Vulgarities, hot potatoes, and shattered dishes: this is the back story of a rising California Democrat and how reports of anger issues created collateral damage that has shrouded her political career.

Now Rep. Katie Porter wants to run for higher office, but can she convince the voters and donors that she’s the best candidate for the decisive role? …

From 2009 on, Porter was the sole breadwinner, and Hoffman stayed home with the kids. Hoffman insisted that Porter was prone to ‘extreme anger’ and had a ‘history of snapping and screaming at [him] and the children,’ and would ‘claw and scratch her arms’ while blaming him for the markings.

Hoffman said Porter frequently said things like ‘you f***ing idiot!’ and ‘you’re f***ing incompetent.’ ‘She would not let me have a cell phone because she said, ‘you’re too f***ing dumb to operate it,” Hoffman said.

[People make a lot of nasty claims in divorce actions, even with no-fault divorce laws, especially when children are in the mix. One should treat them with at least some level of skepticism until independently verified and corroborated. That doesn’t mean Porter won’t have a problem as this gets out, however. One has to wonder who’s leaking it, and why it went to the Daily Mail. — Ed]