Sunday, October 20, 2013

America's Mayor Heads to the Senate

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

The Republican Party lost something more than just the shutdown and budget battle last week - and its dignity.  In addition to all of that self-inflicted humiliation, the Grand Old Party also lost the U.S. Senate race in New Jersey.  And while that loss really wasn't much of a surprise (Republicans last won a senate seat in New Jersey in 1972), the deliciousness of this particular loss is that the seat was won by one of the country's most active, aggressive, and best known office holders, Newark Mayor Cory Booker.

Spoiler Alert:  I am a big fan of Mayor Booker's!

Mayor Booker is a forty-four year old dynamo.  He is well known on Twitter where constituents routinely send him tweets about street lights being out, garbage not being picked up on schedule, or other mundane city matters.  He receives those tweets, responds, and gets the problems taken care of - often the same day.

One journalist recently referred to Cory Booker as being the "Chuck Norris" of U.S. Mayors, something that Norris, the cranky old conservative, probably wouldn't appreciate.  Booker gets things done, often in dramatic fashion.  A journalist tweeted him last winter about a dog that had been out on the street all day and was freezing.  The mayor showed up in person, picked the dog up and carried him to a waiting (and warm) police car, and then confronted the dog's owners about the need for treating their pets humanely.

During Hurricane Sandy, Booker opened up his home to the community, allowing displaced neighbors to come in and watch DVDs while they charged their phones, dried off, and got warm.  He even had food brought in to feed those who were hungry.  The mayor had a blizzard-line established on Twitter during a winter snow siege, and made personal deliveries to city residents who couldn't get out of their homes.  One young mother opened the door to find the mayor standing on her stoop with a much appreciated box of diapers.

Late last year the mayor took part in a SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) challenge in which he vowed to link arms with those in impoverished circumstances by spending a week living on thirty-three dollar's worth of food.  He spent most of his money on beans - and broadcast his trials and tribulations (and hunger pangs) over social media.

Last April Mayor Booker made national news when he rushed into a neighbor's burning home, pulled a woman out of bed, and carried her to safety.

He's everywhere!  He's everywhere!

And tonight he will be performing several same-sex marriages just after the clock tolls midnight and gay marriage becomes legal in the state of New Jersey.

Cory Booker has truly been America's mayor - and soon he will be a member of the United States Senate where he is certain to shake things up - in a good way - and the country can't help but be better for it!

Congratulations Senator-Elect Booker.  You, sir, are an inspiration to us all!

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