GOP senator: Booker outburst shows Democrats are ‘leaderless’

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said Wednesday morning that Sen. Cory Booker’s (D-N.J.) outburst on the Senate floor against colleagues in his own party illustrates that Democrats are “leaderless.” 

“You have pragmatic Democrats that want to get things done, particularly policing bills that come out of committee unanimously, strong bipartisan support,” Cramer said during an appearance on Fox Business. 

“And then you have the other side that strictly sees that as a victory for Donald Trump if he gets to sign the bill, as opposed to a collective victory for the American people,” he added.

Booker lashed out at his colleagues, Democratic Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.) and Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) Tuesday evening, arguing the party is “willing to be complicit” to President Trump. Instead, he argued the party should use their “leverage” of bipartisan bills to fund police programs and to pressure the Trump administration to release funding for blue states such as New York, New Jersey and California.

The tirade started after Cortez Masto made an effort to pass seven bills by unanimous consent on the Senate floor. The Garden State Democrat objected, saying the funding would not reach his home state. 

“Don’t be complicit to the president of the United States,” Booker, who made history earlier this year with his record-breaking speech on the Senate floor, told his fellow senators. “We are standing at a moment where our president is eviscerating the Constitution of the United States of America, and we’re willing to go along with that today.”

Cramer, who was not in the room at the time, said the “chaos” amongst the Democrats is a “Republican’s opportunity, but it doesn’t do anything for the country.”

“So right now they seem to be a little bit leaderless, and consequently the kids are fighting,” he continued.

“It’s hard to trust the motives of anybody that wants to be president in the Democratic Party because they have to play to this very fringy left-edge of theirs,” the North Dakota Republican added.