Bursting at the Seams (with ideas!)

Beyond the Whiteboard is back! This summer was time with my kids and lots of reading, including the launch of my book account, @KatiePorterTurnsThePage.

Early this week, I was on Lovett or Leave It with Jon Lovett, part of Pod Save America media. About 5 minutes into our interview, after I had given a spirited explanation of the causes and consequences of Democrats failing to advance actual policy ideas, Jon Lovett looked at me and said:

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“You are just bursting at the seams. You are bored at home with your books.”

I love reading books for pleasure, and I love being Professor of Law at UC Irvine, which involves reading a lot of books. But he had a point. I am bursting at the seams for change. I want:

• A better democracy, including campaign finance reform,

• Less corruption, including a ban on congressional stock trading and ethics rules for the Supreme Court (and others!),

• An economy that will allow today’s kids to find meaning, and income, from their work,

• A slowing (heck, a complete stop!) from climate change and its harms, and

• No more Donald Trump. And certainly not in the White House.

To accomplish these goals, I want to hear ideas. Politicians are trained to parrot the problems of their constituents. It makes us sound relatable, and to be fair, many of the problems (like what job market will my college-aged kid find in a year, given AI) were actual problems in my life. Tell me what you think in the comments, but I think you know what your problems are.

What you would like, if you are anything like me, is some solution to those problems. That means actual policy ideas. Not all of them will be sound or feasible, but as I told Jon Lovett, the lack of imagination from Democratic leaders about policy solutions and implementation is pretty shocking.

While I have more to say on the political risks of avoiding policy in the coming weeks, Beyond the Whiteboard primarily will be a place to read about ideas and how politics can—indeed, must—bring these ideas to American’s lives. Stay tuned for regular content.

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