Cory Booker, a New Jersey senator, broke a record this past Tuesday when he filibustered for 25 hours and 5 minutes. The length of Booker’s speech is not it’s only unique aspect. 

A filibuster is possible due to rules in the senate which allow unlimited debate. It can only be stopped by a ⅗ majority or 60 votes. The senator(s) who is filibustering must remain standing and speaking unless asked a question, in which case the senator(s) must continue to stand and speak as soon as the question is asked. A filibuster often requires great physical strength and endurance. It is truly a physical example of an American leader’s devotion to their country. 

A filibuster is designed to stop or delay a vote in the senate; this is a key reason why Booker’s filibuster was so special. He was not trying to stop a vote: he was proving the power of democrats and all those who oppose President Trump. His 25-hour speech was essentially an anti-Trump lecture. Booker spoke of a need to keep Social Security and Medicare, he criticized Trump’s plan to dismantle the Department of Education, and he reminded his colleagues of the man whose record he was breaking. 

“Maybe my ego got too caught up that if I stood here, maybe, maybe, just maybe, I could break this record of the man who tried to stop the rights upon which I stand.” said Booker as he approached breaking the record of former Senator Strom Thurmond. “I’m not here, though, because of his speech — I’m here despite his speech.” 

Thurmond’s filibuster, which previously held the record for longest-running filibuster, was his attempt to stop the Civil Rights Act. The act was passed the following day, but Thurmond stood for just over 24 hours to stop equal rights in America. Senator Booker stood for just over 25 hours to protect those rights. 

In a time where American democracy is threatened by partisanship, Booker reminded Americans that “this is not right or left, this is right or wrong.” Booker stood on the senate floor for over 25 hours to prove that he and his fellow democrats will not stop trying to do what is right.