At the end of MSNBC's Morning Joe on Monday, the Democratic Party apologists conducted a friendly chat with disgraced Congresswoman Katie Hill. To refresh your memory, freshman Representative Hill had to resign over leaked naked photos detailing her affair with a female staffer. But you wouldn’t know that from the interview, where Brzezinski tap danced around any hint of impropriety on Hill’s part:
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Joining us now, former Democratic Congresswoman Katie Hill of California. She's the author of the new book, She Will Rise: Becoming a Warrior in the Battle for True Equality, which comes out tomorrow. Katie, welcome back to the show. It's good to see you. So many questions. I'd love to hear about the journey and your thought process in terms of writing this book. What was the message you wanted to share?
You want to know the message that she wants to share? Not a question about sex with the office help? That teed up Hill to attack America as sexist rather than accept the consequences of her own mistakes:
But what I decided was in writing this book I needed to lay out what is going to be my mission for moving forward. And that's supporting women getting elected for office and helping to dismantle the road blocks we all face, systemically, to facing misogynistic society and how we're going to be able to change that. The bottom line is that we need to elect more women up and down the ballot and for us to achieve change, that's what it's going to take.
Really?! She wasn’t forced out because of a sexist society, she was forced about over a sex scandal with a staffer that was the exact kind of thing that any male politician would rightfully be condemned for, especially in the #MeToo era. But correspondent Kasie Hunt pitched another softball that Hill was the victim of sexism:
KASIE HUNT: So Katie, do you regret at all stepping back? Do you feel as though the system in the situation that you found yourself in was more likely to push a woman out than perhaps a man?
HILL: I think the system was absolutely more likely to push a woman out than a man, and I feel like, you know, we see the double standards play out in so many different ways. We're seeing it play out in the vice presidential pick and the way that women are described -- the women who are in the running for that are described as overly ambitious or, you know, too in it for themselves. And you're just going to see that over and over again. But, yes, I think that the salaciousness of what happened with me and the fact that I was a woman, a young woman, all contributed to me feeling like I needed to step down.
Hill made a series of serious mistakes, but MSNBC just wants to bring her on to engage in group therapy and desperately try to make her palatable again. Brzezinski called her a "victim of revenge porn." But now she's launched a podcast called....Naked Politics.
Safelite and Choice Hotels both sponsored this therapy session, go here and tell them how you feel about that.
Read the full transcript below to learn more.
MSNBC’s Morning Joe
8-10-20
8:54 AM ET
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Joining us now, former democratic congresswoman Katie Hill of California. She's the author of the new book "She will rise: Becoming a warrior in the battle for true equality" which comes out tomorrow. Katie, welcome back to the show. It's good to see you. So many questions. I'd love to hear about the journey and your thought process in terms of writing this book. What was the message you wanted to share?
KATIE HILL: Sure. I mean, this has been a crazy year for me, right? My brother died shortly after I resigned.
BRZEZINSKI: I’m so sorry.
HILL: Thank you. But what I decided was in writing this book I needed to lay out what is going to be my mission for moving forward. And that's supporting women getting elected for office and helping to dismantle the road blocks we all face, systemically, to facing misogynistic society and how we're going to be able to change that. The bottom line is that we need to elect more women up and down the ballot and for us to achieve change, that's what it's going to take.
BRZEZINSKI: And you were one of those women who were elected. So I guess, how much does your book address your departure and what happened during that time?
HILL: Yeah, the first chunk of my book is really about what led to, you know, my resignation. What led me in my life to where I was, including the resignation. At the time, I felt like it was the best and the only decision for me to make for myself, my family, my constituents, my colleagues, my staff. And you know, I can't say that I regret it, but I also feel like there's a lot more that I can do by, you know, being on the outside and helping support dozens of women, maybe even over the course of time, hundreds of women to make it into office and be real leaders and help make the changes that we need.
BRZEZINSKI: Kasie Hunt?
KASIE HUNT: So Katie, do you regret at all stepping back? Do you feel as though the system in the situation that you found yourself in was more likely to push a woman out than perhaps a man?
HILL: I think the system was absolutely more likely to push a woman out than a man, and I feel like, you know, we see the double standards play out in so many different ways. We're seeing it play out in the vice presidential pick and the way that women are described -- the women who are in the running for that are described as overly ambitious or, you know, too in it for themselves. And you're just going to see that over and over again. But, yes, I think that the salaciousness of what happened with me and the fact that I was a woman, a young woman, all contributed to me feeling like I needed to step down.
BRZEZINSKI: And Katie, how self-reflective are you about that experience? You were a victim of revenge porn. I'm personally glad you're fighting back. I'm glad you're back on television. I'm glad you're working on your career again and you haven't let it destroy you. You were reportedly threatened by your ex-husband that he would ruin you. And I'm glad you're fighting back. I just have to ask, though, do you regret, as pictures were released, anything about your life? It's totally wrong that the pictures were released, and that's worth fighting for, but anything about what happened in your life during that time, how self-reflective are you on a balanced level? Are there things you wouldn't have done looking back?
HILL: Of course there's things I wouldn't have done. Writing this book and being quarantined, there's been nothing but self-reflection. Probably the longest period in my life to have done that. Some of the mistakes are obvious, and I think when it comes down to it, the simplest way of describing it is that I allowed myself to get too close to my staff and to not draw, you know, the clear boundaries that you should have. And I think that was a trap that I fell into for a number of things I discussed in the book, including the relationship that I had with my husband. But the biggest guilt that I feel around it is the way this whole thing has impacted my staff and I hope that, you know, I can gain trust and forgiveness moving forward. That's part of the work that I do now.
BRZEZINSKI: Totally get what you're saying. The new book is "She will rise: Becoming a warrior in the battle for true equality." Katie hill, I've tried to reach out to you a few times. Your staff loves you very much. They were very protective and hung up on me, but in like a good way. So I do understand those regrets, and I wish you the best and come back. Good luck with the book.
