{"id":26461,"date":"2023-05-14T12:50:42","date_gmt":"2023-05-14T19:50:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=26461"},"modified":"2023-05-14T12:50:43","modified_gmt":"2023-05-14T19:50:43","slug":"barbara-lee-and-katie-porter-met-for-a-senate-forum-heres-what-progressive-voters-took-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/05\/14\/barbara-lee-and-katie-porter-met-for-a-senate-forum-heres-what-progressive-voters-took-away\/","title":{"rendered":"Barbara Lee and Katie Porter met for a Senate forum. Here\u2019s what progressive voters took away"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

POLITICS<\/a>\/\/JOE GAROFOLI<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joe Garofoli<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

May 12, 2023 (SFChronicle.com)<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comments<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
A computer shows the virtual feed of a candidate forum featuring Reps. Barbara Lee and Katie Porter at El Rio in San Francisco on Friday. Both candidates are\u00a0running for a seat in the U.S. Senate.Benjamin Fanjoy\/Special to The Chronicle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Now that Sen. Dianne Feinstein has returned to the Senate<\/a> after a long illness, California progressives can pause their efforts to force her to resign and confront a decision that tears at their political hearts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who will they support to replace Feinstein: Orange County Rep. Katie Porter or Oakland Rep. Barbara Lee? Whoever wins over progressives will have a better chance at being one of the two candidates to advance out of the March primary to the November general election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No, it\u2019s not too early to start thinking about it. Progressives around California gathered at watch parties Thursday night for the first public candidate forum between Porter and Lee, hosted by the left-leaning Working Families Party. The third top candidate, Burbank Rep. Adam Schiff, didn\u2019t attend the Zoom-based forum. His campaign said he had a scheduling conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About 75 people watched a live stream of the forum at an epicenter of progressive California, the Pride flag-draped backyard of the El Rio bar in San Francisco\u2019s Mission District. It was the kind of crowd that cheered loudest when the candidates bragged about how they would hold the Democratic <\/em>Party accountable. It was already a given how much they loathed the GOP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen Democrats don\u2019t stand for working people, when Democrats don\u2019t stand for peace, when Democrats don\u2019t stand for constitutional authority in terms of waging war \u2026 and doing what is not in the best interest of the people, I\u2019m going to take them on and stand strong,\u201d Lee said \u2014 a line that earned one of the loudest ovations of the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think of the people who show up at early campaign events like this as the equivalent of social media influencers. If they\u2019re excited about a candidate, they\u2019ll be the first to volunteer for and donate to a campaign \u2014 and, just as important, spread their enthusiasm to their social circles. Lee, who likely will be outspent<\/a> by her opponents, needs to capture this crowd more than the others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in the absence of major policy differences with Porter, an early challenge forming for Lee, at least among this small sample size of voters, is concerns about her age. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the 76-year-old Lee has not publicly shown any sign of mental decline, she could be hurt by ongoing coverage of the 89-year-old Feinstein, who has been battling illness and concerns about her mental acuity \u2014 not to mention a presidential race that could pit Joe Biden, 80, versus Donald Trump, 76. Age and ageism will likely both be on the ballot next year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, in the only-in-California political gradation scale, Schiff counts as the moderate in this race, which means he has zero chance of scoring the Working Families endorsement as long as Porter and Lee are on the same ballot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Right about when he launched his Senate<\/a> campaign, Schiff applied<\/a> in January to join the Congressional Progressive Caucus, an organization that Lee and Porter have belonged to for years. He withdrew his request to join in early March. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow do we off Adam Schiff<\/a>, nonviolently?\u201d mused \u200b\u200bcomedian\/political commentator Francesca Fiorentini in the warm-up segment of Thursday\u2019s Working Families Party forum. Schiff\u2019s campaign was not amused. His campaign manager Brad Elkins tweeted<\/a> that \u201cthis type of language is dangerous, especially for someone like @AdamSchiff who faces constant death threats. I expect this from MAGA folks, not our friends.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working Families Party California Director Jane Kim responded that \u201cthere\u2019s no room for violence in our politics. And I don\u2019t think a single person at the forum took a comedian\u2019s off-hand comment as a genuine threat. (On Thursday) everyday Californians, including fast-food workers, young voters, and seniors got to ask serious policy questions of the candidates. We wish Congressman Schiff could have joined us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fiorentini\u2019s comment barely registered at the El Rio watch party. Many were too busy peering through microscopes trying to parse the policy differences between Porter and Lee. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe daylight between them is \u2026 \u201d said Connor Kelly, pausing for several moments to search for the right word, \u201csmall.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that is a good thing, said the 30-year-old food bank worker. \u201cIt\u2019s exciting to have that choice,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kelly said he is \u201cleaning toward\u201d Lee. He admired her for being the only member<\/a> of Congress not to vote to authorize the United States to go to war, a gutsy stand just days after Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt the same time,\u201d Kelly said, \u201cKatie Porter is also a badass.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lee waited roughly a minute into her 30-minute portion of the program to mention her signature anti-war vote. It was, she said, the mark of someone who isn\u2019t afraid to stand for their beliefs, even when it means taking on her own party.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She, like Porter, talked about progressive staples like a Medicare for all health care plan and the Green New Deal environmental plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was no lack of love or respect for Lee in this crowd. The attendees were well aware only two Black women have ever been elected to the Senate and only three current senators are Black. Lee, the former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, is making representation a central theme<\/a> of her campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But some did harbor concerns about her age, particularly in light of how Feinstein just returned to D.C. after missing 94 votes while recovering from shingles. Her absence also prevented Democrats from confirming liberal<\/a> judges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sydney Simpson, a 36-year-old nurse who is a member of the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, said the situation with Feinstein worried her. \u201cCan we get a guarantee that you\u2019re not gonna stick around too long. Do you know what I mean?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like a guarantee that Lee will only serve one term?  Lee told me<\/a> that she\u2019s not going to make that promise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, I know, that\u2019s pretty ageist of me,\u201d Simpson said. \u201cBut at the same time, we\u2019re in a really sticky situation right now with Feinstein. I don\u2019t want to put us in that situation again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on what she heard at the debate, Simpson is leaning toward Porter, who is 49. She likes how the third-term House member \u201cgets into the weeds of things. That is very comforting to me. I really appreciate her giving pointed, specific answers to questions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kim, the Working Families statewide director, said given that Lee and Porter have similar stands on most issues, the forum\u2019s questions were intended to show what each candidate would prioritize if they were elected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Porter was better at specifying. Housing would be at the top of her list, and Porter promised to demand that the federal government expand the housing voucher program for low-income residents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe federal government needs to stop pointing the finger at states and counties and cities and get in the game, helping on housing,\u201d Porter said to cheers. \u201cYour Democratic (Party) leadership doesn\u2019t seem to grapple with the problems of housing. They don\u2019t get that there\u2019s a huge federal need here and a huge federal role.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keith Baraka, a San Francisco firefighter, also said that he \u201cloved Barbara Lee,\u201d but Porter\u2019s stated focus on federal oversight<\/a> sold him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Baraka also had Feinstein-inspired concerns about Lee\u2019s age. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBless you for all the work you\u2019ve done, Barbara Lee \u2014 working with Black Panther Party, getting inspired by (the first Black presidential candidate for a major party) Shirley Chisholm,\u201d Baraka said. \u201cAll those things are wonderful. But now it\u2019s time to step aside and let another generation take the baton to work for progressive policies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kim projects big hopes for whoever picks up that baton. She wants someone who can appeal to the 3 out of every 4 voters under 30 who are people of color. She envisions a senator who will have an outsize national presence like Sen. Bernie Sanders, independent-Vt. \u2014 who Lee name-checked a few times Thursday \u2014 and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who was Porter\u2019s law school professor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Veteran California political strategist Garry South is dubious about how much value most voters will place in the candidates\u2019 progressive credentials given that there\u2019s \u201cnot much daylight between them.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSchiff is clearly more moderate in some ways than the other two,\u201d South said. \u201cBut Schiff was one of the impeachment managers and got thrown off of the House Intelligence Committee (for his pursuit of Trump.) The average Democrat is going to look at this and say there\u2019s just not a lot of difference between them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schiff had better hope so. Meanwhile, progressive Californians are starting to watch this race very closely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reach Joe Garofoli: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @joegarofoli.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Written By Joe Garofoli<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joe Garofoli is the San Francisco Chronicle\u2019s senior political writer, covering national and state politics. He has worked at The Chronicle since 2000 and in Bay Area journalism since 1992, when he left the Milwaukee Journal. He is the host of \u201cIt\u2019s All Political,\u201d The Chronicle\u2019s political podcast. Catch it here: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has won numerous awards and covered everything from fashion to the Jeffrey Dahmer serial killings to two Olympic Games to his own vasectomy \u2014 which he discussed on NPR\u2019s \u201cTalk of the Nation\u201d after being told he couldn\u2019t say the word \u201cballs\u201d on the air. He regularly appears on Bay Area radio and TV talking politics and is available to entertain at bar mitzvahs and First Communions. He is a graduate of Northwestern University and a proud native of Pittsburgh. Go Steelers!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"San<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\"HEARST\u00a92023 Hearst Communications, Inc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

POLITICS\/\/JOE GAROFOLI Joe Garofoli May 12, 2023 (SFChronicle.com) Comments Now that Sen. Dianne Feinstein has returned to the Senate after a long illness, California progressives can pause their efforts to force her to resign and confront a decision that tears at their political hearts. Who will they support to replace Feinstein: Orange… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[210,534],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26461"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26461"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26461\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26462,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26461\/revisions\/26462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}