I  personally like Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker. I find him  usually a breath of fresh air in the political climate. However, Booker  just made a statement in his speech to the Democratic National  Convention which rubs me the wrong way.

In  proclaiming that all Americans should pay their "fair" share of taxes  after calling on the "rich" to pay more in taxes, Booker said that  paying one's "fair" share when there is a war going on and the nation's  economy is in the tank is "only patriotic".

Of  course Booker does not define what "fair" is, but he echoed the call of  President Barack Obama that the "rich" should be paying a higher  percentage of taxes than currently are being paid. Booker insinuated  that the "rich" paying more is patriotic and apparently the "rich" who  oppose higher taxes or take advantage of the deductions in the tax code  are unpatriotic.

The  top 2% already pay close to 50% of all taxes paid. There is a large  percentage of working Americans who pay no taxes whatsoever. So are the  working Americans, who like the "rich" Americans who take advantage of  the legal deductions in the tax code also not doing their "patriotic"  duty since they are not paying their "fair" share?

Does patriotism only apply to "rich" Americans?

I  do agree that all Americans should pay their taxes as required by law. I  do agree that failure to pay could be construed as an act of  "non-patriotism". But it seems that Booker applies the standard of  "patriotism" only to the rich.

Am I misunderstanding?

Booker  said it was not class warfare to demand more of the "rich" to pay a  higher percentage of taxes because it is the "fair" and "patriotic"  thing to do. But it seems to me a continuation of the conquer and divide  strategy that the re-election team of President Barack Obama has  pursued for the last year and a half.

To  me, it is a call to class warfare. To me, it is an attempt not to unite  all Americans, but to divide the nation between those who have more and  those who have less.

I expected more from Booker.

I  guess being taken to the woodshed earlier this year for daring to speak  the truth and break from the party line put Booker in his place and  made sure the leash was drawn tight.

From the Cornfield, I was hoping the DNC would start off with a more positive note and not a call to arms and division.