Not too long ago, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker was a supernova in the Democratic Party, but following his defense of Mitt Romney’s tenure at the chop-shop Bain Capital, Booker appears to be more of a red dwarf. In the days after Booker’s comments it was discovered that Bain Capital and the Financial Industry as a whole gave a whopping $565,000 for his 2002 campaign alone. Congratulations Mr. Booker, you’re the latest contestant to enter the Democratic Party’s doghouse alongside Brian Moran, Frank Leone, and some other notables.
I hope Mr. Booker’s stupidity will stand as an example to other “stars” of the Democratic Party: don’t take campaign contributions from anyone willing to throw money in your war chest and don’t make it easier for President Obama’s opponents to crucify him for calling a spade a spade. No, Bain Capital is not the kind of company that America should stand on. Bain Capital is a symbol of America’s economic underside:a company that directly produces nothing, a company whose primary and sole concern is profit above all else.
The Democratic Party base expects that political representatives of the Democratic Party will represent their values and their beliefs. This means not taking campaign contributions from chop-shop financial companies, not taking a day job that ploys Americans into spending thousands on an education that will bear few if any fruits, or representing companies who transgress the law and harm Americans and our environment in the process. The list could on. Bottom line, we do not want you representing us now or ever.
Excuses such as “this is how the game is played,” or “if I didn’t take these contributions my opponents would have beaten me,” will no longer suffice (and they never did). It’s time that Democratic Party officials and politicians stand on their principles instead of sinking into the mud with their Republican Party counterparts. It may not be the easier path, but social gains are not made without hardships attached.
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