EXPLAINER: Inside Cory Booker's Marathon Speech & The Elon Musk Backlash
Plus the House inHabit and Candace Owens spat
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Yesterday was a GOOD NEWS DAY for Democrats. Let’s take a moment to celebrate the wins:
Wisconsin just saw progressive Susan Crawford win her State Supreme Court race, even with Elon Musk throwing a staggering $25 million behind her far-right opponent. This wasn't just spare cash from Musk—it was a serious attempt to purchase judicial influence that ultimately fell short.
Sen. Cory Booker broke the record for the longest Senate floor speech in the modern era, surpassing segregationist Strom Thurmond’s 1957 speech to stop the Civil Rights Act. Booker’s speech went viral, racking up hundreds of millions of views and likes across digital platforms. As The Guardian wrote: “Democrats have appeared lame and leaderless for 72 days, but then Cory Booker stood up and did something.”
And in Florida, two ruby-red Republican districts saw Democrats cut the GOP lead by nearly half, in places Trump won by landslides just four years ago.
Lastly, House Republicans halted all legislative business for the week, not over war, not over the economy, but over whether new parents should be allowed to vote by proxy. Let that sink in: they shut down the people’s House because they didn’t want lawmakers who are new moms and dads to have flexibility while caring for a newborn. In 2025. Meanwhile, Elon is tweeting about population collapse and “low birth rates,” while his allies in Congress are literally punishing people for having babies. Make it make sense.
CALL YOUR REPS:
If you have a Democratic House or Senate rep, call and tell them you were so excited to see Cory Booker’s speech and want to see more actions like that
If you have a Republican House rep, call them and tell them to support proxy voting for new parents
If you have a Republican Senator call them and tell them not to cut Medicaid or Social Security
In 2025, vibes are power.
Not in a cute, meme-y way. I mean it literally: how people feel, about the country, about each other, about the people in control, determines who shows up for elections and how they vote. That emotional current has always existed in politics, but today it’s nationalized, algorithmically distributed, and hyper-responsive. And this week, that current shifted.
Elon Musk has spent the last few years trying to turn himself into a political power broker. He bought Twitter, platformed extremists, and dumped hundreds of millions into right-wing races.
But here’s the thing: PEOPLE DO NOT LIKE HIM.
Elon Musk used to sell dreams: Mars colonies, clean energy, robo-taxis. Even people who didn’t follow SpaceX or own a Tesla sort of wanted to root for him. He had that “I’m doing what the government can’t swagger.” Move fast and break things is the type of ethos that seems great until the things you like and depend on to pay your mortgage start breaking. And not even 100 days into his reign as shadow President, people are souring on him quickly.
He lost the race he spent millions on in Wisconsin. A race he said "might determine the fate of America.” He’s losing advertisers. He’s losing credibility, even among the people who used to defend him. He’s not a disruptor. He’s a billionaire with a ketamine problem.
All of this bodes well for the 2026 House midterms map and points towards the possibility of a Speaker Jeffries. (The Senate map is a bigger lift)
I woke up this morning to tons of messages from friends expressing glee over the day’s political news, something I haven’t experienced for what feels like years.
Vibes are emotional shorthand for how a large group of people collectively feel and looking at recent election results, the vibes are translating. Senator Booker's 25 hour speech was exactly the type of performance that modern politics needs. He dominated the attention economy, he talked about issues that actually matter (MEDICAID CUTS!), he created a compelling storyline for internet conversation and soundbite clips for viral videos. And I do think that he did what is the most challenging thing in today’s media environment, broke the echo chambers. When a Senator talks continuously for over a day, you can't help but ask yourself: what's so important? You can’t help but pay attention.
Booker wasn't just talking to hear himself talk. He was saying the things we all need to hear right now in a way that got everyone to pay attention. He was highlighting how critical voting rights and civil rights are, how under threat they've become, and why we need to urgently protect them.
Booker's speech also did something rare, it modeled passion and conviction in politics. Too often these days, politicians (especially Dems) play it safe, carefully measuring every word and running it past a focus group. Booker threw caution out the window. He spoke with heart, with humor, and yes, exhaustion. He showed emotion, vulnerability, and determination, reminding us that politics can (and should) be personal.
And let's talk about stamina, not just physical stamina, but moral stamina. Booker standing there hour after hour wasn’t just about endurance (even though I definitely would have asked for a nap after hour 18). It symbolized a refusal to back down in the face of moral bankruptcy. In a political climate full of cynicism and apathy, seeing someone care enough to fight that hard should matter to all of us.
There are critics out there calling it theater. Politics is theater! Also, can we not eat our own any more? Democracy needs theater sometimes. The media ecosystem DEMANDS IT. Dramatic acts draw attention, spark conversations, and ignite action. Without gestures like these, critical issues remain buried in bureaucracy and indifference. Without gestures like these people won’t stop in their endless scrolls and pay attention.
So yes,certified yapper Cory Booker talked for 25 hours, and thank goodness he did. It wasn't a stunt, it was leadership.
In other news, you know the MAGA world isn't exactly known for loyalty or self-awareness. But even by those standards, the feud between House InHabit (Jessica Reed Kraus) and Candace Owens feels especially ‘leopards eating your face.’
Let’s get into it, shall we?