Katie Porter - What Is Causing Inflation?

[blastula]

Lee needs to read the room, we don't want another senator over 80.

 

[lpetrich]

Dianne Feinstein's extremely awkward, very uncomfortable exit from the political stage - POLITICO - "Democrats in her home state are moving on even as she isn’t."

More problematic for Feinstein has been the persistent questions about her health. Even Democrats sympathetic to the senator have been reading headlines about her cognitive fitness to serve. The stories about it pop up with such regularity now that they no longer elicit the shock value of the early versions, when publication of such matters seemed to be violating some unwritten code of D.C. conduct.

Feinstein’s office has long batted down such talk, saying she has her full faculties and remains utterly capable of executing the job of senator to the nation’s most populous state.

Some of DiFi's supporters have become less than happy with her.

After Feinstein this week reported raising less than $600 in the last fundraising period, one of her small-dollar donors, a Carlsbad, Calif., man named William Betts, said, “I have some automatic payments in there that are still ongoing.”

“I would much prefer a younger candidate, certainly anybody from Gen X,” he said. “My preference is that she retires.”

But she isn't giving up yet.

 

[lpetrich]

More Politico

Pelosi, before issuing her conditional endorsement of Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), said that if Feinstein does seek reelection, “she has my whole-hearted support.” But no politician puts out that kind of statement if they expect her to. Schiff and Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) are already running. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), has told her colleagues she plans to. Rep Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) is giving consideration to the race.

The candidates are starting early because they must raise a LOT of money to make themselves visible in that populous state.

Already, Schiff is raising money and Porter, with her whiteboards out, is bringing in cash too. At her first campaign event, in Northern California last month, she told the crowd it’s time for “a fresh new voice” in the Senate.

For her part, Feinstein has hardly batted an eye at the spectacle surrounding her, even if the pre-announcement announcements run counter to what Boxer adviser Rose Kapolczynski called “a long tradition of deference.”

“The senator has said on a few occasions the more the merrier,” a Feinstein spokesperson said. Of Feinstein’s own timeline, she told Bloomberg News that she’ll announce plans “in the spring sometime.”

“Not in the winter,” Feinstein said. “I don’t announce in the winter.”

If she does announce her retirement, it may dramatically shift the opinion her constituents have of her. Politicians are often more popular when they go.

“There will be all the usual retrospectives about her career and her groundbreaking moments, and gun control and abortion and Harvey Milk and all of that,” Kapolczynski said. “There’ll be an afterglow. Once you announce you’re not running again, you get an afterglow from the voters.”

Weird.

 

[lpetrich]

Bay Area Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee to announce Senate run by end of month - ABC7 Los Angeles - this February

California 2024 US Senate contest kicks off at furious pace - ABC News

Schiff, who announced his candidacy last month, said he was running for Senate after two decades in Congress “to build an economy that works for everyone, a democracy that will last for all time and a planet that doesn’t melt beneath our feet.”

A day earlier, Democratic U.S. Rep. Katie Porter brought her Senate campaign to Los Angeles, where she met with local leaders to discuss pollution in lower-income neighborhoods. She said such areas are often overlooked in Washington and Sacramento, where residents' complaints about unhealthy conditions go unheard.

...
After recounting his career as a federal prosecutor, state legislator and member of Congress, Schiff made clear he would anchor his campaign to his role as impeachment manager and Trump’s chief antagonist in Congress. He has been a frequent target of conservatives — Trump in particular — since the then-GOP-led House Intelligence Committee he served on started investigating Trump’s ties to Russia in the 2016 election.

He mentioned “democracy” more than a half-dozen times in the speech. He's selling T-shirts and coffee mugs on his campaign website, with the slogan “Democracy Matters.” He called Trump, who has announced his 2024 campaign for the presidency, “a demagogue bent on destroying our democracy.”

“We investigated Trump. We impeached him. We held him accountable and then we defeated him at the ballot box,” Schiff said to cheers. “And we will defeat him again, if the GOP is foolish enough to nominate him. He will never see the inside of the Oval Office, never again.”

...
Schiff and Porter, both prolific small-dollar fundraisers, already are dueling over campaign dollars and endorsements. Former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco is backing Schiff, providing Feinstein retires, and Porter is supported by Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Nothing recent about Ro Khanna, however.

 

[Oleg]

 

[Oleg]

Dems weren’t always pro-criminal loonies. What happened?

 

[lpetrich]

Feinstein: Will Not Run for Reelection in 2024, Focus on This Congress - Press Releases - United States Senator for California

Senator Dianne Feinstein on Twitter: "I am announcing today I will not run for reelection in 2024 but intend to accomplish as much for California as I can through the end of next year when my term ends. Even with a divided Congress, we can still pass bills that will improve lives." / Twitter
and
Senator Dianne Feinstein on Twitter: "Each of us was sent here to solve problems. That’s what I’ve done for the last 30 years, and that’s what I plan to do for the next two years. My thanks to the people of California for allowing me to serve them. (link)" / Twitter


Katie Porter on Twitter: "Senator Dianne Feinstein has had a remarkable career serving the people of California. She created a path for women in politics that I am proud to follow. I thank the Senator for her leadership and appreciate all that she has accomplished for our state." / Twitter


Cenk Uygur on Twitter: "Dianne Feinstein is finally retiring. Here comes mainstream media doing tons of false marketing/propaganda for her career. In over three decades, they can only point to assault weapons ban (she was affected by a shooting), release of CIA torture documents (they spied in on her)." / Twitter
then
Cenk Uygur on Twitter: "What they leave out is her enormously conservative record, voting for wars and tax cuts for the rich, etc. They'll never talk about how she voted almost exactly as her donors wanted throughout her career. And this conservative voting record from a senator from California!" / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

Dianne Feinstein Says She Was Unaware Staff Issued Statement Announcing Retirement
noting
Savannah Behrmann on Twitter: "Feinstein on her retirement: ...

Feinstein on her retirement: “I haven’t made that decision. I haven't released anything.”

Staffer: “We put out the statement.”

Feinstein: “You put out the statement? I didn't know they put it out.”

CORRECTION: After relistening audio, it sounds like she said, “I *should have* known they put it out.”

And for transparency, sharing my audio. From another reporters' angle in the same gaggle, it sounded like "should have":

Feinstein on reelection
Transcript:

... reelection.

Well, I haven't made that decision. I haven't released anything. It will be my pla-- You put out the statement. I didn't know they put it out. Okay. So it is what it is. I think the time has come. I have a whole other year of things that are underway. I expect to achieve them. I hope and so we'll see.

When did you make your decision? I know you said it was going to take you some time so we need to catch up.

Well, my husband has died and that affected the decision making this week so it's not the end of next year.

Her memory seems very foggy.

 

[lpetrich]

GovTrack.us: Tracking the U.S. Congress - I'll assess the incumbent and the challengers by using that site's ideology scores.

• Dianne Feinstein: (2014) 0.15, 0.14, 0.16, 0.24, 0.15
• Katie Porter: (2020) 0.24, 0.14
• Adam Schiff: (2014) 0.24, 0.24, 0.31, 0.23, 0.15
• Barbara Lee: (2014) 0.00, 0.02, 0.01, 0.00, 0.02
• Ro Khanna: (2018) 0.19, 0.14, 0.14

The California Senate Race Begins With a Scuffle Over Candidates’ Progressive Bona Fides | Vanity Fair

Presumably to better position himself to win the two-party primary in deep blue California, Schiff is seemingly trying to bolster his liberal bona fides by seeking to join the Congressional Progressive Caucus—after years as a member of the moderate Blue Dogs and later the New Democrat Coalition. A Schiff spokesperson told Politico the CPC is “where his natural home is.” To which Porter shot back: “I am a member of the Progressive Caucus…he is not,” according to The Hill’s Mychael Schnell.

noting
The politics of policing - POLITICO

SCHIFF’S PROGRESSIVE PUSH — Rep. Adam Schiff is seeking to join the Congressional Progressive Caucus as the Los Angeles Democrat ramps up his Senate campaign. A spox said the caucus is “where his voting record has been” and thus “where his natural home is,” echoing Schiff’s assertion to us that “I very much view myself as a progressive.”

That prompted Senate rival Rep. Katie Porter to point out that Schiff had not joined the CPC, which includes both Porter and fellow Senate contender/past co-chair Rep. Barbara Lee. Many California progressives view Schiff as being to the right of Lee and Porter, noting his past membership in the fiscally moderate Blue Dog Democrats and current membership in the centrist New Democrats.

and
Mychael Schnell on Twitter: "Schiff told Politico today “I very much view myself as a progressive.”
What does Porter think of that?
“I am a member of the Progressive Caucus… he is not,” @katieporteroc told me." / Twitter

Srsly tho on Twitter: "@mychaelschnell @katieporteroc Schiff's lane is the same politics as DiFi. He ain't a progressive." / Twitter

 

[lpetrich]

Rep. Barbara Lee files to run for Senate after Feinstein retirement
noting
Form 1 for Barbara Lee for U.S. Senate

Senate Race in California Reflects Fight for Democrats’ Future - The New York Times - "With Senator Dianne Feinstein’s retirement, the party is gearing up for a clash on issues including gender, race, ideology and even geography."

Ms. Porter, Mr. Schiff and Ms. Lee would all usher in an ideological shift, one decidedly to the left of Ms. Feinstein, who in recent years has drawn anger from the left flank of her party over her bipartisan approach and deference to Trump-appointed Supreme Court justices. Ms. Porter and Ms. Lee have served in leadership of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and though Mr. Schiff has not joined the group, he has increasingly struck progressive tones after once counting himself a member of the Blue Dogs, a group of conservative Democrats. A victory for either Ms. Porter, 49, or Mr. Schiff, 62, would signal a long-awaited break in a generational logjam, as well as a change in regional power.

...
Until recently, the Bay Area has dominated the state’s politics, producing some of its most marquee figures, including Ms. Feinstein, Ms. Harris, the former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Gov. Gavin Newsom. Ms. Porter’s district is in Orange County, and Mr. Schiff represents a northern slice of Los Angeles. Given California’s demographic shifts, some Democrats believe the state’s next senator should also capture its growing racial and ethnic diversity.

 

[lpetrich]

Adam Schiff:

On a chilly, overcast Saturday, Mr. Schiff, a former prosecutor who led Mr. Trump’s first impeachment trial, billed himself as a staunch defender of democracy and a progressive leader committed to creating jobs and tackling climate and gun safety issues. In Congress, he said, he had dedicated himself to becoming an expert on national security issues, exposing torture and working to overhaul the nation’s surveillance system.

Katie Porter:

At a parks and recreation center in Huntington Park, where Ms. Porter met with Latino environmental justice activists and community leaders on Friday, the congresswoman described herself as a political newcomer and a single mother who had never taken corporate PAC money and who would be willing to challenge both parties on issues like child care and paid family leave.

Ms. Porter, who studied under Elizabeth Warren at Harvard, garnered national prominence as she grilled corporate executives and government officials in congressional hearings, often turning to a handy whiteboard to explain complex topics. She pointed to her victories in a competitive swing district as evidence that she could win without compromising her progressive values.

“I have had three really hard races and have won every one of them,” she said in an interview.

 

[lpetrich]

Biden pays tribute to Feinstein: ‘One of the very best’ senators I ever served with | The Hill

President Biden paid tribute to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Tuesday following her announcement that she will not run for reelection in 2024, calling her “one of the very best” senators he has worked with.

Biden said in a statement that he knew he wanted Feinstein to serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee while he was serving as chairman of the panel because of her “proven track record of standing up for people’s rights and fighting to make their lives better.”

“I’ve served with more U.S. Senators than just about anyone. I can honestly say that Dianne Feinstein is one of the very best. I look forward to continuing to work with her as she serves out her term,” he said.

Expect more eulogies for DiFi.

 

[lpetrich]

Another eulogy:
Barbara Lee on Twitter: "Senator Dianne Feinstein ..." / Twitter

Senator Dianne Feinstein is a historic figure, a trailblazer, and a tireless advocate for the people of California and our country. Shattering glass ceilings, she served as the first female chair of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and the first female Mayor of San Francisco before being sent to Washington as California’s first woman US Senator in 1992 along with Senator Boxer in the historic Year of the Woman, where she continued to challenge the status quo in Washington. Senator Feinstein has been a barrier breaker for all of us who have been inspired by her monumental career, myself included. Her historic Senate career will be marked by her unwavering commitment to passing groundbreaking legislation. A champion for gun control, she passed the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban that banned semi-automatic firearms and continues to be a vocal advocate against gun violence today. A protector of our natural environment, she passed the California Desert Protection Act that safeguarded more than 7 million acres of California desert wilderness. A fighter for women’s and human rights, she pushed the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act and passed legislation to combat human trafficking and protect marriage equality.

While I hope we will keep the focus in these coming days on celebrating the Senator and her historic tenure in the Senate, I know there are questions about the Senate race in 2024, which I will address soon. But for now, let me say I have been honored to serve beside Senator Feinstein in the California Congressional Delegation, and to the Senator, I’d like to say thank you for your enormous service to our state and country.

Here is a dyslogy for her, the opposite of a eulogy.
Cenk Uygur on Twitter: "Dianne Feinstein is finally retiring." / Twitter

Dianne Feinstein is finally retiring. Here comes mainstream media doing tons of false marketing/propaganda for her career. In over three decades, they can only point to assault weapons ban (she was affected by a shooting), release of CIA torture documents (they spied in on her). What they leave out is her enormously conservative record, voting for wars and tax cuts for the rich, etc. They'll never talk about how she voted almost exactly as her donors wanted throughout her career. And this conservative voting record from a senator from California!

 

[lpetrich]

It's now official.
Rep. Barbara Lee joins race for California US Senate seat | AP News

Barbara Lee on Twitter: "Today I am proud to announce my candidacy for U.S. Senate. I’ve never backed down from doing what’s right. And I never will. Californians deserve a strong, progressive leader who has delivered real change. #BarbaraLeeSpeaksForMe (vid link)" / Twitter
Back to AP.

In a video posted on Twitter, Lee ran through a list of the personal and professional battles she has taken on in her life, including fighting to be her school’s first Black cheerleader, championing protections for survivors of domestic violence and being the only member of Congress to vote against the authorization for the use of military force after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

“Today I am proud to announce my candidacy for U.S. Senate. I’ve never backed down from doing what’s right. And I never will,” Lee said in the video. “Californians deserve a strong, progressive leader who has delivered real change.”

She's done well over her career, and she's reliably progressive, but does she have anything recent to show for herself? Anything comparable to Katie Porter's whiteboard usage and grilling of obnoxious CEO's? Or Adam Schiff's impeachment management?

 

[Derec]

It's now official.
Rep. Barbara Lee joins race for California US Senate seat | AP News

Ugh. She doesn't deserve to be in the House, much less the Senate. She represents a D+40 district, so no chance unseating her there, but I do hope Californians are smarter than to have her be in the top 2 in the jungle primary.

She's done well over her career, and she's reliably progressive,

I would not call her support for cop-killers like Wesley Cook (alias Mumia Abu Jamaal) and Huey Newton or for dictators like Fidel Castro "progressive".

but does she have anything recent to show for herself?

I wonder what Don Lemon thinks about her and "prime" ...

 

[lpetrich]

Ryan Grim on Twitter: "How do you know a Democratic primary is kicking off?
Candidates line up to do interviews with JI in the hope DMFI & AIPAC don’t nuke them. Katie Porter edition: (link)" / Twitter
noting
Porter describes ‘constructive exchange’ between Democratic delegation and Netanyahu

"In keeping with a background in academia, Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA), a former law professor known for her rigorous interrogations at congressional hearings, made sure to study up before her first trip to Israel last month."

“I recognize that I am relatively new to this issue,” she said in an interview with Jewish Insider on Wednesday. “I tried to take a multifaceted approach and make sure that I was getting the most I could out of this particular trip,” she explained, “which I hope will be the first of many.”

Referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin / Binyamin / "Bibi" Netanyahu,

“It was actually funny in that there was a moment in that conversation with the prime minister where he was talking about Likud and LGBTQ members of Likud and he was saying, ‘I bet nobody knew that,’” Porter explained, referring to Netanyahu’s political party. “I raised my hand and I was like, ‘I knew! I knew!’ because I had gotten that additional briefing before I went.”

It's nice to see people in public office who are so very diligent. Much like AOC, whose three commandments are "1. Be Curious, 2. Be Kind, 3. Be Diligent". AOC has gotten a lot of praise for being well-prepared for committee work.

 

[lpetrich]

More:

Not only was the prime minister “extremely generous both with his time and with his thoughts,” but the group was “really able to have an interactive dialogue with him,” she said. “I was extremely impressed with his willingness to kind of grapple with us at some of the toughest issues that Israel’s facing, everything from judicial reform — an issue that we’re having questions and discussions about right now within the Democratic Party here in the United States — to issues about the West Bank and about settlements.”

During their conversation, Porter said the group raised specific concerns about what she described as policies “that may impede” the prospect of “a lasting and enduring peace” between the Israelis and Palestinians — while acknowledging, in the conversation with JI, that “security threats” from Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas as well as “terrorism in the West Bank” are among the challenges “making things difficult.”

“But we emphasized, and I think Netanyahu emphasized back, that there’s a long-term project here, which is to have a vibrant, secure Jewish democratic state of Israel — and that in order to do that, there needs to be opportunities for the Palestinian people to have their own elected government and governance and land,” Porter continued. “How we get there is unclear right now. But we shouldn’t let the impediments to that progress prompt us to give up on the goal, given its incredible importance to Israel and to the region and to the United States.”

That adds some welcome context to her being "very impressed" with BN. What she said is not quite selling out to Israeli hard-liners, contrary to what that snippet might imply.

 

[lpetrich]

With Feinstein’s retirement, Adam Schiff seeks to carry the torch of Jewish values
Fun fact: his wife is named Eve.

“Her Jewish values are ones that I deeply share,” Schiff, 62, told Jewish Insider on Tuesday, shortly after Feinstein had revealed she would not seek reelection. “One of the passages that I use to guide my life and my politics comes out of Micah: ‘What is required of us but to do justice, to love mercy and walk humbly with thy God.’ This is what Sen. Feinstein has done.”

“She was a trailblazer,” he added, citing her past activism on gay rights and gun control, among other issues. “Is a trailblazer.”

Later in the article,

Recently, he has joined a growing number of Democratic colleagues who, by varying degrees, have raised alarms over Israel’s new governing coalition led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Since he assumed office in late December, the longtime Israeli leader has drawn scrutiny for partnering with controversial far-right figures who have promoted an overhaul of the judicial system that critics have derided as anti-democratic, among other things.

“I am deeply concerned about the composition of this new governing coalition and the participation of some of the more extreme voices within Israeli politics,” Schiff said. “I want to do everything I can to support strengthening our democracy at home and make sure that our allies around the world continue to further their own democracies.”

Rep. Barbara Lee on Twitter: "An impartial, independent judiciary is a vital cornerstone of democracy.
I strongly condemn Netanyahu’s efforts to politicize Israel's Supreme Court & dramatically expand settlement activity, & stand in solidarity with Israelis & Palestinians working for peaceful coexistence." / Twitter