Scott Baugh says Democrat Representative Katie Porter lives in a glass house—and he’s lobbing stones to shatter this incumbent’s goal of re-election.
Baugh is no stranger to politics. He spent five years in the California Assembly (1995-2000), and was the Orange County Republican Chair for 11 years (2004-2015). Baugh understands what it takes to mount a campaign, and understands what it takes to win. So, I asked him why Republicans cannot seem to make inroads into stemming the tide of California’s downhill slide. Baugh’s response was illuminating:
WATCH:
The independent California Redistricting Commission redrew the boundaries for California 47, taking a portion of the district currently served by Republican Rep. Michelle Steel, with the portion represented by Katie Porter and combining them into one. California 47 incorporates the Orange County coastal cities, stretching from Seal Beach all the way south to Laguna Beach. Porter has a stronghold in that one-third that she now represents: The City of Irvine. But Baugh insists that he has the competitive edge over Porter because he is getting his message not only to the disaffected people of Irvine, but to the people of Costa Mesa, Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, and Laguna Beach, a good majority of whom do not care for Porter’s politics.
“We go door to door and we talked to Republicans, we talked to Independents, we talked to Democrats, and we talk about our vision versus Porter’s vision.
“Porter’s vision is higher gas prices and higher food prices and open borders. The problems caused by open borders, with fentanyl coming across, and our youth dying every day. Over 100,000 last year, most of them died from fentanyl, and now the drug cartels are making it look like candy. So, it’s going to start affecting younger and younger children. Well, these are the things that bring crime in and I don’t think the people of this district, I don’t care whether you live in Irvine or Huntington Beach, you don’t want crime coming into this district, you don’t want high prices for gasoline, you don’t want high prices for food, and that’s what we’re going to stop.”
In talking about the race and what the choices are — individual freedom or socialism — Baugh said with great conviction:
“Socialism takes away the dignity of the individual.”
Baugh referenced the discourse of C.S. Lewis in his book, The Abolition of Man. Lewis expounded upon the concept of men without chests:
“We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful.“
Baugh expressed that,
“When you hand people everything, they are those men without chests. There is nothing to lead them; no drive or ambition. I want to restore and maintain that dignity—that is why I’m running.”
Baugh unpacked a bit more about how Katie Porter stands for a socialist agenda, and why he chose to step into the race:
READ RELATED: WaPo, AP: On further review, it sure looks like the Saudis f'd with a Biden, no?
RedState has covered recent revelations about Katie Porter and how her marketed image of fighting for the Orange County taxpayer does not line up with her actions of living high and mighty off the taxpayer’s dime.
First is her continued relationship with the University of California Irvine. Before Porter ran for U.S. Congress, she was a law professor with the institution and was able to receive the subsidized mortgage and property taxes afforded to staff of the educational institution. However, Porter has been a representative since 2019, but has not relinquished her residence on the UIC campus. She is able to maintain the residence thanks to UIC placing her on “administrative leave,” rather than having her employment status terminated.
“The hypocrisy shines,” Baugh said.
“And that housing subsidy designed to benefit students that she’s taking advantage of with taxpayer money right now, I think it’s an illegal gift of taxpayer funds to allow this so-called leave of absence to go on indefinitely. Nobody has an indefinite leave of absence, and so she gets a benefit because she gets the lower price of that house.”
The median price of a 1-2 bedroom home in Irvine is around $800,000. Tack on property taxes, and you have an area that the majority of Californians cannot even dream of affording. But on her $174,000 congressional salary, Porter is able to maintain two residences on two coasts.
“She doesn’t pay the full property taxes on that house. And she gets a discounted interest rate on that house,” Baugh continued.
“And just yesterday, she said in an article that everybody should have subsidized housing. Well, what does that do to the people that are renting? It’s just causing all the prices to go up, is causing taxes to go up.
“She lives in a world that’s theoretical, and it serves an ideological agenda, but it doesn’t serve the people of her district, and that’s why she’s going to lose.”
RedState also recently reported that Porter maligned her own Irvine Police Department over the arrest of a person alleged to be her domestic partner in the midst of an altercation at one of her town halls. Beyond Porter’s duplicity in showing one face to the public and another behind the scenes, it also exposes Porter’s complicated and even adversarial bent toward law enforcement, as Baugh pointed out:
The 2022 midterm elections are 33 days away and could well represent a pivotal shift in the direction of our country. Whether that shift will be a return to what the Founders intended and the common sense that is so lacking in our government officials or a permanent entrenchment into socialism remains to be seen. California has become a bellwether thanks to Governor Gavin Newsom and his radical agenda and radical representatives like Katie Porter.
Since Baugh is an attorney, I asked him what his closing argument would be to make the case to vote for him as California 47’s next congressional representative.
Here are some of my thoughts, and information on where you can support Scott Baugh’s campaign. If you are local to Southern California, they need volunteers to phone bank, precinct walk, and door knock.
Find out more at the campaign website.
Source:
