Was Jesse Jackson Right (about Cory Booker)?

Cory Booker

Like many of you I watched the Democrats running for President debate last night. At one point during the debate, in an apparent attempt to show he isn’t part of a political machine, Cory Booker said, “I, with a bunch of tenant leaders in Newark, New Jersey, in 2002, took on the political machine. And boy did they fight back.”

I laughed, not because it was funny, but because like many New Jerseyans I know Booker is very much a machine politician. Many “progressives” called Booker out for a fundraiser hosted by George Norcross and Joe DiVincenzo. Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tricia Flanagan whacked Booker for the fundraiser.

Apparently Jesse Jackson might have known before all of us that Booker would turn out to be a machine politician. Jackson once warned that Booker was a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

I learned of Jackson’s warning by taking an action Booker asked me to. Okay, he didn’t ask just me, Booker asks anyone who signs up for his campaign’s emails to “check out Street Fight, the story of Cory's first campaign for mayor of Newark.”

So, I did exactly as the Booker welcome email asked and watched Street Fight on Netflix. About an hour into the movie the narrator explains, “Jesse Jackson comes to town and calls Cory a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

If all those years ago Jesse Jackson knew Booker was no good, what’s taking New Jersey’s Democrats so long to figure it out? Maybe they will. Time will tell.

PRESS RELEASE: Cory Booker’s Disingenuous No PAC Money Pledge

Declared Republican candidate for US Senate Tricia Flanagan called out US Senator Cory Booker for his disingenuous no PAC money pledge today. Her press release follows:

Cory Booker’s Disingenuous No PAC Money Pledge

Booker’s 50 Shades of PAC Money

LAWRENCEVILLE – As progressives around New Jersey complain that Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo and South Jersey political powerbroker George Norcross are co-hosting a fundraiser for US Senator Cory Booker’s vanity presidential campaign today the one thing they continue to ignore is that Booker’s pledge not to accept PAC money is disingenuous.

Republican Senate candidate Tricia Flanagan said, “It’s easy for Senator Booker to pledge not to accept PAC money when he’s attending a fundraiser co-hosted by the man most political observers view as the person connected to the General Majority PAC.”

Flanagan asked, “How many donors to General Majority will be at today’s fundraiser?”

“Let’s not forget Governor Murphy held a fundraiser at his home for Booker earlier this year,” Flanagan added, “One has to wonder how many donors to New Direction New Jersey, the ‘dark money’ group Murphy has solicited funds for, wrote checks at that event.”

“My point is, it’s easy to say you won’t accept PAC money when you have the people raising money for PACs raising money for you. It makes Mr. Booker’s no PAC money pledge disingenuous. Frankly, I’m surprised Cory Booker’s fellow progressives haven’t figured it out,” Flanagan stated.

“Perhaps this kind of dishonesty is why when you do as a Booker campaign email suggests and ‘check out Street Fight, the story of Cory’s first campaign for Mayor of Newark’ you learn that ‘Jesse Jackson comes to town and calls Cory a wolf in Sheep’s clothing,’” Flanagan remarked. “Obviously, there was a time activists on the left could see through Mr. Booker’s deceitfulness.”

“Given the fact that Mr. Booker has created his own personal loophole to get around taking PAC money it could be time for a new ‘50 Shades’ movie. We could call it ‘Booker’s 50 Shades of PAC Money,’” Flanagan said.

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