representative famous for skewering corporate CEOs in congressional hearings — is sick of the “glacial” pace of the U.S.The Golden State’s primary election wraps up Tuesday, March 5. And Porter stands out in the crowded field by makingresilience and clean technology, as well an end to subsidies for Big Oil, which she would also force to pay the full cleanup costs for irresponsible drilling.
If we want change — and faster change — on life-and-death issues like climate change, we need to send people to Washington who will do things differently. The glacial pace in the Senate is not getting us where we need to be. If you send someone there who has been vigorous — I think it’s fair to say — in his defense of politics-as-usual, who has been unrepentant about taking corporate money and then voting like it, this is not going to change the policies of Washington.
Why should voters trust me on climate? I serve on the House Natural Resources Committee. I’m the only candidate in this race who has actually put in the time behind their talking points — and served on a committee that has direct jurisdiction over climate issues, vulnerable species, water issues, holding polluters accountable. This has not been a priority for these other candidates.
But nobody makes you take money from big corporations. That is a choice that each candidate makes. Nobody makes you take money from federal lobbyists. That’s a choice. We need to do other good-government things, abolishing the filibuster is huge. Banning the singular holds on nominations. This idea that any single U.S. Senator can halt the entire business of our democracy is terrible.
It was long a point of pride that California had two women senators. With reproductive rights now on the chopping block, politically, what’s your pitch, as a woman and a mother, about the importance of that kind of representation?