The Freshman Democrat Who's Making Conservatives Squirm

[ehrnst]

California’s Katie Porter studied under Elizabeth Warren. Now she’s going viral by schooling Republicans on Capitol Hill. Her background as a law professor, a textbook author, a consumer protection attorney who studied under Warren at Harvard, and a single mother of three has helped to equip her with an even-keel approach, an incisive analytical mind, and a boundless well of patience—qualities that have served her well during her customarily rigorous preparation for congressional hearings, which often begins around midnight, when she gets home from Capitol Hill.

From her position on the House Financial Services Committee, Porter has staged neatly surgical dissections of testimony. If she senses a lack of preparation, she approaches her target with all the languid menace of a coiled python. As witnesses like JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and Housing Secretary Ben Carson have discovered, when Porter strikes, it leaves a mark.
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It’s also why her Link to tweet
" target="_blank">videos keep going viral; her ability to demystify technical, often esoteric financial concepts is a boon to those who understand that nitty-gritty details, all the minutiae of government work, are important, but aren’t sure how to connect the dots. It’s not all that different from what she used to do as a professor, and as a textbook author; now, she just has a much larger audience.

When she isn’t skewering witnesses before the Financial Services Committee, Porter focuses on health care and childcare legislation. As a single mother, she receives a scant $345 per month in child support from her former partner, whom she divorced in 2013. (The $5,000 limit for workers using fixed savings accounts to pay for childcare hasn’t been updated since 1986.) A survivor of domestic abuse, she is intent on improving access to psychiatrists, whom she struggled to find for her family. Years later, a provision to guarantee better care found its way into her bill on mental health parity.

https://newrepublic.com/article/155268/house-representative-katie-porter-schools-ben-carson-orea-jamie-dimon

[Midnight Writer]

1. Love Katie Porter. Smart and principled. A conservative's nightmare.

[patphil]

11. She's really good. I have a lot of respect for her.

[tblue37]

2. I think she'll be president someday. She & Warren are both brilliant. nt

[Brother Buzz]

6. That may, or may not be in the cards...but....

her taking over when Dianne Feinstein retires looks pretty damn good to this Californian.

[blm]

26. She will make one helluva senator for Cali.

Sharpest knife in the drawer.

[TryLogic]

62. Congratulations California!

[DrToast]

3. She is wonderful

Guaranteed to be a force in politics for as long as she wants.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. A big fat K&R!

[blm]

5. She has IT. Brains, compassion, AND integrity.

She’s a bright star on the rise. This nation will be better for it.

[Wounded Bear]

7. AOC gets more headlines, probably for the wrong reasons...

while Katie is quietly doing her job. There is nobody the Repubs hate worse than someone who just does their job and can't be corrupted.

to Katie Porter.

[LeftTurn3623]

16. Not sure what the dig at AOC is for

Can’t we be happy we have a lot of great new people representing

[Wounded Bear]

59. Was not meant as a dig on AOC, but in how the media covers her...

The media likes her because she's attractive, and she is "controversial" in some of her proposals, which in reality are no more radical than what Bernie and Ms Warren are pushing. She generates clicks and views.

Ms Porter is doing great work, if not as much press coverage.

And thanks to the mods for reading my appeal and allowing me to respond to your post.

[Rebl2]

61. I agree with you

Katie, like you say, is laying low and doing her job and doing a great job if you ask me.

[vsrazdem]

8. I think Katie is great. I love watching her tear the rupugs to pieces.

[smirkymonkey]

9. She's a force of nature.

I have so much respect and admiration for her. I hope she has a long career in politics. We need more like her.

[TeamPooka]

10. I knew it would be Porter before I clicked on the story. :)

[blm]

27. LOL .... same here.

[George II]

12. We've got quite a few Fresh"man" Democratic women who are flying under the radar....

....keeping their heads down and doing their jobs without fanfare. They're excellent and are going to be heard from for a long time.

Katie Porter, Katie Hill (also from California), Lauren Underwood, Deb Haaland, Sharice Davids, Lucy McBath, Jahana Hayes.

[StarfishSaver]

15. Sharice Davids is one of my favorites among those you describe

Keeps a low profile, but is doing an outstanding job.

[George II]

17. I agree, she's one of my favorites, too. I don't contribute much and when I do it's local, but....

....I contributed to both her primary and general election campaigns last year. It was pretty exciting to see her turn district blue by defeating that horrible republican, Kevin Yoder.

[blm]

29. Ayanna Pressley, too.

[StarfishSaver]

13. Yeah. But she's no AOC

[mountain grammy]

28. No they are two entirely different women

But Both are fighters for working people and both make me proud to be a Democrat because they’re BOTH Democrats. No sarcasm necessary.

[blm]

33. ✔️

[Laura PourMeADrink]

58. You like those checks huh :)

[blm]

63. Yup

[George II]

68. Wish I could figure out how to do that.

[FakeNoose]

70. ✔️ Just do a copy & paste

✔️✔️✔️

[George II]

71. ✔️ Thanks!

[Laura PourMeADrink]

74. Where'd you get one that looks just like BLM's?

[blm]

76. Mine is on my iPad emojis

[Laura PourMeADrink]

39. Yes!! The greatest thing about them both is that

They both speak unequivocally...no politics first...they exemplify knowing pure right from wrong!

[mountain grammy]

55. Yes, exactly, and the other greatest thing..

they are US.. AOC worked as a bartender through college, Katie a single mother. They are every one of us.

[Bettie]

64. Some people like to pretend that AOC isn't

a Democrat because they enjoy bashing her so much.

Me? I think that a lot of the newer reps are doing a great job...though mine keeps quiet and, as far as I've seen, has done nothing but follow the pack.

[ronnie624]

84. It's because she threatens the status quo,

understanding that human society needs transformative change in order to survive. She represents the sort of change that scares people. When people are afraid, they become angry and hostile.

[Bettie]

85. Yeah

that is probably it.

[bucolic_frolic]

14. OMG! A single mother of three! That will REALLY rattle GOP alarm bells

I mean they'll have the spooks over this one, toil and trouble, Scarlett Letter, burning at the stake kind of thing.

[ismnotwasm]

18. K&R

[TNNurse]

19. She absolutely destroys the person she is questioning

with knowledge and clarity. She is incredibly polite while doing it.

She is the real deal.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

20. I wish she weren't in such a tough district.

[bdamomma]

22. Is she being challenged from

others to remove her from her seat locally, I will donate to her if she is facing this challenge.

[blm]

30. Heh. Who would even want to debate her?

Jamie Dimon has only cowered in front of two lawmakers .... Porter and Warren.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

43. I don't know, I just think I heard her district is typically conservative/GOP.

[blm]

52. It is. But her logic game is too strong for any rivals.

Who wants to debate her inthat district or ANY district?

[Laura PourMeADrink]

40. No worries about Katie. She does what is right FIRST

Must see her Impeachment decision video

Link to tweet

?s=20

[Gidney N Cloyd]

45. She's good. Thanks for sharing that video.

[LakeArenal]

21. I hope she is the next VP

[pnwmom]

23. She would be a great VP. Or someday, President. n/t

[LakeArenal]

25. Eight more years!!! Eight more years!!

[TeamPooka]

32. My early fantasy this year was Kamala Harris wins POTUS and Gavin Newsome appoints Porter to fill

her seat in the Senate.

[pnwmom]

37. I could get behind that! n/t

[Laura PourMeADrink]

46. Why didn't Gavin run? Was looking forward to that.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

42. Great idea LA!

[3catwoman3]

24. Representative Porter is badass.

Prepared Brilliant
Organized Academic
Rigorous Dignified
Talented Awesome
Erudite Serious
Resolute Steady

[blm]

31. ✔️✔️✔️

[bdamomma]

35. She's very good.

Lawrence O'Donnell has been very impressed by her and he always invites her back.

[ancianita]

34. I love Porter. She deserves an important role as an Inspector General, or Deputy Sec. of

the Treasury, the OMB, some position that manages our trillions. At the very least, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

With her helping AG Kamala Harris or AG Warren, they'd have Panama Papers people quaking.

[RainCaster]

41. NO! We have a wonderful new field of freshmen, but they are freshmen. Let them earn their stripes.

We are amazed at the solidarity and intellect of the incoming class, but we need to let them each mature on their own. They will only get better with age.

[ancianita]

48. Which senior congress people already knew more and grilled Jamie Dimon harder than

Porter did. None of them.

Some "freshmen" are actually able to hit the ground running for the next president's cabinet.

Katie Porter is at the top of that class. And I wouldn't hold her back.

It's not as if we're not safe enough as a House majority to have another Democrat step up and take here place for her CA district.

"Earning their stripes" wastes time and holds back talent. Some need to earn them, some don't. Porter's already earned hers.

[RainCaster]

53. I'm equally impressed by her questioning skills, but...

What we haven't seen is her skills in driving consensus. That is done quietly, and all we see is the results, not the "how". This is where Bernie is lacking, because of his lone wolf approach.

Being able to achieve consensus is a skill normally done by having a deep rolodex and a long time record of being "bona fide".

[ancianita]

54. Are you kidding? What drives consensus in our party more than fact-based truth. Porter

is the master of crunching numbers to put the money face on the flaws of all levels of budget misspending and bad economic priorities. She's compelling.

How can you say she can't build consensus when she just upended the reddest district in California in Orange County? THAT is something no other Democrat had ever done. Think about it.

Don't fall for the male standard of consensus building. There are way better ways to build it than through rolodexes. Men in this government have quickly learned that her style must never be mistaken for weakness.

[badhair77]

36. Love this woman. She's smart, measured, unflappable and when she's on

with Bill Maher, she’s the funniest person on the panel. A tremendous quick wit.

[zentrum]

38. Love all our new freshman Congress people.

Funny how we only have a "male" word to designate---freshman.

[AdamGG]

44. When she had Ben Carson babbling about oreos it was beautiful

[Leghorn21]

47. I need 15-30 minutes of Katie Porter DAILY

Not kidding
Please/thank you

More Katie Porter more often

[greatauntoftriplets]

49. She's my favorite from this impressive freshmen class.

That sharp, incisive mind will take her far.

[SpankMe]

50. When her kids are grown and out of the house...

...I'm thinking the congresswoman is ready for a run at POTUS, if she wants to go through all that.

[mcar]

51. I wonder why she gets so little media attention

when other Freshman Dems who, truthfully, haven't accomplished as much, get so much more?

[ehrnst]

60. She doesn't seek the spotlight. She goes about her work. (nt)

[mcar]

65. Good point

She's actually doing her job.

[ehrnst]

73. And effectively so. Not a twitter rep. (nt)

[Gothmog]

56. I love Katie Porter

She is amazing

[SunSeeker]

57. Katie Porter helped turn Orange County, CA blue. I will always love her.

[Heartstrings]

66. She's a driving force the gop will need to reckon with!

I love her!

[blm]

69. Exactly. No one wants to step up and debate her, that's fer sure!

[sandensea]

67. And she represents south Orange County - which is extraordinary in itself

These are people who, by and large, thought Bush was "too moderate" because he "let in too many Mexicans."

Until the 2008 debacle.

[bluescribbler]

72. I love Rep. Porter

She is badass.

[stuffmatters]

75. Since Porter won in the OC, suggests to me that Warren could winover many Repugs too.

[blm]

77. That's a key point I've been stressing. They can speak to

working families about economic issues that actually impact their daily lives and do it using the language of common sense.

[stuffmatters]

78. Exactly&the more voters get to know them, the more they i.d. with & respect them both.

Exposure is definitely their mutual friend. Even RW frother,Sen Tom Cotton, another of Warren's students at Harvard, said "she was tough but the best professor I ever had."

[blm]

79. That's a common thread with her students.

Pretty sure she knows how to handle spoiled, narcissistic frat boys.

[ehrnst]

80. +1000. (nt)

[stuffmatters]

81. Truly LOL.Thanks for bringing the mid afternoon chuckle on Cotton.

[blm]

82. Heheh ... or Trump

Or....

[blm]

83. She definitely knows how to corner the rats of the financial industry.

She wasn’t just Warren’s student, but, a research partner.

Link to tweet

/photo/1

[Mickju]

86. She is brilliant.