By Douglas Ernst - The Washington Times - Friday, September 7, 2018

Sen. Cory Booker’s attempt to liken himself to Kirk Douglas’ “Spartacus” has turned into a comedic goldmine for Republicans and conservatives.

The New Jersey lawmaker may have framed himself as a defiant rebel against a corrupt Roman empire at Thursday’s Senate confirmation hearings for Judge Brett Kavanaugh, but the RNC’s and The Washington Free Beacon’s audiences saw things very differently.

The Free Beacon posted a video the juxtaposed Mr. Booker with “bad boy” George Costanza from “Seinfeld” on Friday, which tallied nearly 130,000 views within hours.

Similarly, an RNC email promoted the organization by mocking “Spartacus of Newark.”

SEE ALSO: Cory Booker claims reporter violated Constitution with question on ‘Spartacus’ ‘stunt’

Politically friendly Twitter users cheered the “bad boy” video, a reference to a 1996 episode of “Seinfeld” in which Jason Alexander’s bumbling character tries to woo a woman named Anna.

“This is literally the greatest thing ever,” responded Jonathan V. Last of The Weekly Standard.

“Well played, @FreeBeacon … well played!” added another.

Political allies of Mr. Booker claimed it was racist to mock his “Spartacus” claim, which fell apart when allegedly confidential documents he revealed as a political statement turned out to have been approved for release the previous night.

“I always look to the RNC for the most racist hot takes. Bravo team of racist idiots, you’re racist,” novelist Molly Jong-Fast tweeted in response to the “Spartacus of Newark” email.

“I stand by my actions,” Mr. Booker tweeted Friday. “I released 28 ‘committee confidential’ documents to the public yesterday. Today I will be releasing more.”

• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.

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