Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) is on a bit of a roll lately. She just cruised to re-election in a 20-point landslide (she won by over 2 million votes), she was the only Senate Dem to stand up and challenge the electoral vote count over irregularities in Ohio, and she’s led the fight against Condoleezza Rice’s nomination to be Secretary of State. This has hardly won Boxer the respect and admiration of the GOP majority, but she is re-solidifying her status as a liberal champion in the Senate.
Some are beginning to compare Boxer to Paul Wellstone for her unflinching commitment to progressive principles. U.S. News & World Report called her the “go-to politician” for progressives. There’s even a “President Boxer” blog gaining in popularity online.
All of this naturally drives conservatives batty and leads Republicans to criticize Boxer with increasing intensity. That said, the GOP’s new line of attack against her seems off-base.
Prompting Republicans charges that the pitch “cheapened” the nomination debate, Senate Democrats on Tuesday sent out a fundraising solicitation based on their opposition to Bush adviser Condoleezza Rice’s elevation to secretary of State.
In an e-mail sent out Tuesday on behalf of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) referred to Rice’s “misleading statements” regarding Iraq, vowed to continue to “make my voice heard” and implored donors to contribute to the DSCC’s efforts to win seats in 2006.
Alluding to the Senate’s other ongoing confirmation battle, that of Attorney General-designate Alberto Gonzales, and expected fights over potential Supreme Court nominees, Boxer wrote, “My Democratic colleagues and I will hold the Bush Administration accountable for its decisions.”
Let me get this straight: Republicans are criticizing Democrats for unseemly fundraising? That’s rich.
On the merits, this criticism is a little silly. Dem activists and donors feel strongly about the Rice and Gonzales nominations and it’s only natural that the party would take this opportunity to ask supporters for donations. There’s a valiant, though quixotic, debate ongoing on the Senate floor over the nominees’ records and qualifications, but an email fundraising pitch doesn’t tie the two together directly. It’s not as if Boxer is saying, “If you send us money, we’ll keep challenging the Rice nomination.”
Indeed, it’s more likely Republicans are whining about Boxer’s email because they’d prefer to sidestep a real discussion over Rice’s role in the Iraq war, underestimating the al Queda threat, etc.
But if the Republicans are prepared to initiate a real discussion on “unseemly” fundraising that “cheapens” the political process, I’m delighted. In fact, now that this is an issue the GOP cares about, I can think of a few fundraising pitches that warrant a closer look.
Here’s one that comes to mind…
It is an unusual charity brochure: a 13-page document, complete with pictures of fireworks and a golf course, that invites potential donors to give as much as $500,000 to spend time with Tom DeLay during the Republican convention in New York City next summer — and to have part of the money go to help abused and neglected children.
Representative DeLay, who has both done work for troubled children and drawn criticism for his aggressive political fund-raising in his career in Congress, said through his staff that the entire effort was fundamentally intended to help children. But aides to Mr. DeLay, the House majority leader from Texas, acknowledged that part of the money would go to pay for late-night convention parties, a luxury suite during President Bush’s speech at Madison Square Garden and yacht cruises.
The White House approves of the Republican congressional campaign committee’s plan to use a photograph of President Bush taken on September 11 as part of a GOP fundraising effort, a move Democrats call “nothing short of grotesque.”
The White House photograph shows Bush aboard Air Force One, talking to Vice President Dick Cheney hours after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee are offering the picture, along with photos of the president during his State of the Union address and at his inauguration, to donors who contribute at least $150 and attend a fund-raising dinner with Bush and the first lady.
Of course, now that Republicans are concerned about inappropriate fundraising, I’m sure they’ll embrace a discussion over pitches like these, right?