Republicans, I am begging you. Run a sane, moderate Republican in California and you will win, handily. Of course you won’t, it’s no longer in your nature, but I’m telling you, there is gold in them thar hills if you can get your shit together.
There is an old joke that goes, "Heaven is a government by Southern Democrats and Northern Republicans; Hell is a government by Southern Republicans and Northern Democrats." The joke needs to be updated for the West Coast politicians who have found new levels of crazy.
What is truly impressive about this interview is that it manages to look bad on paper and then you watch it and it's WORSE. The written analysis undersells how miserable this was for everyone involved!
Yup. To get the context before reading I watched the clip they showed on Fox - FOX! - and thought she was embarrassing. Then I watched the clips here and thought: no wait, she's just being embarrassing tactically to cover for being vile.
Don't forget that this is the same Katie Porter who alleged that the Senate primary she lost to Adam Schiff was "rigged." The apparent basis for this claim was that he raised and spent more money than she did. After all the pain that Trump put the country through with his election rigging claims, that she could claim "rigging" against a fellow Democrat (or anyone for that matter) should have disqualified her for further office then and there.
I can only hope that Jeff's prediction that her political career is over is true, but knowing my fellow California Democrats, I have my doubts.
To be fair, the rigging in question was that Adam Schiff helped juice the Republican's campaign in the primary so he wouldn't have to have the run off against another Democrat. I dislike Adam Schiff for this reason, but it doesn't cause me to like Katie Porter instead.
What did I just watch? That was insane, this woman has run in an election for something? And won? According to Wikipedia she used to be a member of Congress, did she ever have an interview for that? Has there been a followup from her "camp"? Maybe the flu? Or a twin?
Oh calm it down there, Rush Limbaugh, Jr., good lord. I hope you’re a very fine physical specimen if you’re making remarks like that about a pretty ordinary-looking woman (and I mean that in a neutral, non-insulting sense).
God, how awesome would it be to actually have an identical twin as a politician? It'd be an automatic get-out-jail-free card. Just get them to go on camera and say "Yeah, I was the one who took all that coke in the nightclub and then punched that nun"
Kinda insane she wasn't getting buried already from the litany (not a single incident!) of DV accusations her ex-husband made against her in their divorce.
Damn, I don’t think I had heard of that! Always been kinda fascinated by the phenomenon of female-on-male DV, but yeah… in her case I guess I can see it now that I’ve seen this interview.
The courts sided with her and gave her full custody of their kids while the ex-husband left the state. I think the several reports of her berating her staff should be noted as well. If she can't manage a Congressional staff then how can she manage the largest subnational economy in the world? https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/08/katie-porter-tears-into-staffer-new-video-00598942
why is being a "fighter" a good thing in politics? Antagonism is definitionally.. well... against compromise and politics, especially in a 49-51 or hell even a 60-40 country.. Kind of important..
When people think they're under attack from one group or another, they like someone who will stand tough and fight back and not shrink away from the conflict. Republicana felt they wee under attack for the Obama presidency and thought the likes of John Boehner and Mitt Romney were way too congenial and mushy about it, so when Trump came on the scene they flocked to him. Now it's Dems who feel under siege and want someone who stands up firmly against Trump, which is why Gavin Newsom's profile has risen lately as he's been very openly antagonizing him on Twitter, and Chuck Schumer's approval is in the toilet with his own voters as he's been seen as way too slow and limited in what he's doing to fight back.
It doesn't always have to be strictly a left-right fight though. Bernie Sanders was seen as a fighter more against private companies and the perceived moderate establishment of the Democratic Party than against the right, which his supporters liked.
Agree. I also think Trump is uniquely horrible and we shouldn’t pretend otherwise. The hard part is that his voters are not all horrible, thus the problem with messaging.
Eh. Most voters are horrible. I’m a bit nihilistic on the process. Social media has put politicians and voters too in touch with each other and the feedback loop of egotism is going critical. It’s not just Trump. All of them have this cult of personality wannabe intellectual thing going on.
Like guys. Your servants. Public servants. We should be treating politicians like the help. It should be a shitty job where you have to shut up your whole term. Do your business. And go home when you’re done.
These people get upheld as if they’re important or special. They’re not. As this video proves. And as Trump proves. They’re just people with outsized egos.
Voters have ruined politicians by turning them into totems.
Holy fuck. I've been in conference rooms for the last few days and this is the first I'm seeing it!
One small correction, Jeff. After the Biden/Trump debate, my aunt said, "Well, that was bad, but it's not like I want to behead him and feed him to the hogs like I did with Nixon."
One thing I'm surprised you didn't go deeper into here is her awful body language (except the eyes, which you mentioned). Especially the *hands*. She's putting a hand over the interviewer's leg. She's making the double-handed "stop" gesture in the interviewer's face. She's doing the freaking bird hands - nobody ever coached her to never do the bird hands, as a candidate in 2025? And I know they're seated a bit close together, but personal space is still a thing, perhaps all the more important in tight quarters. No one would want to be sitting across from this person, and that's more basic than the "have a beer with" test.
Anyway, imagine being a "leader" and being unable to adjust to a change in circumstances - and not an *un*likely one, just maybe not the course you considered #1 most likely. I bet she thinks she's being a total girlboss for trying to cow a reporter into sticking to a script, though.
I have to brag that I thought Katie Porter and her whiteboard were full of shit from the get go, and that this meltdown doesn’t surprise me at all. When she was still in the House she tried to get cute with committee assignments and wound up pissing off all manner of colleagues (“go along to get along” is not the noblest of behaviors, but it is kind of the job description for a successful politician).
To your list of political train wrecks, I’d add Ted Kennedy’s 1979 interview with Roger Mudd, when he couldn’t give a coherent answer to the question of why he wanted to be President.
>> ... they don’t like it when their leaders throw a tantrum because an interview was insufficiently softball.
Unless of course that leader is Donald Trump. Then they either like (40%) or yawn.
P.S. I know how you like pedantry, so on the off chance that this hasn't already been pointed out, there is a world of difference between "electrical engineer" and "electrician," as every EE who has ever had to go to a party with new homeowners or old DIYers will be sure to tell you. "No, I do not have any idea why your ceiling fan does not work, and I cannot help you fix it."
The most mind-boggling thing is that she’d have done fine by just answering the question. It’s not hard! “Donald Trump is a dangerous, out of control dictator. [cite politically resonant examples] If you voted for him, and you agree that this is not okay and that he must be stopped, I promise I’ll do everything in my power as governor to protect your rights as a Californian and an American. If you think it’s okay that he [repeat examples], then I admit that I’m not the candidate for you, but I’m going to be honest with you [reporter’s name], I think most Californians, even the ones who voted for Trump, want a president who respects democracy and doesn’t think he’s above the law”
Can I just state emphatically for the record, as a native son of the state of Alabama (same weather as Georgia, basically) who got tf out of there asap because I couldn’t stand melting in the sweaty sun for even one more miserable fucking day, that the weather in Georgia is not “good”; it is not “halfway-decent”; it is not even “acceptable”. It is, however, and this is the best one can say for it, quite sunny! On the other hand it is 103°F every day for a good four months if you include the humidity/heat index—though only in the mid- to high-90s if you don’t! Oh and then another month or two of high-80s/low-90s on either side of that. But hey, at least it’s not a bad drive to some great beaches, both on the Gulf and the Atlantic, so that’s a real improvement over the equally sweaty parts of the Midwest (lookin’ at you, St. Louis).
The other thing is (sorta) true though: housing is cheap(ish)—certainly cheap compared to California. At this point though if you wanna live anywhere near Atlanta you’re gonna have to pony up, especially compared to 10-15 years ago—and you’re gonna wanna live someplace at least a within easy day-trip distance of Atlanta, I promise (I’ve got lots of family in Georgia, I know the drill).
If you’re really into the hot + sunny thing, might I suggest upstate South Carolina instead? Greenville has been booming, it’s a super quick drive to Asheville/western NC (one of the loveliest places on this earth), and you can escape into those mountains when it’s only early May and you just can’t take yet another day of Perspiration and Suffering (which would be a nice Deep South town name to complement Truth or Consequences, NM—which is a real place for the few of you who’ve never heard of it!). You’ll still be *WAY* south of where I’ll ever be willing to live again, but it’s a very pretty area at least (with plenty of cheap housing still around, last I looked)—plus I have a somewhat eccentric love of Syracuse-level lake effect snow and the like so I’m a bad person for most people to emulate, I suppose.
The idea of Katie Porter living in the Deep South for even 36 hours *is* kinda funny to imagine though, not gonna lie…
Republicans, I am begging you. Run a sane, moderate Republican in California and you will win, handily. Of course you won’t, it’s no longer in your nature, but I’m telling you, there is gold in them thar hills if you can get your shit together.
I would settle for a sane, moderate Democrat.....
Oh I’ve all but written off this possibility, but yes definitely that would be amazing.
[edit] thinking about this further, a sane Republican would force more sane Democrats into the field, and vice versa. So yeah, bring em both on.
There is an old joke that goes, "Heaven is a government by Southern Democrats and Northern Republicans; Hell is a government by Southern Republicans and Northern Democrats." The joke needs to be updated for the West Coast politicians who have found new levels of crazy.
Paging Kevin Faulconer
What is truly impressive about this interview is that it manages to look bad on paper and then you watch it and it's WORSE. The written analysis undersells how miserable this was for everyone involved!
Yup. To get the context before reading I watched the clip they showed on Fox - FOX! - and thought she was embarrassing. Then I watched the clips here and thought: no wait, she's just being embarrassing tactically to cover for being vile.
Don't forget that this is the same Katie Porter who alleged that the Senate primary she lost to Adam Schiff was "rigged." The apparent basis for this claim was that he raised and spent more money than she did. After all the pain that Trump put the country through with his election rigging claims, that she could claim "rigging" against a fellow Democrat (or anyone for that matter) should have disqualified her for further office then and there.
I can only hope that Jeff's prediction that her political career is over is true, but knowing my fellow California Democrats, I have my doubts.
To be fair, the rigging in question was that Adam Schiff helped juice the Republican's campaign in the primary so he wouldn't have to have the run off against another Democrat. I dislike Adam Schiff for this reason, but it doesn't cause me to like Katie Porter instead.
What did I just watch? That was insane, this woman has run in an election for something? And won? According to Wikipedia she used to be a member of Congress, did she ever have an interview for that? Has there been a followup from her "camp"? Maybe the flu? Or a twin?
Apparently, in addition to Cadillac health care and free hair cuts, Congress also has a free, all you can eat 24 hour buffet.....
Oh calm it down there, Rush Limbaugh, Jr., good lord. I hope you’re a very fine physical specimen if you’re making remarks like that about a pretty ordinary-looking woman (and I mean that in a neutral, non-insulting sense).
God, how awesome would it be to actually have an identical twin as a politician? It'd be an automatic get-out-jail-free card. Just get them to go on camera and say "Yeah, I was the one who took all that coke in the nightclub and then punched that nun"
Kinda insane she wasn't getting buried already from the litany (not a single incident!) of DV accusations her ex-husband made against her in their divorce.
Damn, I don’t think I had heard of that! Always been kinda fascinated by the phenomenon of female-on-male DV, but yeah… in her case I guess I can see it now that I’ve seen this interview.
The courts sided with her and gave her full custody of their kids while the ex-husband left the state. I think the several reports of her berating her staff should be noted as well. If she can't manage a Congressional staff then how can she manage the largest subnational economy in the world? https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/08/katie-porter-tears-into-staffer-new-video-00598942
Mr. Maurer—Thank you for this. I can’t tell you what a pleasure it is to read something by someone who actually knows how to write.
Too bad. I liked her when she came on the scene. She was a fighter. Same way I liked Michael Avenatti. Ohhhh—
why is being a "fighter" a good thing in politics? Antagonism is definitionally.. well... against compromise and politics, especially in a 49-51 or hell even a 60-40 country.. Kind of important..
When people think they're under attack from one group or another, they like someone who will stand tough and fight back and not shrink away from the conflict. Republicana felt they wee under attack for the Obama presidency and thought the likes of John Boehner and Mitt Romney were way too congenial and mushy about it, so when Trump came on the scene they flocked to him. Now it's Dems who feel under siege and want someone who stands up firmly against Trump, which is why Gavin Newsom's profile has risen lately as he's been very openly antagonizing him on Twitter, and Chuck Schumer's approval is in the toilet with his own voters as he's been seen as way too slow and limited in what he's doing to fight back.
It doesn't always have to be strictly a left-right fight though. Bernie Sanders was seen as a fighter more against private companies and the perceived moderate establishment of the Democratic Party than against the right, which his supporters liked.
Agree. I also think Trump is uniquely horrible and we shouldn’t pretend otherwise. The hard part is that his voters are not all horrible, thus the problem with messaging.
Eh. Most voters are horrible. I’m a bit nihilistic on the process. Social media has put politicians and voters too in touch with each other and the feedback loop of egotism is going critical. It’s not just Trump. All of them have this cult of personality wannabe intellectual thing going on.
Like guys. Your servants. Public servants. We should be treating politicians like the help. It should be a shitty job where you have to shut up your whole term. Do your business. And go home when you’re done.
These people get upheld as if they’re important or special. They’re not. As this video proves. And as Trump proves. They’re just people with outsized egos.
Voters have ruined politicians by turning them into totems.
Holy fuck. I've been in conference rooms for the last few days and this is the first I'm seeing it!
One small correction, Jeff. After the Biden/Trump debate, my aunt said, "Well, that was bad, but it's not like I want to behead him and feed him to the hogs like I did with Nixon."
One thing I'm surprised you didn't go deeper into here is her awful body language (except the eyes, which you mentioned). Especially the *hands*. She's putting a hand over the interviewer's leg. She's making the double-handed "stop" gesture in the interviewer's face. She's doing the freaking bird hands - nobody ever coached her to never do the bird hands, as a candidate in 2025? And I know they're seated a bit close together, but personal space is still a thing, perhaps all the more important in tight quarters. No one would want to be sitting across from this person, and that's more basic than the "have a beer with" test.
Anyway, imagine being a "leader" and being unable to adjust to a change in circumstances - and not an *un*likely one, just maybe not the course you considered #1 most likely. I bet she thinks she's being a total girlboss for trying to cow a reporter into sticking to a script, though.
I have to brag that I thought Katie Porter and her whiteboard were full of shit from the get go, and that this meltdown doesn’t surprise me at all. When she was still in the House she tried to get cute with committee assignments and wound up pissing off all manner of colleagues (“go along to get along” is not the noblest of behaviors, but it is kind of the job description for a successful politician).
To your list of political train wrecks, I’d add Ted Kennedy’s 1979 interview with Roger Mudd, when he couldn’t give a coherent answer to the question of why he wanted to be President.
remember her reading that stupid book with a smirk on her face during some congress session? it was titled “how to not give a fuck” or something
>> ... they don’t like it when their leaders throw a tantrum because an interview was insufficiently softball.
Unless of course that leader is Donald Trump. Then they either like (40%) or yawn.
P.S. I know how you like pedantry, so on the off chance that this hasn't already been pointed out, there is a world of difference between "electrical engineer" and "electrician," as every EE who has ever had to go to a party with new homeowners or old DIYers will be sure to tell you. "No, I do not have any idea why your ceiling fan does not work, and I cannot help you fix it."
That’s because Trump is a funny old rascal.
The most mind-boggling thing is that she’d have done fine by just answering the question. It’s not hard! “Donald Trump is a dangerous, out of control dictator. [cite politically resonant examples] If you voted for him, and you agree that this is not okay and that he must be stopped, I promise I’ll do everything in my power as governor to protect your rights as a Californian and an American. If you think it’s okay that he [repeat examples], then I admit that I’m not the candidate for you, but I’m going to be honest with you [reporter’s name], I think most Californians, even the ones who voted for Trump, want a president who respects democracy and doesn’t think he’s above the law”
Can I just state emphatically for the record, as a native son of the state of Alabama (same weather as Georgia, basically) who got tf out of there asap because I couldn’t stand melting in the sweaty sun for even one more miserable fucking day, that the weather in Georgia is not “good”; it is not “halfway-decent”; it is not even “acceptable”. It is, however, and this is the best one can say for it, quite sunny! On the other hand it is 103°F every day for a good four months if you include the humidity/heat index—though only in the mid- to high-90s if you don’t! Oh and then another month or two of high-80s/low-90s on either side of that. But hey, at least it’s not a bad drive to some great beaches, both on the Gulf and the Atlantic, so that’s a real improvement over the equally sweaty parts of the Midwest (lookin’ at you, St. Louis).
The other thing is (sorta) true though: housing is cheap(ish)—certainly cheap compared to California. At this point though if you wanna live anywhere near Atlanta you’re gonna have to pony up, especially compared to 10-15 years ago—and you’re gonna wanna live someplace at least a within easy day-trip distance of Atlanta, I promise (I’ve got lots of family in Georgia, I know the drill).
If you’re really into the hot + sunny thing, might I suggest upstate South Carolina instead? Greenville has been booming, it’s a super quick drive to Asheville/western NC (one of the loveliest places on this earth), and you can escape into those mountains when it’s only early May and you just can’t take yet another day of Perspiration and Suffering (which would be a nice Deep South town name to complement Truth or Consequences, NM—which is a real place for the few of you who’ve never heard of it!). You’ll still be *WAY* south of where I’ll ever be willing to live again, but it’s a very pretty area at least (with plenty of cheap housing still around, last I looked)—plus I have a somewhat eccentric love of Syracuse-level lake effect snow and the like so I’m a bad person for most people to emulate, I suppose.
The idea of Katie Porter living in the Deep South for even 36 hours *is* kinda funny to imagine though, not gonna lie…
She has the AWFL vote cornered.
Oh man, the Sacramento Bee’s most laughable opinion writer just came out with this gem
“Porter’s real sin, then, perhaps, was not just that she was caught being rude, but that she was rude while being a woman.
And that’s something the American public is yet unwilling to forgive.”
I’m sure her editor gave her the assignment of writing an opinion piece so bad that it would get at least 1 million shares
https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/article312434184.html
This is a great post Jeff thanks!
I had a lot of fun, though I think my new medications helped.
And that local reporter is cute, er,
wait-very intelligent and hard working!
Boy did she work hard.
I'd rather vote for her.....