Rep. Katie Porter made it clear that she does not fear Pelosi or anyone as she tries to prevent the insider trading politicians do.
Congresswoman Katie Porter taking prisoners
Chris Hayes played devil’s advocate for why politicians should be able to trade stocks.
“Members of Congress are just people,” Hayes said. “They have investments, and it’s just going to coincidentally intersect. You’re doing stuff in the public interest. You’re taking investment advice. It doesn’t mean that it’s corrupt.”
Katie Porter hit the nail on the head as she explained the folly of the statement.
“The problem here is not just one of actual corruption. It’s also one of perception,” Katie Porter said. “The American people simply do not trust our federal government in many cases. And this is an example, about one in four Americans trust leaders in Washington to do what’s right. So we need to be earning back their trust, and the way to do that is to hold ourselves to a higher standard. And so we need to simply been trading stocks by members of Congress.”
Nancy Pelosi, a few weeks ago, when asked about this same issue, made an ill-advised statement. She just yelled that she was a capitalist and implied there was no problem. Too often, that is the problem. These politicians are so deep in with the plutocracy that their morals, even those who do generally well by the poor and middle-class, seem to get tunnel vision.
Porter would have none of that.
“Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi was wrong,” Hayes said. “I’m glad that she’s changed her mind. I think that’s a marker of leadership. But, you know, the reality is, I am always willing to stand up to leaders of both parties, including my own party. And I’m really gratified here that she is changing her mind. She said when she initially was asked about this that we have a free market economy. Well, she would also be the first, I think, to say that we have a free democracy. And that means what the American people want, what they feel strongly about, what they need to trust their leaders we should be delivering. And that’s what I think her change in position signaled.”
Katie Porter is an asset to the Progressive movement. She is fearless and represents the kind of leader we need in the movement.
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