Cory Booker was recently interviewed by the Washington Post, and he was asked about his past support for vouchers and his friendship with Betsy DeVos.
He insisted that he turned against vouchers in 2006, and he barely remembered any connection to DeVos. When someone asked if he had flown to Michigan in 2000 at the request of Dick and Betsy DeVos to support their voucher referendum, he at first denied it, then when shown a tape, he said he didn’t remember it.
He opposed DeVos’ nomination to be Secretary of Education in 2017.
DeVos’s allies are stunned by what they call his turnabout. They view Booker’s effort to distance himself from her and her agenda as a betrayal.
Now that it is politically inconvenient, he has distanced himself from the issue and those who helped launch his political career,” said William E. Oberndorf, who was chairman of the American Education Reform Council when DeVos and Booker were on the board. “Cory once told me that his father used to say to him, ‘Never forget the girl who brought you to the dance.’ I can only conclude that Cory not only forgot one of the girls who brought him to the dance, he missed his . . . moment to stand up for an issue he always said he believed in.”
Booker’s advocacy for vouchers won him the financial support of conservative Republicans who were delighted to see a black Democratic Mayor supporting their cause.
Booker’s political career took off as a parade of wealthy philanthropists, hedge fund managers and others who supported DeVos’s “school choice” viewpoint poured money into his campaigns and pet projects.
In 2000, with their voucher referendum on the ballot, the DeVos family invited Booker to debate the legislative director of the ACLU. She kept a tape of the debate and shared it with the Post. The voucher proposal went down to a crushing defeat by 3-1.
In September 2000, Booker delivered a blistering pro-voucher speech to the Manhattan Institute, a conservative policy group.
Booker’s 2006 race for mayor of Newark won the support of many conservative Republicans. He proposed tuition tax credits (a form of voucher) and went all-in for charters.
When he ran for the Senate in 2014 in a special election, he was helped by Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, who held a fundraiser for him.
As recently as May 2016, Booker appeared again before the group that DeVos chaired, the American Federation for Children. After DeVos delivered a speech defending herself against attacks from Democrats, Oberndorf warmly introduced Booker, praising his commitment to school choice.
Booker spoke proudly about the growing number of students in Newark’s charter schools, saying, “This mission of this organization is the mission of our nation. . . . I have been involved with this organization for 10 years and I have seen the sacred honor of those here.”
As Booker finished his speech, the audience gave him a standing ovation. To DeVos and her allies, it seemed that Booker was still firmly in the fold, according to Oberndorf.
But a year later, he opposed DeVos’ nomination.
Booker’s vote shattered his career-long alliance with DeVos and stunned her supporters.
“Cory gained a great deal of political support thanks to his association with Betsy and other supporters,” said Mitchell, the president of the American Education Reform Council when Booker and DeVos were board members. “His abandonment of school choice and of Betsy makes it clear that his professed commitment to the issue and his friendship with her were fueled by political ambition, not principle.”
Betsy helped to fund his political career. But it was no longer convenient to be her friend.
The way I heard it was, “Leave with the same girl you brought to the dance.”
I’d sooner leave with a grizzly bear than Betsy.
Booker was bought by DeVos and her billionaires.
Is it possible that he opposed DeVos’ appointment for the same reason Eli Broad did – that he knew she was fighting for a cause he believed it and would profit from, but also knew that she was a doofus who did NOT have the suave skill at deception necessary to pull off Arne Duncan level advances in corporate education reform?
Booker has “political ambition” written all over him. Unfortunately, for some, seeing “color of skin” blocks seeing “content of character.”
Booker also has Love of Big Money Interests shadowing many of his actions.
You got that right, Ciedle.
I mean – Ceidie
Sorry I can’t type.
Real Clear Politics shows Booker’s polling data is still below 2% at 1.7. Unless some sort of devil-like support steps in to clear the way for him (like a slurry of furious Tweets from Trump telling Trump’s supporters that Booker is the Democrat he wants to face in the 2020 election), Booker doesn’t stand a chance to make the ballot.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/us/2020_democratic_presidential_nomination-6730.html
Yep – I like to think that Booker’s low poll numbers are because of his anti-public school stance. He is very closely associated with that.
& Booker is on the Top Ten list (he might be #3 or higher, even) of senators taking the most money from Big Pharma.
Booker will have to go down to the crossroads the way Robert Johnson did.
Come to think of it,he already tried that.
I never understood Booker’s support of charters, he seems so intelligent and well-grounded in common sense, the downside of education for profit should be obvious to him. This article helped illuminate the complexities behind his support. Thank you, Diane.
I suppose he was interested in outsourcing schools to private management with the hope that the new managers would produce better results due to competition. I once thought so too.
But then his views on privatization made him a popular speaker and he raked in big campaign contributions. He became blinded to the faults of privatization because he was winning so much acclaim and big bucks for higher office.
Yes, he’s in it based upon his huge ambition & ego. He’s a DINO&D~
Dem in Name Only & Despicable.
Despicable because he talks out of both sides of his mouth, & neither side speaks the truth.
Still wondering what he (& BFF Chris Christie {something Jared did that I do like–keeping C2 out of the WH [&, thus, our hair]–how many copies did his book sell-?]}) did w/Zuckerberg’s big donation to the Newark Public Schools. I’ll never forget seeing the 3 stooges on Oprah–I normally didn’t watch &, funny, I happened to be in a restaurant (in Atlantic City, NJ, no less!), & it was on the tv right by our table. Luckily, I hadn’t eaten yet (although it somewhat lessened my appetite!).
I asked him specifically about this at a house meeting last summer. His response had to do with “doing what works in unusual/difficult situations.” After the event I let the manager know that he should have a long conversation with you, Diane. I believe I was told that the campaign had been in touch with you.
Amy, I have had no contact from the Booker campaign.
retiredbutmissthekids,
To be fair, while Booker’s positions on education have been truly awful, I think he does support progressive legislation in some other areas.
When Bernie Sanders publicly called out CAP back in April, he specifically mentioned that CAP had attacked Corey Booker, who joined with Bernie in supporting a prescription drug importation bill. So even though Booker took lots of money from Big Pharma, he apparently was willing to spurn them and join with Bernie. (I assume that was legitimate support or Bernie would not bothered to defend Booker against CAP’s attacks).
I like to think that the fact that Booker has no support is his terrible record on public education. I watched him during the debate and he is actually quite good and one of the best speakers I have heard when it comes to explaining why it is important that Democrats don’t just blow off African-Americans’ concerns about race issues. And he is so right about that.
But I’m glad that voters in the primary are (hopefully) making a candidate’s K-12 education policy one of their voting issues.
It’s time to revisit Glen Ford’s ground breaking coverage of Booker in 2002. He is no friend of Black & Brown communities. I’m skeptical of his supposed change of heart today.
https://www.blackagendareport.com/content/fruit-poisoned-tree-hard-rights-plan-capture-newark-nj
“he seems so intelligent”
Well, he certainly can talk continuously. I wouldn’t mistake rhetorical skills for anything else: it’s not a sign of intelligence, thougthfulness, honesty, not even of fast thinking.
A sure sign if a shyster is someone who is continually talking.
The Center for Media and Democracy has info. that may explain the Sackler sweetheart deal in the news.
Alabama’s AG was singled out.
CMD posted about RAGA, the Republican Attorneys General Association. They fund the campaigns of GOP attorneys general. The right amount gets companies time with the state AG, access to secret on-line bulletin boards where legal policy is written, etc.
Booker = 👎.
I grew up in Newark, but I don’t remember anything about his relationship with De Vos. What I do remember was a news article that told of his support for two young boys who needed to get back on track for education and later another article that described his rush into a burning building to rescue an old woman. Everybody makes mistake, but we should also remember the good things they’ve done for no benefit to themselves.
Were you there when Booker was Mayor?
No, I left Newark before that.