Yesterday was a Good Day for Freedom.
Let's Build on It.
Two incredible things happened yesterday: A Black senator broke a record set by a white supremacist, and the State of Wisconsin said “No, thanks” when Elon Musk tried to buy their vote. Let’s celebrate that momentum, and then let’s build on it.
Three important elections took place yesterday. Two of them happened in Florida—special elections to choose new members of the House of Representatives. Both districts are deep, deep red, and Trump won them by landslides in November. Well, the GOP won both seats again yesterday, but by significantly narrower margins. The margin for the seat vacated by SignalGate perpetrator Michael Waltz shrank from 30 points to a mere 14, and the margin for accused sex trafficker Matt Gaetz’s seat narrowed even further, down from 37 points to just 13. In these Republican strongholds, such narrow margins are extremely promising for Democrats.
But the big win yesterday was in Wisconsin, where Elon Musk put both his time and money (more than $20 million of it) behind the conservative candidate for a state Supreme Court seat. Despite all Musk’s efforts, and even after illegally handing out $1 million checks to two Wisconsin voters, he lost. Wisconsin proved that Americans can’t be bought, and the liberal candidate, Susan Crawford, prevailed with a massive 10-point margin. The race was key for a variety of reasons—the Wisconsin Supreme Court is set to rule on women’s reproductive rights, collective bargaining rights, and redrawing Wisconsin’s GOP-gerrymandered district maps. Crawford’s victory preserved the court’s 4-3 liberal majority and thereby protected democracy and freedom in Wisconsin.
On top of these heartening election results, Senator Cory Booker, a Black man, made headlines yesterday when he spoke on the Senate floor for 25 hours and 4 minutes straight, breaking a record that had been held for almost 70 years by a white supremacist, Strom Thurmond, who set it when he filibustered the Civil Rights Act of 1957 for 24 hours and 18 minutes. (Despite Thurmond’s efforts, and fortunately for America, the Senate passed that legislation.)
Unlike Thurmond, Senator Booker wasn’t filibustering anything—he was taking a stand against the Trump administration’s attack on our democracy. As one of only 100 people in the world with the power to control the Senate floor, Senator Booker used his position of privilege to draw attention to the destruction being wreaked upon our country.
And he succeeded. Senator Booker’s speech was covered by all major media channels and trended across all social media platforms yesterday as America tuned in to listen. His speech racked up more than 350 million “likes” on TikTok, and his live stream had as many as 300,000 viewers at a time.
Possibly even more impressive than breaking the record though, Senator Booker didn’t just stand in front of the podium and waste time like those who had gone before him. Strom Thurmond read from an encyclopedia. Ted Cruz, who wasted 21 hours filibustering the Affordable Care Act in 2013, read Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham. Not Senator Booker.
He spent every single moment of his 25 hours and 4 minutes talking about the damage Trump is inflicting on America. He spoke about Trump’s attacks on healthcare, science, Social Security, the education system, immigrants, Due Process, our allies, farmers, workers, the environment, the economy, and more. He read from countless letters from terrified constituents, begging him to do something to put a stop to the madness. In one letter he read, a fired former U.S.A.I.D. employee lamented, “The beacon of our democracy grows dim across the globe.”
Americans have been asking for someone to take a stand against Trump, and Senator Booker rose to meet the challenge. But as he admitted in his speech, “My efforts today are inadequate to stop what they’re trying to do.” One man cannot stop what’s happening—not when Republicans in Congress continue to kowtow to their party leader while that leader tramples on the rights and welfare of their constituents.
Nonetheless, Senator Booker made a difference—because he did something that finally got the nation’s attention. He’s not a reality TV star or a Jerry Springer-style talk show host, and he didn’t do anything outrageous or violent or vicious to get our attention. He simply stood up, “for as long as [he was] physically able,” and talked about the horrors being inflicted upon our nation.
He forced us to pay attention.
Now, we must heed the words he repeated over the course of his speech: “The power of the people is greater than the people in power.” Democrats are in the minority. Republicans are playing possum. And so the fight belongs to the people.
As Senator Booker reminded us when he surpassed the 24 hour 18 minute mark and broke a white supremacist’s record: “I’m here despite [Thurmond’s] speech. I’m here because as powerful as he was, the people were more powerful.” We have the power, and we must wield it.
The burden rests on all of our shoulders to protect our country. One man cannot do it alone. But all of us, together, can. We must add our voices to his. We must call our elected officials, attend peaceful protests, and speak the truth to our friends and family, even when it’s uncomfortable.
For too long, Trump and his lackeys have controlled the narrative in this country with their lies. We must take back control of that narrative and speak the truth. We don’t have to be perfect—we need only be honest, and brave. We can only fail if we are silent.
To close his record-breaking speech, Senator Booker spoke of the legend John Lewis: “I don’t know what John Lewis would say, but John Lewis would do something. He would say something. What we will have to repent for is not the words and violent actions of bad people, but the appalling silence and inaction of good people. This is our moral moment.”
Let’s add our voices to Senator Booker’s. Let’s build on the momentum he helped create yesterday and work to defend our freedom.
This is our moral moment. It’s time to get in some good trouble.
Sources:
https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/01/us/politics/booker-senate-trump.html
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/02/wisconsin-supreme-court-election-result-race
I wish Cory, Jasmine, AOC would all join Bernie and start a whole new party. We need a change!
I only hope that it made a real difference in terms of action going forward.