentariat is demanding a Democratic nominee who “names enemies,” and things might be so bad that a desire for a more antagonistic nominee might win out this time around. However, it’s worth considering that the “enemy,” Donald Trump, is so clear and universally assumed, that identifying other enemies might reinforce, rather than combat, Trump’s demagogic style of politics. I’m not completely convinced of this, but Booker’s candidacy will certainly test it!
4) The primary season is long; reporters get bored and look for new angles
Cory Booker is simply too viable to not get at least a moment of media attention. Folks, there won’t be a vote cast in this primary for six months!
5) Faith and South Carolina
Cory Booker has a history of not just speaking about faith, but actually investing in faith outreach in a relatively broad way. Though I’ve wondered if his fairly ecumenical, New Age-y approach prevents him from fully benefiting from his often powerful invocation of faith and values (though another interpretation would have it that his willingness to cite Hindu and Buddhist teachings in the same breath as the New Testament allows more secular voters to feel like he’s a more benign sort of spirtualist than a “bible thumper” while also allowing him to make points of connection…), Booker has probably visited more black churches in South Carolina than any other candidate so far, while he also is a regular at Sojourners events and directly reaches out to faith leaders and organizations around his work on issues like criminal justice reform. Tomorrow, Booker will join other Democratic candidates at a forum hosted by Rev. William Barber III and the Poor People’s Movement.
Booker’s serious engagement of faith, particularly of the black church as an institution in South Carolina, will give him a real shot in the state. And, I have to be honest, this is an area where Sen. Kamala Harris’ campaign has faltered so far. For those who have have been subscribers for a while will know, I think Harris’ campaign and the run-up to it has been the most strategically brilliant of any candidacy so far. I said before she announced that Harris was doing everything I would advice a candidate to do in order to position well for a run. But, in my view, Harris has faltered over the last month or so. Nothing deadly…she is fundraising well, and I expect her to have real staying power, but I’ve been disappointed in how she has run so far, and have been left to rationalize that perhaps her campaign is saving their ammunition for the Fall and Winter. For instance, Harris spoke at Ebenezer Baptist Church several months ago, where Dr. King was pastor, and typically Ebenezer would be a place where a candidate would feel rhetorical freedom and bring their A-game. To be colloquial and obvious about it, Ebenezer is a place where you can PREACH. And yet, Harris’ remarks were anodyne and unimaginative. Run of the mill, really. And I thought…is this what churches in South Carolina are hearing? If so, it’s not going to be good enough.
Booker, on the other hand, has shown both the chops and the intentionality to build real support among African-American churchgoers in South Carolina. We’ll see if he continues to expand and deepen that effort.
These are just some of the reasons why I think Booker will have his moment. The question, as always, is what he’ll do with it. That will determine whether he’s still in the race by the time we get into February.