Pod Save America had Katie Porter on their Thursday show. (She is a friend of the show, and so is Adam Schiff.) Jon F. asked some good questions, I thought, raising several points were were discussing here on BJ just a day or two ago.
You just won your third term in the House, you’ve got a spot on the Oversight committee that lets you kick the shit out of CEOs, and in 2025 you’re probably more likely to be in the majority in the House than in the Senate, why did you want to run for Senate at this moment. Like, what is appealing about the job for you?
What was your thinking behind announcing now, as opposed to waiting to hear whether or not Senator Diane Feinstein plans to retire?
By far the most common question I got from people on Twitter was some version of “oh, no, how are we gonna keep her house seat now?” How do you feel about the ability of Democrats to keep that seat in 2024, when winning back the majority may depend on that seat?
You and I talked in a previous interview about why housing isn’t a bigger part of the national conversation. You mentioned that in your first race your then-consultants tried to unsuccessfully talk you out of making it a big issue. How much will you be talking about it in this race, and what do you think you can get done on this issue in the senate for California and the country?
One new responsibility you’d have as senator is confirming judges, including possible Supreme Court justices. Polls show that trust in the Supreme Court is now the lowest it’s ever been. I know you’ve co-sponsored a bill that would impose `8-year term limits on Supreme Court justices. What are your thoughts on changing the number of seats on the court or other potential court reforms?
Because this is very blue California and because we have a runoff system where there’s a decent chance that there’s a general election will feature two democrats running against each other, it does seem like this race will be more about the future of the Democratic Party, the direction of the Democratic Party, than most other races. What’s your critique of where the party has fallen short?
This could be a crowded race, and it already seems like it could be a contentious race, many of your [interrupted by Katie Porter, and then Favreau brings it back ]… I was gonna ask, how tough do you plan to get in this race, because I noticed many of your potential rivals, if not most of them… they greeted your entry into the race by taking shots at you over announcing. during the storms this week. Some of the shots were oblique, some were less so. Um, what do you consider fair game in this race, and how tough do you plan to get?
Speaking of being tough, it’s one of the personal qualities that has made you such an effective member of congress. CEOs are afraid of you, Wall Street’s afraid of you, Jon Lovett’s afraid of you, um, but there’s been a bunch of stories in the last few weeks based on mostly anonymous accounts from former staffers that you’re also tough on the people who work for you. I’ve been wondering, what’s your reaction to all those stories?
Last question. You once told me that some of your most difficult constituents are your children, what do they think about Mom running for senate?
Katie Porter starts at the 58-minute mark and ends at 1:13. So the interview is 15 minutes total.
If you want to hear the answers straight from the horse’s mouth, listen to the interview. I would love to hear the reactions of other BJ peeps to the interview!
I won’t share my thoughts on the interview until others have shared theirs.
Totally open thread!
Saturday Open Thread: Shouldn’t We Be Comparing Biden to George Washington?
hells littlest angel
Uh …
Another Scott
I’ll have to make time for this – thanks for the pointer.
I heard a snippet of an NPR interview with her a day or so ago, and the tone of the bit I heard was “your critics say you are uppity and not staying in your lane, how dare you??!!”
(groucho-roll-eyes.gif)
Her having less time in Washington, it makes sense for her to jump in early (before the public endorsements are all locked up).
It may be an interesting primary. We’ll see. I’m in no hurry to pick a favorite, or get upset about how she’s blasting out fundraising e-mails, or whatever, yet. Keeping (and expanding) Team D in Washington (and elsewhere) is important, but so is sensible people moving up.
Thanks.
Cheers,
Scott.
Baud
Why do journalists always end with some softie question? It’s like during the debates when the candidates are supposed to say something nice about their opponents.
Baud
@Another Scott:
I’ve successfully channeled fundraising emails into my spam filter, but it doesn’t sound like Porter is doing anything different than what a lot of Dems do. I can see how it’s irritating, but they’ve apparently been told it works the best.
ETA: Maybe we should support easing up on restrictions on corporate contributions.
narya
One comment about moving boxes (since this is an OT): two moves ago (i.e., in 2006) I knew someone from yoga class who worked at the aquarium; she had a bunch of boxes used for salt–they were the perfect size and sturdiness for books. I have no intention of moving–I’ve been here almost 13 years and just paid off the mortgage–but cannot seem to bear to get rid of those boxes. That said, if a Chicago jackal needs them at some point, I will in fact part with them.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Baud: email all you want, but Do. Not. Fucking. Text. Me.
but as I try to remember, they wouldn’t do it if it didn’t work, so….
ian
@Baud:
I going to disagree with you about this. The Democratic party should be strongly in favor of campaign finance regulation. Should we ever be in a position to actually do something about the world of campaign funding that the Robert’s court has built, it would behoove us to not have our hands tied by candidates and officials that favor easy money from corporate contributions.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Is she? are they? is it? I mean I know Lawrence O’Donnell is infatuated with her and her white board, but…. Sorry, but this strikes me as the kind of thing the very-online tell themselves about politicians they think should (O, that troublesome word again) be more popular, influential and successful– and the O’Bros have been stumbling into this since 2017. All through the primaries, they were (and sometimes still are) very snarky about Biden.
kinda funny too that when Favreau himself, not that long ago, interviewed a small group of her constituents, all part of the Gen Z demo that I’m told “media savvy” (i.e., popular on left twitter) pols like Porter “speak to”, not one of them could identify her as their MoC.
Edmund Dantes
There should be no sacred cows of “how dare you primary X”. If you are doing well taking care of your constituents and meeting their needs, you should not fear any challenge.
Martin
I’ll watch this later.
We’re pretty worried about this decision. This isn’t an easy district for Democrats, and we have a few candidates, but the infrastructure is just building after decades of being a red district. In most states, Katie might get bullied out of the race by a number of longer established Dems – Adam Schiff, Barbara Lee, Ro Khanna, Pete Aguilar, Ted Lieu, etc. on fundraising early enough to still run for reelection. We’ve got such a deep bench. But the jungle primary means that we might have a Katie/Adam general election. It incentivizes *multiple* house Dems to give up their seat to win in the Senate, and giving up some of those districts isn’t a big deal – they’re pretty blue, but 45 isn’t. It’s probably fair to say right now that we won this seat because Katie is the candidate, not because the district is predisposed to democrats.
If CA had a weaker bench, I’d love this.
Baud
@Edmund Dantes:
While no sacred cows, some primaries in some districts are ill-advised. If our voters had a strong history of coming together after a contested primary, that would be one thing. But we’re sort of hit or miss in that department. Republicans are stronger in this respect.
Another Scott
@Martin: Maybe George Glass will resign in New York and run in CA-47??
We have to pay attention to our side, educating and turning out our voters, and not worry about the other guys and who they put up.
Good luck!!
Cheers,
Scott.
Sister Golden Bear
@Baud:
Or why I created a Gmail account used only for political and charitable donations.
WaterGirl
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: What is MoC referring to ? Their representative? If they used “member of congress” maybe that’s why they couldn’t answer the question! :-)
I do think Katie Porter makes the CEOs very uncomfortable – because she holds them to the fire and (would surely) embarrass them if that was possible.
Yeah, the Obama bros piss me off sometimes. They are still in the tank for Bernie, the way they talked about Pelosi pissed me off royally, and their defense of Maggie H – ugh!
But in the interview, Jon asked Katie Porter about, I believe, every single thing we talked about here in reference to Katie Porter announcing her run for senate.
WaterGirl
@Martin: I am really hoping a bunch of BJ peeps end up spending the 15 minutes to listen to the interview because I’d really like to talk about some of what she said.
Glory b
I think there’s a lot of infatuation, because she talks a good story, but hasn’t actually done anything, pretty light on actual accomplishments. She’s like Sanders, her only legislation is to rename a post office.
She voted against aid to Ukraine, that may be a problem, helping Ukraine is still pretty popular among voters she needs.
She surprised lots of folks by endorsing Nina Turner over Shontel Brown, AFTER Brown had won and was a member of congress. Turner went on to be defeated by an even larger margin.
She also pulled a Karen move on Maxine Waters, going around her to ask Pelosi to tell Waters to put her on the banking committee after Waters (the chair) told her no. Waters is VERY popular with the CA Black voters, Porter is a white woman who wants to represent a majority minority state.
It was a wrong headed, tone deaf move. She represents a district that a gated community headquarters, she needs to get away from the Pod Brosnan and upgrade her ties to communities of color.
I don’t live there, but my friends & family who do say she won’t win LA at this rate, which means it’s doubtful she’d win the election. Besides, Barbara Lee has told CBC members that she’s running to. Lee is well liked by the black community and lots of lefties.
Geminid
@Martin: I think Cook’s gave the 45th CD a PVI rating of D+3, which is about what Porter carried it by. On the other hand, some candidates in other Southern California districts underperformed their district’s ratings. A Presidential year electorate should be more favorable to Democratic candidates in 2024.
In any event, it looks like Democrats will have to win that seat without Porter. What do you think of former Representative Harly Rouda? He’s already announced. Do you think he’ll be the Democratic nominee?
Omnes Omnibus
@Glory b: This hits on my ambivalence about her.
James E Powell
@Martin:
Who do you think the Republicans will run? Joe Rogan?
Geminid
@Baud: I think this whole issue about people complaining that Porter is primarying Feinstein is a straw man. Feinstein is not going to run, and just hasn’t announced it.
What people complain about is that Porter did not wait for Feinstein’s announcement, which is expected in the next two months. I’m not bothered by this but Diane Feinstein is not my Senator. I can see why some Californians might resent Porter for doing this.
But Porter wasn’t trying to push Feinstein out, just getting the jump on the competition.
Geminid
@James E Powell: David Valadeo might give it a shot. He might as well, since he’s in a purple district and 2024 looks to be a bad year for purple district Republicans. Valadeo could do well among Independents.
nonrev321
Call me crazy… but I’m getting a whiff of Sinema about this
WaterGirl
@Geminid: One more reason the other people who are running will not appreciate what she did. Everyone else was following the rules. Porter likes to think she’s a maverick, and I think this move by her was sort of throwing down the gauntlet against the others who will run, and I’m pretty sure they won’t appreciate it.
Will she gain more than she lost with this move? Only time will tell.
hells littlest angel
@WaterGirl: Can you provide a link?
schrodingers_cat
My prediction is that she is going to end up on MSNBC with her white board and where she will continue to criticize Ds from the left.
@Glory b: Infatuation is from the same cohort who were fangirling her mentor. She may well end up 3rd in the primary if Schiff decides to run. She is high on her whiteboard markers and social media fame.
Omnes Omnibus
I just watched the interview. It won’t change anyone’s opinion, pro or con.
Lyrebird
@Glory b:
Although I do think her even getting elected in her district was tougher than much of what Sen Sanders has done, some of how she has succeeded in her district is also how she is not a great fit for the state as a whole. Plus everything you said!
I have professional as well as demographic similarities to Rep. Porter, and I am proud of her winning election to the House and bringing truth to a lot of hearings. When the third email came about a Senate run, though, I unsubscribed.
California has an incredibly deep bench, as others have pointed out. Statesmen – sorry about the word – like Reps. Lee and Schiff are in a different league than Porter, Khanna
ETA not commenting on the possibility of Ted Lieu because I am too much a fan girl there!
Leslie
I know some solid Dems who are not fans of Porter. Comment 16 hits on some of the issues. Given the fact that we might not keep her seat if she’s not the candidate, and my uncertainty about how she’d play to a larger audience, even in California, I’d rather see someone else run (especially Adam Schiff). That said, I haven’t listened to the interview yet.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@schrodingers_cat: yup, and that silly stunt with the book really suggests she has absorbed Warren’s blindspots and tin-ear (that was actually a pretty important moment to “not give a fuck” about), after those weaknesses led Warren to crash her own primary campaign and become, as I see it, far less relevant than she was heading into it.
Carlo Graziani
OT: If you can get chestnuts in a grocery store near you, here’s an easy, convivial end to a meal that I found in Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking: Chestnuts Boiled in Wine.
As a preliminary note: I’ve found that when buying chestnuts, it’s a mistake to just scoop handuls into a bag, instead of sorting through them for good “chestnut profile”. What you want is chestnuts that are flat on one side and have a bulging belly on the other. Chestnuts with more than one flat side tend to have less appetizing flesh, and are harder to score and peel.
You can scale this recipe up or down easily. Figure 1 lb chestnuts for 3 people.
1 lb good-looking chestnuts
1 cup inexpensive dry red wine (the Italian wine section at Trader Joe has some excellent everyday wines from $6 and up, I like the Aglianico and the Nero D’Avola, and the Nero Grande is a great inexpensive passito, but you could also use practically any inexpensive red from the non-toxic end of your wine merchant’s aisle)
2 Bay leaves
A pinch of salt
Soak the chestnuts for 20 minutes in lukewarm water to soften the shells. With the tip of a sharp paring knife, score each chestnut across the middle of the belly, starting and ending a little before the flat side. Make a shallow incision, trying not to cut past the shell (but don’t sweat it, it’s not critical).
Place the chestnuts in a saucepan and pour the wine over them. Add enough water to cover, the bay leaves, and the salt. Cover, turn on the heat to medium and bring to a boil, letting the lot simmer for about 45 min, until they are tender. Uncover the pot and boil away the liquid until there is no more than a few tablespoons left in the pot.
Bring the pot to the table, and let everyone grab, peel and eat their own chestnuts. They disappear remarkably quickly…
Another Scott
@hells littlest angel: Good point! I assumed that WG had provided one.
This seems to be it: E708 – the House that MAGA built.
Here’s the YouTube version. It looks like it starts around 56:40 in the YT version.
Cheers,
Scott.
hells littlest angel
@Another Scott: Thanks!
Geminid
@WaterGirl: It’s not exactly a rule, but more of a convention. Feinstein was challenged by Kevin DeLeon last time, and he may not have been the only Democrat. But while many people here disparage Feinstein as a moderate, she has loyal supporters in California and they will likely hold Porter’s timing against her.
Porter may understand this. At least, in an interview since she announced, Porter made a point of saying that she tried to talk to Senator Feinstein but could not get through. Porter also emphasized how much she respects the Senator.
What may hurt Porter more is that she announced right in the middle of a terrible and deadly weather event. She tried to defuse this criticism by talking up a letter she co-wrote calling on the President to declare California to release disaster money to the state. When Porter touted this on Twitter, a lot of responses were like, “He already did this two days ago, you ninny!”
Sure Lurkalot
I listened to the interview. I thought her response on housing was decent. It is a national problem and deserves a concerted, federal, state and local level response.
The “I’m running because blah de blah is broken” is pretty weak and tired.
My only exposure to Katie Porter are her white board clips that make Twitter or MSNBC. I like the making of too comfortable people uncomfortable and shining a light on questionable behavior, white collar malfeasance and greed. Maybe Katie Porter is simply an ambitious person with goals that more align with working in the Senate.
hells littlest angel
Does anyone know if Reps in California can run for re-election and run in the Senate primary at the same time? If not, I’d hate to see Schiff, Lee and Porter all running against each other , depriving the House of at least two valuable members.
Martin
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: I don’t think CEOs are afraid of her. I mean, personally yeah, because she embarrasses them, but not professionally.
But Katie has unusually high name recognition among young voters because her social media reach is on point. This is why I keep harping on AOC. Her ideology is both well aligned with young voters, but her ability to reach them is FAR better than any Dem leader – and Dems aren’t going to get better at that until they get younger members elected and running things.
Katie isn’t particularly young – she’s 49 – but she’s pretty good at reaching the new Democratic base -18-35 year olds. She knows how to tap into the meme culture – reading a book ‘The subtle art of not giving a fuck’ in that particular context. The white boards are part of that. She leans in hard to the single mom identity, featuring her minivan and kids. It’s a kind of authentic that is still very rare from politicians because there’s no part of it that feels performative.
So Katie isn’t a threat to CEOs, but her interactions with CEOs reach young voters in way that other politicians struggle to do. I think Lawrence recognizes her specific media appeal. I think most people over 40 or so fail to see it.
For voters under 35, AOC has higher name recognition than Nancy Pelosi. Katie is as high or higher than anyone else likely to run in the senate race.
WaterGirl
@hells littlest angel: I just embedded the YouTube version up top.
You can also click here and select The House that MAGA Built.
I assume the start time at 58-minutes on my iPad with Sticher should be pretty close to the start of the interview with Katie Porter on video. But it’s possible that it may not be exact.
WaterGirl
@Omnes Omnibus: I have to say that it impacted my opinion.
James E Powell
@nonrev321:
I don’t see any basis for that comparison.
FelonyGovt
@WaterGirl: Pro or con?
WaterGirl
@Geminid: Of course it’s not a rule that is written down somewhere!
I’m not talking “rule” as in something that can be enforced, or like a law.
I think it’s fair to say that she broke the rules in not abiding by the norms.
Immanentize
@Glory b: I think we should also be clear about what will be a very real issue:
Katie Porter, few term house member, white woman linked to Harvard and E. Warren (who I love!)
Adam Schiff, 11 term house member, former prosecutor, Chair, House intelligence Cmmt (2 terms and ranking member on the cmmt since 2015), Impeachment house manager in first Trump trial in the Senate, etc. White dude.
Barbara Lee, 12 terms in the House. Past chair of Black Caucus, Progressive Caucus and LGBTQ+ CMMT; anti-war hero, etc.. Decidedly a Black woman.
I have my preference. But I don’t live in Cali.
Immanentize
@Geminid: FEINSTEIN HELD HARVEY MILK AS HE DIED!
one must consider who gets insulted when you decide to be a jump-up.
WaterGirl
@Sure Lurkalot: Yeah, that answer bothered me. It wasn’t word salad, but it all seemed like bullshit to me, filled with hot air. Like maybe that’s a great description for your kids if you’re trying to explain why you’re running, but I thought it was totally lame.
I was not all that happy with more than one of her answers so I am really hoping for conversation after people watch/listen. Maybe it was just hitting me wrong.
sab
I decided a while back that candidates from my Godforsaken state need all the help they can get, so I don’t give out of state except to groups like WaterGirl found. So out of state candidates I just text STOP and their texts stop, except James Carville.
ETA Carvilke ain’t a candidate, but he sure is a phucking energetic bunny.
Martin
@James E Powell: I think in a head to head between two unknown candidates, the Republican has the edge, mostly due to party intensity. If we hadn’t added HB to the district in the latest redistricting, I’d argue that Dems had the advantage, but HB is very Trumpy. The parts that the district lost were much more moderate and more reachable for a Dem.
Don’t get me wrong, things are improving. OC board of supervisors has a dem majority for the first time in forever. My city not only has a dem majority, but a dem supermajority for the first time I think, literally, ever.
My guess is Steven Choi and Tony Strickland will run as Republicans. Choi is former mayor of Irvine and current CA assembly member from the north part of the district. Tony is the current mayor of HB. I think Tony is less of an idiot than Steve is.
Cottie Petrie-Norris and Dave Min are the most likely Dem candidates. My guess is Min is the nominee, and Katie would be a good ally. They were colleagues at UCI and ran against each other in the 2018 primary for this house race (awkward faculty meetings, I’m sure). He’s a really good guy. Cottie represents the south part of the district in the CA Assembly (just elected) and Min in the CA Senate.
Thankfully this will be a presidential year, so maybe we do okay.
Another Scott
@Immanentize: Another thing that might be important – Feinstein is quite old and did not seem totally with-it the last time she was in the news.
If she resigned or otherwise could not finish her term, Newsome might appoint someone. That person might have an advantage in the election. Would that person be Porter? I don’t know, but I do not see an overwhelming reason for him to pick her.
We’ll see!
Cheers,
Scott.
Martin
I don’t think anyone gives a shit about that. This event has been going on 3 weeks and has another half week to go yet. Nobody here is clamoring for everyone to drop everything and help us. We’re fine. This weather is to a large degree expected, we’ve been through it before, the world can’t just stop because it’s raining.
The east coast news cycle wants this to be a story, but I don’t see any sign of it here.
Baud
@Immanentize:
I wish Lee were younger.
zhena gogolia
@WaterGirl: I haven’t watched this, but I’ve watched many of her “whiteboard” performances, and I’m not a big fan. She’s too gimmicky.
piratedan
i think that part of the reason that Porter has the support that she does is that she picks her battles wisely and she selects issues that work well with simple messaging. In that respect, that connects her to people who are the subjects of national ire, i.e. people who profit on everyday Americans who take government money on one hand and then shaft consumers with the other.
That plays extraordinarily well with suburban voters.
Now, as to how well that plays in a state race, I can’t say. Seems like she may be drifting out of her lane or it could be that her ambition merges with the passion of other members who have not been given the pedestal that Porter has enjoyed.
Geminid
@Immanentize: I guess a few people remember that. I think most of Feinstein’s fans think of her Senate career.
Porter is certainly a polarizing figure among Democrats. I could see that in the responses to her post of her announcement on Twitter. For every three “this is wonderful” there were two “hell no!”
That does not make Porter a bad candidate; I think most Californians have not yet formed an opinion about her. But she has to attract voters outside her base of fans, and that will be her biggest challenge.
WaterGirl
@hells littlest angel: I asked Almost Retired that question a day or two ago. He is an attorney in CA, but not an election attorney, but I think the answer was NO. If they run for one office, they cannot run for the other at the same time.
Which is why it’s distressing to me that so many are throwing their hats in the ring.
I hope someone from CA can tell me I’m wrong. :-)
Glory b
@Another Scott: Gavin Newsome said if DiFi resigned before the end of her term he’d appoint a back female to complete it.
The 2 names I recall were London Breed, mayor of San Fran and Barbara Lee.
Baud
@Geminid:
I didn’t view that comment as directed at this race, but I may have read it wrong.
Like others, I have assumed Feinstein isn’t running.
James E Powell
@Geminid:
Opinions on Feinstein in California among the handful of people who care are divided and usually set in stone. Full disclosure: I have never really liked her, considered her barely a Democrat, and think she should have retired at the latest before 2018.
If someone is criticizing Porter for announcing “too soon,” it is likely that they just don’t like Porter & see this as a point against her.
Among the announced candidates, I would prefer Porter over Lee, but reserve my vote to see who else runs. I am not wholly against a D v D race, but worry about consequences & repercussions.
Question for people who have lived in California longer than I have (24 years), is there an unwritten rule or idea that one senator should be from the south, the other from the north? It would make sense to me.
Glory b
@WaterGirl: I believe that’s true, which is why Porter’s decision to run is a nail biter. My understanding is that all the others are in very safe Dem districts, hers is the only one where there’s a good chance we could lose it to a Republican.
WaterGirl
@FelonyGovt: I don’t want to say too much until others have (hopefully) listened, but her answer to “why you, why now” was not at all compelling. Not to me. That’s why I’d really like to hear from some other folks, too.
Too often our arguing / fighting / disagreeing about candidates on BJ is based on bad information, or a bad feeling about a candidate, or they did this one thing that pissed me off so they are dead to me.
I am thinking back to Buttigieg and others – that I’m hoping that some BJ peeps will be willing to spend 15 minutes hearing answers straight from the horse’s mouth this time. So at least maybe we can start with the same information.
Geminid
@Another Scott: I think Governor Newsome has said that if he would choose a Black woman to fill the seat if Senator Feinstein retires early.
Martin
@Another Scott: Porter has a very strong ally on that decision – Kamala. Otherwise, I’d agree. All things being equal, Newsom’s top options would probably be Rob Bonta or Adam Schiff. Bonta is the safer guess because he won a statewide election, so hard to argue that voters would be upset with that choice. CA-30 was a runoff between two Dems in the general. It basically guarantees Dems don’t lose a House seat and I don’t think anyone would argue given Schiff’s profile. Kamala could advocate for Katie, but holding this seat in a special election is even harder. I don’t see it.
Katie is a good fundraiser and has Kamala and Liz Warren as allies (no small thing) but my guess is the CA Dem party, if Adam and Barbara Lee throw in (she won by 81 points), won’t support her because of the risk of losing a House seat.
Geminid
@Martin: I’ve seen a lot of complaints. But they may be coming from people who do not like Porter to begin with.
Another Scott
So, I listened to the YouTube version. It sounds to me like she’s still working on her message(s). Like when she talked about serving “America” when saying “California” might have been better. Like the answer about the Senate being broken. Like the answer about youngsters thinking politics is broken (or however she expressed it).
Nothing really jumped out at me as being exclusionary or made me think that she is The One.
If Feinstein serves out her term, then it should be an interesting primary to see how California wants the primary to go. If something happens to Feinstein and Newsome appoints someone that is running on their own, then it might get very messy depending on the timing.
If it’s Lee, Schiff, and Porter running, and Lee were appointed by Newsome in January 2024, would the other two keep running or would they try to keep their existing seats or do something else? (From Ballotpedia, It looks like candidacy paperwork has to be filed by 88 days before the primary in March 2024.)
Lots of things could happen. It’s still very early.
Cheers,
Scott.
Grumpy Old Railroader
@Geminid:
This is just MSM BS. Every season brings on problems from drought to fire season to mudslide season. Then throw in earthquakes, tsunamis and two volcanoes. But California is a huge state and an emergency “event” in one part of the state does not bring the entire state to an OMG screeching halt.
WaterGirl
@Martin:
Candidates for what? The senate seat in CA in 2024? Someone to fill the Porter House seat if she runs for senate?
Also what is HB?
Glory b
@piratedan: I think one of her weak spots is when it’s pointed out that she hasn’t translated any of those words into action. She’s had time to draft legislation, why hasn’t she? So far, she’s all hat, no cattle.
Single mom in a van, who is the daughter of a banker, who went to Phillips Exeter Academy, Harvard & Yale.
And, once again, is a white woman who wants to represent a majority minority state, and who seems uninterested (at least so far) in addressing the specific needs of those communities.
She’s falling into the Sanders/Warren trap, assuming an economic appeal will paper over those other concerns.
Another Scott
@Glory b: @Geminid: @Martin: Thanks.
Politics is complicated, and the best laid plans…
It’s good we have so many good people on our team!
Cheers,
Scott.
WaterGirl
@zhena gogolia: I hope you’ll spend the 15 minutes and then see what you think. There’s more to a candidate than performance art when questioning another (usually) rich white male who is fucking up.
WaterGirl
@Glory b: She answers the question about her House seat being vulnerable if she runs for Senate. I would be interested in seeing what you think of her answer.
Martin
@WaterGirl: I’m pretty sure you can in CA run for House and Senate at the same time. Only a few states prohibit that, and CA isn’t one of them.
Can’t imagine that would go over well with the party or voters though.
The other thing to consider is how much fundraising money this is going to suck out of the room for Democrats. This is going to be a $50M campaign between two Democrats. Republicans won’t sink a penny here. Democrats could choose to not sink a penny and safely hold the seat but this is where the jungle primary really disfavors Dems. Dems really want to anoint someone here. There are WAY better places for that money to be spent.
Geminid
@Grumpy Old Railroader: I did not see these complaints on the “Mainstream Media;” they popped up while Porter’s announcement was still being reported. But like I said at #61, they may be coming from people who don’t like Porter anyway.
sab
@Glory b: E Warren didn’t go to ExeterHarvardYale. She went to whatever in Oklahoma and Texas, then Rutgers, then Harvard as a hard-earned accomplishment.
I had no idea that that was Katie Porter’s background. That explains her self-confidence.
ETA Just what we need, more preppies in the Senate.
Martin
@WaterGirl: Candidates for CA-45. HB is Huntington Beach. Used to be that Newport Beach was the GOP center of the county, and financially they are, but Huntington Beach gives off big Florida vibes and really shakes up how to run in this district.
Grumpy Old Railroader
I have lived in Northern California most of my 75 years. I can tell you that I have voted AGAINST Feinstein in every primary and then voted for her in the general. In my opinion she represents everything that is wrong with the Senatorial geriatric death grip on one branch of government. Oh she votes the right way on most stuff but she is very conservative and always has been. Her single shining accomplishment was the Assault Weapons Ban in 1994.
It’s just my opinion but at 75 I pay attention to what is over the horizon like senior living, assisted living and full on nursing homes, so I believe that if I could be a U.S. Senator with a great salary, government paid assistants that can make my life easier everyday, do all the hard stuff for me and make sure I don’t trail a roll of toilet paper off the back of my pants then I would not retire either.
lowtechcyclist
@WaterGirl:
I probably won’t, but then I just plain don’t do podcasts, for the same reason I don’t watch TV news: I can read a lot faster than people can talk. Let ’em blog if they want me to hear what they have to say.
Geminid
@Martin: I’m afraid this primary will be way more expensive than that. Reports are that three Representatives will compete, maybe a fourth if Rho Khanna runs (which seems unlikely to me).
But I’m curious: why do you think Vice President Harris and Representative Porter are allies? This is the first time I’ve heard of this.
lowtechcyclist
@schrodingers_cat:
“Continue to”? Care to give examples?
Sister Golden Bear
@Geminid: Not resentful, but pretty tone deaf to announce during a massive state of emergency. Porter could’ve waited two weeks.
FelonyGovt
@James E Powell: I have lived in CA for 40 years now. When I first moved here it seemed liked almost ALL statewide politicians were from the Bay Area, which was a touchy subject in the Southern portion. I think the idea of geographic balance is fairly recent.
Martin
@Geminid: Kamala chose Katie to administer the lender settlement distribution of funds agreement. Kamala considered that her biggest accomplishment as AG.
Katie’s first two endorsements when she ran for the House were Warren and Harris. She launched her campaign on those two endorsements.
FelonyGovt
OK I watched the interview. It didn’t really change my mind. She is very bright, well spoken and kind of pat. I didn’t really hear any answers as to why vote for her as Senator when she has just been re-elected to the House.
patrick II
@Geminid:
I don’t mind if Porter actually was trying to push Feinstein out. If Feinstein isn’t retiring she should be pushed out. Not to be mean about it, but Feinstein is no longer at the top of her game, and even when she was she was more conservative than the state she is representing.
sab
California is not Ohio, for which I thank God. I love Ohio enough to live here but I really want other people to decide our politics because we are nutz here.
Grumpy Old Railroader
@Sister Golden Bear:
Exactly when would it be a good time? In a state this big, one part is burning up while another part is having an earthquake while somewhere else houses mud ski down the slope. The complaints about announcing in a state of emergency is just a load of horseshit against the wall to see what sticks
Joseph Patrick Lurker
@WaterGirl:
She’s doing her damn job, it may not appeal to you but it’s definitely not performance art.
Personally, I’d prefer Barbara Lee or Adam Schiff, but you’ve got some nerve trying to dismiss Porter as a lightweight show horse.
FelonyGovt
@Joseph Patrick Lurker: WaterGirl’s opinion is shared by a number of commenters here. And YOU have a lot of nerve addressing her that way.
JPL
@Geminid: I doubt that Harris weighs in on the race. All the potential candidates are more than qualified.
Geminid
@patrick II: Yeah, a lot of people want to see Feinstein gone. I was just getting at the question of whether Porter is being criticized for challenging Feinstein or for announcing before Feinstein made her retirement announcement.
I always expected her to retire and I think California politicians did too. I’ve seen plenty of people here say that “of course Feinstein will run again because that’s how she is!” but I never bought that.
Politico posted an article about Porter’s announcement an hour or so after, and the reporter noted that the announcement came “before Feinstein announces her retirement- which is expected in the next couple months.” I don’t think they were making this up.
Porter’s adherents may hold this timing in her favor, as evidence that she is a bold politician who is not afraid to rock the boat.
JPL
@Geminid: Does it matter? As long as Feinstein resigns, It really won’t matter.
Geminid
@JPL: I only commented about this question at #20 because the issue of whether Porter was out of line for challenging Feinstein had been raised (I thought). Or more properly, whether Porter was being unjustly criticised for challenging Feinstein.
It is kind of an “inside baseball” question and will probably have no consequence in the actual campaign.
Omnes Omnibus
@Joseph Patrick Lurker: Cool thing about living in a democracy, bro. We get to criticize our leaders. You can go ahead and call some of that criticism wrong-headed. I do that a lot. You, however, can’t tell someone they don’t have the right to criticize. That comes with citizenship.
James E Powell
@zhena gogolia:
I wish we lived in a world where gimmicks didn’t matter so much. But then I remember that a barn coat & a pick up truck cost us Ted Kennedy’s senate seat. We are among the people who pay a lot of attention to politics; we are not the voters who determine election outcomes.
Nelle
@Glory b: She grew up in Iowa, on a farm. Her father was a farmer turned banker. The trip to Phillips is a big one for a small town Iowan.
zhena gogolia
@James E Powell: I don’t see her gimmicks as working so well on a larger stage. But I don’t live in California, so I’ll shut up about it.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@zhena gogolia: it’s a good thing when pols can figure out a hook that gets them attention. I like the white board, I just don’t know if it merits the gushing it gets from the likes of O’Donnell and Favreau (just for starters). A politician who can generate enthusiasm is a good thing, a politician who leans too hard into it will often fall. Obama observed his growing fandom with a wry grin and a wink and an occasional eye-roll. Elizabeth Warren got drunk on the applause at her rallies. We saw where both ended up
ETA: the thing with the book that Martin found so cleverly “meme-able” I thought was a sign of someone trying too hard to be just that.
ETA, A: and there is no excuse for any Democrat endorsing Nina Turner, and yes I feel the same way about Jamie Raskin.
kindness
I don’t mind Katie throwing her hat in the ring. I expect Adam Schiff to run as well. I was expecting to support Schiff. Barbara Lee announcing is odd. I love Barbara Lee but she has no chance to win a state wide general race. A problem with the Jungle primary is Democrats could be knocking out each other for the General election. I voted against the Jungle Primary. I think a political party should be able to name their own candidate and then the ballot would have how ever many parties qualified. I was outvoted in that election. Such is life.
WaterGirl
@Joseph Patrick Lurker: Performance art was probably a poor choice of words. I think Katie Porter does a good job in those hearings.
Except for the choice of words, my point still stands. There is more to being a senator than being really good at questioning people in hearings, so while that’s one thing she’s really great at, that alone would not necessarily make her a good senator
I was trying to suggest that whether you like her style in hearings or you don’t, that’s just one piece of what makes a good representative or a good senator, so I don’t recommend making a judgment based on that alone.
schrodingers_cat
@zhena gogolia: Agreed. The white board, the insulin vial earrings, reading that book on the House, the floor.
Not impressed. Too gimmicky.
KrackenJack
My previous impression of Porter was I liked hectoring of people who deserved it and liked her fighting Dem attitude.
Since the request was for responses to the actual podcast. I gave it a listen. I’m generally not big on listening to candidates. It’s rarely informative and I tend to pick
Senate is broken, but how will electing her fix that? Better than Feinstein, but not sure she’s that far above replacement level. “Best warrior” seems like a dig at DiFi. Housing is nice talking point for CA, but she didn’t describe anything she’d do as Senator. She’s not likely to provide details if she is smart. Then it is just marketing. Maybe it will get traction among the CA electorate, but I don’t think she has more credibility than Lee or Schiff.
Notably, she didn’t list De Leon and Feinstein in 2018 as one of Dem-Dem contests. Very conspicuous for someone with such a reputation for being prepared. Adds to my negative impression of her launch.