Palos Verdes Democrats will host 3 speakers for our March 15 hybrid meeting (both in-person and via Zoom). All 3 will present via Zoom, but we will meet in-person at the Peninsula Center Library and gather afterwards at Fuego Cravings in the Peninsula Center for a social hour.
To register for our meeting, please scroll to the bottom of this page and fill out the form.
Steve Posner is a professor at the University of Southern California, with graduate degrees from Harvard and USC. He is the creator of Democracy & the News, a resource designed to help keep his students informed and engaged as voters. He is the author of multiple books, including Israel Undercover: Secret Warfare and Hidden Diplomacy in the Middle East (Syracuse University Press), Billy Graham & Me (Simon & Schuster), and Spiritual Delights & Delusions (Wiley).
His talk at the PV Dems meeting will focus on Republican threats to overturn the 2026 midterms, drawing on two recent pieces: his San Francisco Chronicle article, “How Trump Can Keep the House Without Winning the Midterms,” and his Bulwark analysis, “The Dirty Move Republicans Could Pull to Keep the House.”
Next, Katie Porter, the leading Democratic candidate for Governor of California will join us.
Katie Porter brings a distinguished record of public service, scholarship, and advocacy on behalf of working families. She served as the U.S. Representative for Orange County from 2019 to 2025, first representing California’s 45th District and later the 47th after redistricting. Elected during the 2018 Democratic wave that reshaped Orange County politics, Porter quickly gained national recognition for her sharp questioning of corporate executives and government officials—often using her well-known whiteboard to clearly explain complex financial issues. She also served as Deputy Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Porter’s background combines academic excellence with deep expertise in consumer protection and financial regulation. Born in Fort Dodge, Iowa, she grew up on a farm before attending Phillips Academy and Yale University, where she majored in American Studies. She later graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where she studied under future Senator Elizabeth Warren. Porter went on to become a respected legal scholar, teaching at UC Irvine School of Law, the William S. Boyd School of Law, and the University of Iowa.
In 2012, California Attorney General Kamala Harris appointed Porter as the state’s independent monitor of banks in the landmark $25 billion national mortgage settlement, overseeing billions of dollars in reforms benefiting California homeowners. Her textbook Modern Consumer Law (2016) is widely considered a leading authority in the field.
As a candidate for Governor, Porter emphasizes protecting health care, defending environmental standards, expanding housing, improving disaster preparedness, and strengthening California’s economy.
Acclaimed Author and Journalist Sasha Abramsky will speak on the DOGE ruinous attack on the US Government. Sasha will discuss his new book, American Carnage: How Trump, Musk, and DOGE Butchered the U.S. Government. Abramsky’s book presents a sweeping examination of what he describes as the political, institutional, economic, and democratic damage inflicted on the United States through an initiative known as the Department of Governmental Efficiency, or “DOGE.”
According to Abramsky, DOGE emerged from the Heritage Foundation’s controversial “Project 2025,” and was empowered by Donald Trump and directed by Elon Musk, one of Trump’s largest political supporters. The program’s stated goals include the sweeping downsizing of federal agencies, implementation of “Schedule F” to convert career civil servants into political appointees, elimination of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs across government, and a restructuring of federal agencies to align them more closely with presidential authority and ideology.
Abramsky argues that these policies have produced far-reaching consequences. In addition to the loss of institutional expertise and widespread layoffs of federal employees, he reports that the initiative weakened government operations, exposed sensitive personal data, and diminished America’s global influence. One prominent example is the dismantling of USAID, which public health experts warn could contribute to major increases in preventable disease worldwide, including malaria, polio, and severe childhood malnutrition.
Beyond humanitarian impacts, Abramsky suggests that reduced international engagement will also affect American economic interests, including agriculture, trade, and public health. His book highlights the constitutional questions raised by these actions, emphasizing that Congress—not the president—holds authority to create or eliminate federal agencies and authorize spending.
Sasha Abramsky, a longtime contributor to The Nation and other major publications, is widely respected for his deeply researched reporting on democracy, inequality, and public policy.
“Shines a bright light on the human toll of Trump’s wrecking ball.” —Steven Greenhouse, New York Times
“Electrifying, devastating and utterly necessary. This book is political dynamite. I couldn’t put it down.” —Roman Krznaric, best-selling author of Empathy; The Good Ancestor; & History for Tomorrow
“Abramsky is an indefatigable warrior for justice whose journalism will both tug at your heart and focus your will to fight for moral repair.” —Rick Perlstein, Bestselling author of Nixonland and Reaganland
“With a blend of empathetic reporting and scathing analysis, American Carnage lays bare an extraordinary episode in US history—offering a glimpse of a hurricane that now threatens to destroy all in its path.” —Jonathan Freedland
“A compassionate portrait of some of the many who suffered when Musk’s foot soldiers targeted dedicated professionals.” —Kirkus Reviews
Purchase American Carnage on Barnes & Noble
Purchase American Carnage on Amazon
Purchase American Carnage on OR Books
This month, we will, once again, be gathering after our meeting for a PV Democrats Spring Happy Hour. We are suggesting a $10 donation. Join us to socialize with like-minded Democrats!