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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Is It the 60s Again? Cory Booker and Hakeem Jeffries Sit-In at the Capital

Is It the 60s Again? Cory Booker and Hakeem Jeffries Sit-In at the Capital

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Mousebumples sent me an email about the sit-in yesterday,  but of course I didn’t see it until today!

Did any of you from Virginia or DC area go to this?  I would love to hear from you if you did!

Rolling Stone article, if you are interested.

More and more, I am trying to link to the AP and other news organizations rather than the more classic sources that have shown themselves to slant toward promotion of the maladministration’s agenda.

It doesn’t seem like this has gotten a lot of press, but over 250,000 people have watched the live feed from yesterday.

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

63Comments

  1. 1.

    WaterGirl

    Bruce K in ATH-GR was kind enough to drop me a note over the weekend to say that his surgery went well and he is recovering nicely.

    Apparently he also left a comment in one of the threads, but since I missed that, I thought you guys might have, also, so I thought I would share what I know.

  2. 2.

    Belafon

    I had heard about it, but I doubt most of my neighbors ever will. We’ll have to build a movement that isn’t going to rely on being televised.

  3. 3.

    eclare

    Wow they started at sunrise.  I wonder how long they stayed there.

    Thanks for the update on Bruce K.

  4. 4.

    ArchTeryx

    Sit ins were a major form of protest in 2017 when they were trying to strip Medicaid funding to fig leaf block grants – an indirect but extremely effective Aktion T4, since SSI and SSDI would essentially disappear.

    There was one famous case where someone in a wheelchair, protesting in the halls of Congress, was hauled away by police and arrested at McConnell’s office. That brought a lot of bad press down on them but it was effectively too late. McConnell knew that he could do pretty much anything he wanted and the “skinny repeal” bill would pass.

    Except McCain decided to spite his ass, and without meaning to, saved close to 10 million lives. No Medicaid 3 years before COVID? Can you imagine the carnage?

    And here we are again, in the exact same situation. They never give up. It really seems mass murder is the thing this bunch is most motivated by, more than money or greed. Pure and simple sadism and nihilism.

  5. 5.

    WaterGirl

    @Belafon: Well, live-streaming on YouTube is a start, with 250,000 people watching in less than a day.  We should remember to check that tomorrow and see what the number looks like then.

    We could also – anyone on social media – link the YouTube and send it out far and wide.

  7. 7.

    Belafon

    @WaterGirl: Agree, just trying to think of how to get through to a good chunk of the 3/4 of Americans who won’t be anywhere near a blog like this or a YouTube video or who skip past my Facebook posts.

  8. 8.

    eclare

    FYI if you refresh to see new comments, the video goes back to the beginning.  It looks like watching on YouTube keeps your place, and holy cow, it’s eleven hours long.

  9. 9.

    WaterGirl

    @eclare: I read that they were going to do it for 12 hours, so 11 sounds pretty good

    At least Booker gets to sit this time

    edit: Is someone in a wheelchair allowed filibuster?  Since they cannot stand?

  10. 10.

    ArchTeryx

    @eclare: It wasn’t just Paul Ryan. I fully remember that kegger on C-SPAN. They were quite literally celebrating the deaths of millions of people. And that’s what first got me to delurk here, because I was staring at certain, incredibly agonizing death if that bill passed. They’d already driven me out of Michigan with Robert’s knifing Medicaid expansion. Now they were going for my life.

    However, karma is a bitch. A large percentage of the people who participated in that kegger got turfed out in 2018. We weren’t the only ones disgusted and horrified by that display. And then COVID came along, and a lot of people not in the cult realized that if they’d succeeded, a huge number of poor people in this country would have simply dropped dead of lack of medical care – after spreading it around quite readily to everyone else.

    This time they learned, and passed their Medicaid-destroying budget quietly, in the dead of night, and didn’t hold some showy celebration for the cameras.

  11. 11.

    Sandia Blanca

    The sit-in lasted more than 12 hours! I watched for about an hour in the morning, and tuned in again for the final few speeches. They had lots of good guests stop by; highlights for me were Maya Wiley and Rev. William Barber in the morning, and Santiago Mayer near the end. Sen. Booker and Rep. Jeffries are obviously on the same wavelength, and they maintained an easy rhythm with each other and the many drop-in guests (some planned, others not). The focus was on the values and moral underpinnings of the United States (the ideal version of us, that is). Very compelling.

  15. 15.

    Redshift

    I didn’t get to go, but a friend of mine did, and thought it was great. She was standing for a while with a crowd, and Cory (if I remember right) told them it’s a sit-in for all of us, you can come sit down.

    She said they used the time well, talking to people who will be affected by Medicaid cuts, and all the speakers were great.

  16. 16.

    Jackie

    This isn’t good.

    Appointees in President Donald Trump’s administration at the Department of Justice have ordered the dismissal of all voting rights cases and removed managers of the division responsible for overseeing them.

    Sources told The Guardian that all active cases in the voting rights section were expected to be dropped. The move comes less than a month after Harmeet Dhillon, a Trump ally, was appointed to lead the Civil Rights Division.

    “In an unusual move, Dhillon sent out new ‘mission statements’ to the department’s sections that made it clear the civil rights division was shifting its focus from protecting the civil rights of marginalized people to supporting Trump’s priorities,” the paper said.

    Tamar Hagler, the chief of the voting section, was sidelined along with five other career managers. The unit was responsible for enforcing laws against voter discrimination.

    The section’s two remaining managers were either reassigned or retired, the report noted.

    “Political appointees have also instructed career employees to dismiss all of their active cases without meeting with them and offering a rationale – a significant break with the department’s practices and norms,” the Guardian added. “Taken together, the changes have raised significant alarm about what the future of voting rights enforcement will look like for the federal government at a moment when states continue to pass restrictive voting measures.”

    Will the Supremes stay silent, or rediscover their backbones?

  18. 18.

    Redshift

    @Sandia Blanca:

    The focus was on the values and moral underpinnings of the United States (the ideal version of us, that is). Very compelling.

    I also heard about how many of them talked about getting their start in church, and their speeches had a more sermon-like rhythm than their typical political speeches. Making the argument that these cuts are morally unconscionable is a good way to reach people, I think.

  20. 20.

    Steve LaBonne

    @Jackie: When will journalists stop writing weaselly stuff like this? We know exactly what’s happening, there won’t be any voting rights enforcement period. Which should surprise no one since it was the plan right from inauguration day.

  23. 23.

    jonas

    @Jackie:  Will the Supremes stay silent, or rediscover their backbones?

    They’d probably love to take up a case that allows them to throw out the entire VRA, so best to hope they don’t get involved.

  25. 25.

    Baud

    Glad to see this. I saw a very negative post about the sit in on Reddit, so the propagandists are hard at work trying to discourage people.

  26. 26.

    lou

    I went for a half-hour at about 4:30. I only had heard about it while walking with friends that morning and assumed it would be over by the time I got there. Then I found out on BlueSky it was still ongoing.

    The crowd was small, maybe 100 people? I heard Sarah McBride (DE) and Steve Hornsley (NV) speak and both were powerful about health care. Sarah spoke emotionally about her husband, who died at 25 from cancer, and how they were lucky that their occupations gave them flexibility to take time off work.

    It did seem an old-fashioned sit-in. Booker and Jeffries were a terrific duo.

  28. 28.

    TS

    @ArchTeryx: They promote crime – when you have literally nothing & no help, what is there to lose.

    A little socialism lowers crime rates significantly – which too many politicians do not understand (or don’t want to understand)

  29. 29.

    Professor Bigfoot

    @WaterGirl: Thanks, that’s great news.

    I love it when ANY of our number get through a health issue; too many of us didn’t.

    First a toast to Bruce K, wishing him joy of his victory!

    And then, to our absent companions (pours a little out)

  30. 30.

    Jackie

    @Steve LaBonne:

    When will journalists stop writing weaselly stuff like this? We know exactly what’s happening

    Reporters aren’t writing to us specifically, but trying to get “normies” attention of what’s going on. Sharing info is what this blog is about, no?

  32. 32.

    Captain C

    @Belafon:

    There are two members of the Supreme Court willing to give up their rights so that white men can continue to rule and also so that they can keep getting luxury RVs, vacations, and other expensive gifts, and cosplay as Spanish Inquisitors.

    FTFY

  33. 33.

    Anyway

    @WaterGirl: Yay! for Bruce K in ATH-GR — glad to hear the surgery was a success. Good luck with all the rehab and getting your strength back =)

  35. 35.

    Professor Bigfoot

    @Steve LaBonne: But for some unknown reason no one in Major Media ever does.

    Everything is a conspiracy theory when you don’t know how things work; but since I don’t understand how TF it works that Major Media all seem to be in the GOP’s pockets and unwilling to address SO MUCH… that William of Ockham himself is stroking his chin and muttering, “damn, this has to be a conspiracy of some kind!”

  37. 37.

    Geminid

    @Redshift: I don’t know about Cory Booker, but Hakeem Jeffries attended Brooklyn’s Cornerstone Baptist Church when he was growing up. I think he still does. The cadences and tecniques of the Black Church permeate Jeffries’ rhetoric. One example is how he’ll express a thought in three repetitive phrases, each reinforcing another.

    Another example was the conclusion to Jeffries’ first speech as Minority Leader, right after Kevin McCarthy was elected Squeaker in January of 2023. It became the text of his illustrated book, The ABC’s of Democracy. That “A…B…C…” tecnique came straight out of the Black Church.

    The speech Jeffries made nominating Nancy Pelosi for Speaker in January of 2019 reads like a sermon, from the Bible verse that begins it to the rousing conclusion that leaves “the Once and Future Speaker” grinning. It’s on YouTube, and I highly recommend watching the speech to anyone who has not yet seen it.

  38. 38.

    WaterGirl

    PSA: There is still an Angel Match for the PA fundraising.  There is just over $750 left on that Angel match.  While it’s still going, it’s a 6x match up to $50 per person.  So $50 turns into $300.  I don’t have a special thread for this at the moment, so if you do donate and want to be matched, you can mention your donation in any of my WaterGirl threads today.

  39. 39.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @Steve LaBonne:

    When will journalists stop writing weaselly stuff like this?

    Never.

    Thus endeth today’s episode of “One Word Answers to Questions with Obvious One Word Answers.” ;)

  40. 40.

    ArchTeryx

    @TS: What they promote is genocide, ethnic cleansing and purges. If you have literally nothing left to lose, that’s how civil wars start. The disabled weren’t willing to go down without a fight, and when COVID came into the picture, and no Medicaid, well…

    It’s a counterfactual that thank doG will never be put to the test. Or will it? I guess we’ll see if they scotch Medicaid this time around and bird flu takes off.

  43. 43.

    JoeyJoeJoe

    @Baud: I saw that too.  I feel like it’s worth pointing out when commenters are trying to discourage action, so nobody pays attention to them

  48. 48.

    rikyrah

    Tim 🇺🇸 (@trouble_man90) posted at 7:40 PM on Sun, Apr 27, 2025:
    The media awarding journalists for their coverage of Biden and giving themselves a standing ovation for not opposing fascism is the most cowardice, pathetic, weak, feckless, disgusting, thing I have ever seen. A useless, worthless group of people who only found a backbone when it was time to harass an old man with a stutter.
    (x.com/trouble_man90/status/1916653735343739287?t=wmmVzQmBw46WOCqK8LO0fQ&s=03)

  54. 54.

    rikyrah

    UH HUH

     

    Sophia A. Nelson (@IAmSophiaNelson) posted at 11:27 AM on Mon, Apr 28, 2025:
    It is so obvious, at least to me, that people still do NOT get what the 2024 election was about. It was about “culture war issues”-NOT the economy. Period. They voted for the old angry, insane white man who would preserve white DEI (Didn’t Earn It) and obliterate the rest of us.
    (https://x.com/IAmSophiaNelson/status/1916892123930001652?t=5kIgAN4eJ5EDPGT6sPoHFg&s=03)

  56. 56.

    rikyrah

    He is one big walking SECURITY BREACH

    Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) posted at 1:45 PM on Sun, Apr 27, 2025:
    BREAKING NYT:

    Pete Hegseth’s personal phone number — the one used in a recent Signal chat — was easily accessible on the internet and public apps as recently as March, potentially exposing national security secrets to foreign adversaries.

    The phone number could be found in a variety of places, including WhatsApp, Facebook and a fantasy sports site. nytimes.com/2025/04/25/us/…
    (x.com/kylegriffin1/status/1916564255446536283?t=gDCEElrgmXTGzVDtzoTv8Q&s=03)

  57. 57.

    catclub

    @jonas: ​
     

    They’d probably love to take up a case that allows them to throw out the entire VRA, so best to hope they don’t get involved.

    Yep. Roberts, and Rehnquist before him, cut their legal teeth on finding ways to deny votes for all.

  58. 58.

    catclub

    @rikyrah: Did you know that Medicaid provides healthcare to over 70 million Americans?

     

    The rubber will hit the road on the support of old white people in nursing homes.

  62. 62.

    Kayla Rudbek

    @Geminid:

     

    @Redshift: I didn’t realize until I visited Atlanta just how important the Black churches were for forming and defending their communities (having been raised Roman Catholic, there was at least an even chance that the Church was going to be corrupt and on the side of the fascists/right wing)

  63. 63.

    Kayla Rudbek

    @rikyrah: Jesus Christ, they need to be charged under the Espionage Act and be under the jail for life. Pardon my language, but it really is that serious.

Comments are closed.