Booker wrestles with primary field lurching left

[DonViejo]

The White House hopeful is struggling with whether to embrace sweeping changes like killing the filibuster and expanding the Supreme Court.

By BURGESS EVERETT and NATASHA KORECKI 03/24/2019 06:55 AM EDT

At the end of January, Cory Booker was emphatic in his defense of the filibuster. “We should not be doing anything to mess” with it, he said.

By springtime, the New Jersey Democrat had softened his stance considerably: “That door is not closed.”

As some of his 2020 competitors warm to dramatic reforms like eliminating the Senate’s 60-vote threshold and adding justices to the Supreme Court, the White House hopeful from Newark is plainly wrestling with whether to follow suit.

In an interview, Booker laid bare what he is grappling with: He’s been in the minority most of the time he’s been in the Senate and seen the power of the filibuster block the conservative agenda. And he’s worried that if Democrats make changes to the fabric of the Supreme Court, it will be exploited to potentially greater effect by Republicans in the future.

“You have to understand that a lot of these that are talked about: If we do it when we have the control to do it, they can do it again. What we need to find is real solutions that are sustainable regardless of who is president,” Booker said. “We should be careful about the traditions in this country and how we honor them.”

more
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/03/24/cory-booker-2020-democrats-left-1232409

[Gothmog]

1. I got to hear Booker at the Texas state party fundraiser last fall

Booker is amazing. We made Booker a honorary Texan at this event

[Hortensis]

2. I noticed him "wrestle" when he mischaracterized/attacked

3 fellow Democratic candidates for, as he put it, "bragging" about smoking marijuana. Well, he meant to differentiate himself and succeeded for me. I was very disappointed in him and don't want to see any more of that kind of wrestling.

As for issues like expanding the court and addressing the filibuster, I think most people would be satisfied with reassurance that these and other fixes exist and that we do have options to pursue aggressively when the time comes. None have to be cemented into campaign promises at this point.