California Rep. Katie Porter continued her CBS book tour and Senate campaign by making her way over to The Late Show on Tuesday where host Stephen Colbert helped her out by asking “Do you ever feel insulted that no one is trying to bribe you?” While Porter and Colbert tried to portray her as incorruptible public servant, the facts are more complicated.
Standing in alleged contrast to Porter is Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Colbert put the ball on the tee for Porter as he asked, “Yesterday we were talking about Justice Clarence Thomas and the latest revelations about his enjoyment of the half-million dollar trips to the South Seas and the yacht life and as one who talks about elitism in our government, do you have anything to say about his penchant for fine cigars and mountain retreats?”
Porter was happy to use the situation to go after Thomas and hype her book, “Yeah, well, I think the hypocrisy is rich. I mean, he talks about enjoying the RV lifestyle and I would presume that he drives his RV to the private airport where he gets on the private jet to go to the private island and I bet it’s even a private RV... It really is and so he’s living that lifestyle and meanwhile I'm in a minivan.”
As opposed to a public RV? That curious attack aside, Colbert switched to the book and campaign and sarcastically wondered, “You’ve served in the House since 2019 and now you've announced that you're running for the Senate to--why would you want to be a senator instead of a congressperson? You don't get to raise money constantly and you don't get to run for office every two years.”
After responding that campaigning is actually the “most fun part of the job,” Porter admitted that being in the Senate will give her even more opportunities to do viral stunts in committee hearings, “The other thing say I'll say about why running for the Senate, in the Senate do you to serve him twice as many committees… that's like double roasted coffee. It’s like double roasted white boards. Think about the force multiplier there.”
Colbert then put the ball on the tee one more time, “Do you ever feel insulted that no one is trying to bribe you?”
Porter replied by telling a story, “I mean, think how fun it would be to tell them off, but that never happens to me. I did have, when I first got to Washington I had somebody, a lobbyist said ‘oh, you’re--you're-- one of those.”
After Colbert asked “what did that mean?” Porter continued “I don't know, I thought attractive, you know, single woman. I was like—and he said no, no, someone who doesn't take corporate PAC money and now I don't take lobbyist money either after he said ‘don't worry, we'll break you’ And he has not. He has not. But that was a powerful lesson.”
That’s not true. Porter takes in money from several lobbyists including, but certainly not limited to, J Street, EMILY's List, and Planned Parenthood. If Porter meant corporate money, that would still be wrong as she as accepts money from Disney, Warner Brothers Discovery, and Kaiser Permanente, among others.
This segment was sponsored by Hyundai.
CBS The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
4/12/2023
12:24 AM ET
STEPHEN COLBERT: Yesterday we were talking about Justice Clarence Thomas and the latest revelations about his enjoyment of the half-million dollar trips to the South Seas and the yacht life and as one who talks about elitism in our government, do you have anything to say about his penchant for fine cigars and mountain retreats?
KATIE PORTER: Yeah, well, I think the hypocrisy is rich. I mean, he talks about enjoying the RV lifestyle and I would presume that he drives his RV to the private airport where he gets on the private jet to go to the private island.
COLBERT: SURE
PORTER: And I bet it’s even a private RV.
COLBERT: Yes, but what is the private jet but the RV of the skies?
PORTER: That’s right, that’s right. It really is and so he’s living that lifestyle—
COLBERT: Sure.
PORTER: -- and meanwhile I'm in a minivan.
COLBERT Yes, but we will get to that in just a moment. The name of your book is called I Swear: Politics is Messier Than My Minivan.
You’ve served in the House since 2019 and now you've announced that you're running for the Senate to--why would you want to be a senator instead of a congressperson? You don't get to raise money constantly and you don't get to run for office every two years.
PORTER: So, first, I think running for office is the most fun part of the job that was a surprise to me. I went to Washington, I wanted to be a policy nerd and I thought I would love Washington and I say in the book and this is true, Washington, D.C., is where time goes to get wasted. The really valuable work I do is actually the campaigning, it’s listening to people, it's knocking doors, it's town halls, all of that stuff, the kissing babies and puppies and that's pure joy and Washington, D.C., is, sort of, the price you pay for the fun of campaigning.
The other thing say I'll say about why running for the Senate, in the Senate do you to serve him twice as many committees and that means—
COLBERT: Oh, because there’s a fourth as many people.
PORTER: There’s a fourth as many people so you get twice as many committees and that's like double roasted coffee. It’s like double roasted white boards. Think about the force multiplier there.
COLBERT: Do you ever feel insulted that no one is trying to bribe you?
PORTER: Yes, yes. I mean, think how fun it would be to tell them off, but that never happens to me. I did have, when I first got to Washington I had somebody, a lobbyist said “oh, you’re--you're-- one of those.”
COLBERT: What did that mean?
PORTER: I don't know, I thought attractive, you know, single woman. I was like—and he said no, no, someone who doesn't take corporate PAC money and now I don't take lobbyist money either after he said don't worry, ‘we'll break you.’
COLBERT: What?
PORTER: And he has not. He has not. But that was a powerful lesson.
