Anyone who watches politics closely knows that Katie Porter is an up-and-coming superstar, someone who could easily inherit Sen. Diane Feinstein’s seat someday, if not more. We can dream.

But Katie Porter is less “Feinstein” and much more “Warren,” as in Elizabeth Warren, her mentor, and teacher at Harvard. Like Warren, Porter is particularly effective as a policy wonk who can lay things out with elegant simplicity.

As most everyone knows, Joe Manchin has anointed himself as the only Democrat who worries about how much things cost. Additionally, very self-important Joe is old enough to “know” that only bridges count as “infrastructure,” not touchy-feely “family stuff.” Joe wants that kid krap left on the floor and a stand-alone “bridge bill.” Katie was having none of it today on MSNBC and she simply wrecked Manchin on live television, see video below:

“I am going to be honest, I have no earthly idea where the stand-alone bill is coming from. Chris Cuomo asked me about it last night. I have no idea who has given you this crazy talking point. Let me be clear. women, parents, child care aren’t some special need, they’re a building block of our budget and of our economy and the exact same way that environmental standards are, the exact same way that dealing with clean energy investment, dealing with health care. This needs to go in the same bill because it is about the same things.”

Amazing what happens when we elect women and mothers to Congress, is it not?

… If we had the men who have run this country for hundreds of years, the wealthy men whose wives and others have taken care of child care so convinced it was important, we would have done something about child care 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago when other countries did it. So, I am not today all of a sudden convinced we have the will to deal with child care when we put off the issue decade after decade after decade.

Just like our bridges and airports, we spent decades, falling behind the rest of the world in childcare. And it doesn’t take a big leap in imagination to see it’s just as important as the fcking bridge. You cannot get to the bridge if you don’t have help with caring for your children.

Now Manchin’s faceplant:

… “Anyone that’s worried about spending, we can generate revenue so it isn’t about $3.5 trillion in spending. We will generate revenue to pay for things. I have the will to do it. The question is does Sen. Manchin or is he more concerned about corporate donors, including the oil and gas industry, big pharmaceutical industry and others getting away with paying nothing under the current tax system.”

Class dismissed.

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