Cory Booker, the Democratic Mayor of Newark, New Jersey, schlepped up a bunch of praise for Romney's Bain Capital on Sunday while throwing Obama's talking points about Romney off a pier.
Transcript from NBC's Meet the Press Sunday May 20
Mayor Booker: . . . I have to say from a very personal level I'm not about to sit here and indict private equity. To me, it's just, we're getting to a ridiculous point in America. Especially, I know, I live in a state where pension funds, unions and other people are investing in companies like Bain Capital. If you look at the totality of Bain Capital's record, they've done a lot to support businesses, to grow businesses, and this to me, I'm very uncomfortable with.
. . . *snip*
David Gregory: . . . local officials like yourself, who are out there trying to grow the economy, who say hey, wait a minute, let's not indict all of private equity, and yet you have a campaign that's making him out to be Gordon Gekko. They, they want the voters to think that Mitt Romney is Gordon Gekko and Wall Street greed and a throwback.
Mayor Booker: Well, again, I talk to the White House quite often. I'm a surrogate for the Obama campaign. The messages that they're sending me out to do, out to talk about is nothing about this.
...*snip*
This kind of stuff is nauseating to me on both sides. It's nauseating to the American public. Enough is enough! Stop attacking private equity. Stop attacking Jeremiah Wright. This stuff has got to stop because what it does is it undermines to me what this country should be focused on. It's a distraction from the real issues. It's either going to be a small campaign about this crap, or it's going to be a big campaign in my opinion about the issues the public cares about.
Later on Twitter Booker wrote:
Thanks RT @robinsonhardin: Great discussion on Meet the Press. For once people had a real discussion ab issues, no talking points #fantastic
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) May 20, 2012
But we as "the electorate" must also bear responsibility for changing the tone of politics as usual. Not just root harder for our side
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) May 20, 2012
I will fight hard for Obama to win. But just as his 08 campaign did, I believe we must elevate & not denigrate. This is the Obama I know
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) May 20, 2012
So I'll clarify my comments on MTP. Yes, Obama must be re-elected. But we as a Nation owe it to him & ourselves 2 reject politics as usual
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) May 20, 2012
Then he went on YouTube to clarify again:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cory Booker, Surrogate from Hell
~ Headline of article by Steve Kornacki from Salon.com
"In this particular instance, he was just wrong. There were specific instances here that speak to an economic theory that isn't the right theory for the country...
"I love Cory Booker. He's a great mayor. If my house was on fire, I'd hope he was my next door neighbor.
~ White House Adviser David Axelrod to MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell, quoted on Buzzfeed referring to Mayor Booker recently saving someone from a burning house
The substance of his comments on ‘Meet the Press,’ I agree with the core of it. I would not have backed them out...
~Harold Ford, Jr, on Morning Joe
This was actually a very courageous thing for Cory Booker to do...So that's great!...He stuck to his guns even on YouTube. That takes guts. That takes guts - I'm proud of him...That is the definition of a hostage video...It makes it so much worse and it underlines the fact of how bad the White House's position is on this, that the White House had to stick a gun...I mean, it's a hostage video....He got really scared when they said 'we're going to cut off your head' but he didn't realize they were just talking about the framing...'we're going to cut off the top of your head' - that's why he's so scared...
~ Joe Scarborough on Morning Joe via Business Insider
.@CoryBooker Nonsense - you know this is BS in a 'Citizens United' world - think before you speak - you're becoming "a tool".
— John Hardy (@JohnHardy303) May 20, 2012
Thank you Mayor @CoryBooker for the straight talk this morning - "Booker Calls Obama’s Bain Attacks 'Nauseating'" mediaite.com/tv/mayor-cory-…
— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) May 20, 2012
I think Cory Booker is blinking "S-O-S" in Morse code in this video: fwd4.me/1196
— John Sexton (@verumserum) May 21, 2012
Cory Booker commits the classic Washington gaffe: Honesty bit.ly/JgEZY4
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) May 21, 2012
So Cory Booker hates Bain but hates attack ads more & Republicans hate Mitt but hate Mitt criticism more. Any questions?
— John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) May 21, 2012
BTW, You do realize Mayor Loudmouth that you single handedly changed the frame of Obama's campaign message from Romney's job creation record to an attack on private equity firms. The campaign message has never been an attack on private equity firms. But you single-handedly changed the frame of the message. That is why you will find yourself persona non grata as far as support from the Democratic party goes. Be content with being a mayor because that is as far as you will go.
~ comment by Kahuna754 on YouTube
Cory booker should read uncle tom's cabin. lololololol!
~ comment by tenfarther on YouTube
What hath ye wrought, Mr. Mayor? What a colossal mistake you've made. Stepped on all on Obama's message of right vs wrong. You're a mayor. So disappointed. You will be in a Romney ad by the end of this week showing how even you think Bain is a noble enterprise. This video does not even begin to undo the damage you have done. Shame.
~ comment by kevin0811 on YouTube
UPDATE:
Obama Speaks out about Romney and Bain:
\
Via CNN's Political Ticker
When you're president, as opposed to the head of a private equity firm, then your job is not simply to maximize profits. Your job is to figure out how everybody in the country has a fair shot
...If your main argument for how to grow the economy is 'I knew how to make a lot of money for investors,' then you're missing what this job is about.
My job is to take into account everybody, not just some.
This is not a distraction. This is what this campaign is going to be about, is what is a strategy for us to move this country forward in a way where everybody can succeed.
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