Rep. Katie Porter's working-class politics

The Gray Area with Sean Illing

Vox Media Podcast Network

Society & Culture, News, Politics, News Commentary, Philosophy

4.6 • 10.8K Ratings

🗓️ 13 April 2023

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Rep. Katie Porter became well-known for using a whiteboard and asking tough questions during Congressional hearings. Her frank questions resonated with the public because they represented the concerns of so many Americans. In this episode, she joins Sean Illing to discuss her "brand" of authenticity, the problem with having so many millionaires in Congress, and her new book, I Swear: Politics Is Messier Than My Minivan. Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area Guest: Rep. Katie Porter (@RepKatiePorter), U.S. Representative from the 47th Congressional District in Orange County, California. References: I Swear: Politics Is Messier Than My Minivan by Representative Katie Porter (Penguin Random House, 2023) Enjoyed this episode? Rate The Gray Area ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear the next episode of The Gray Area. Subscribe in your favorite podcast app. Support The Gray Area by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts This episode was made by: Engineer: Patrick Boyd Editorial Director, Vox Talk: A.M. Hall Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	In 1992, the artist Zoe Leonard wrote a poem called,
0:04.3	I Want A President.
0:05.9	I want a president with no air conditioning.
0:09.0	A president who stood online at the clinic,
0:12.1	at the DMV, at the welfare office, and has been unimped.
0:16.4	This is a clip of Leonard reading her poem 24 years after she wrote it.
0:21.0	The poem was inspired by Eileen Miles,
0:24.5	a gay artist without health insurance who made less than $50,000 a year.
0:29.5	Miles launched a presidential writing campaign in 1991,
0:33.8	even though they knew there was no way they'd ever win.
0:38.3	During the 2016 election, the text became popular again.
0:42.4	I want a black woman for president.
0:45.9	I want someone with bad teeth and an attitude.
0:51.1	I want someone who was eating that nasty hospital food.
0:55.4	In a response to the poem's resurgence,
0:57.9	she said she's still taken by the idea
1:01.1	that government cannot only be of the people and for the people,
1:04.5	but most importantly, by the people.
1:07.1	That means us.
1:10.6	It's an old idea to be sure, but a damn good one.
1:14.3	And it's not a trivial thing because so much of our lives turns on factors like
1:19.6	our socioeconomic status.
	...

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