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I Swear

Politics Is Messier Than My Minivan

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A “high-octane, no-bullshit” (The New Republic) memoir about re-energizing our politics and standing up to corporate America—while carting three kids around in a minivan.
 
“Just like her whiteboard schoolings of CEOs, this book showcases Katie’s ability to entertain while making the inner workings of Congress more accessible than ever before.”—Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Never having run for office before, Katie Porter charted a new path in 2018 when she was elected to Congress as a Democrat in historically conservative Orange County, California. Underestimated as a single mom and chided for her progressive values, Katie defied expectations. Then, using her signature whiteboard, she began to take CEOs and corrupt government officials to task in Congressional hearings. The videos went viral, introducing Americans to her no-bullshit style, and making her a coveted guest on cable news and late-night television.  
 
I SWEAR: Politics Is Messier Than My Minivan is a witty, down-to-earth exploration of what it’s really like to serve in Congress, particularly as a single mom. Katie offers Americans a clear picture of what their elected leaders are doing—and how they’re doing it—exposing the gaps between politicians’ press conferences and real people’s lives. 
 
Katie reveals how her challenges as an Iowa farmgirl diverted her to the Ivy League and how she came to see herself as a Californian, teaching law and raising three kids in Orange County. She shares why she made the jump from academia to politics and how she quickly mastered the art of making CEOs and cabinet members squirm when they bluff and bloviate instead of doing the job for America.
 
With the same clarity she demonstrates in Congressional hearings, Katie makes the case for consumer protection, corporate accountability, and anti-corruption reforms. She pulls back the curtain on the political messaging machine, campaign fundraising, and Congress’ traditions, showing that the way things have always worked, in fact, does not work for a Congressperson without someone at home to do the shopping and take care of the kids. Along the way, she provides whiteboard lessons on where your campaign donations go, how to fight the corporations that cheat you, and how to conduct her trademark robust oversight. 
 
Full of candid and inspiring stories—from how Katie lent Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a pair of sneakers during the Capitol attack on January 6, 2021, to her kids’ lightly illegal campaign hijinks—this is a book by an exhausted, committed parent who just doesn’t have the time for nonsense in her house or in the House of Representatives.
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    • Kirkus

      April 1, 2023
      Debut memoir from the whiteboard-wielding U.S. representative. Since her election to the House of Representatives in 2018, Porter has established a reputation as a no-nonsense single mother fighting on behalf of everyday people. As an Iowa native who spent her early childhood on the family farm, Porter comes by her Everywoman persona honestly. Later, she graduated from Phillips Academy, Yale, and Harvard Law School, and she counts Elena Kagan, Elizabeth Warren, and Kamala Harris among her mentors. Had Hillary Clinton won the presidency in 2020, Porter would have been on her transition team. Although the author never planned to run for office, she's not exactly a political outsider. Maybe it's the tension between these very different aspects of her story that makes her come across as defensive. Eschewing a chronological narrative, Porter offers a series of essays that don't fully cohere thematically or stylistically. There are autobiographical vignettes; detailed--possibly too detailed--descriptions of her work as an academic specializing in bankruptcy law; and numerous diatribes. Some chapters are terrific. Her fiery explanation of how difficult it is to serve in Congress unless you're independently wealthy should make us all angry, and her account of the role domestic violence has played in her life is affecting. Her description of the senior project she completed at Yale--about a dying Iowa city being "revitalized" by big agriculture--serves as a sort of intellectual and political origin story. The author seldom misses an opportunity to take a swipe at someone--her staffers and House colleagues get especially rough treatment--and the chief takeaway from her brief account of the Jan. 6 insurrection is that while she was largely unfazed, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was distraught, hoping that the MAGA hordes wouldn't recognize her. The only person who emerges from these pages looking good is Sen. Warren, someone for whom Porter has genuine respect and affection. Porter is a remarkable woman, but she undercuts her important accomplishments in the way she tells her story.

      COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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  • English

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