Barbara Boxer Takes Credit for Work She Hasn’t Done
December 14, 2009
SACRAMENTO, CA – Deputy Campaign Manager for Communications Julie Soderlund issued the following statement in response to Senator Barbara Boxer’s “America Is Acting on Global Warming” speech today and her continued botched management of controversial job-killing cap-and-trade legislation:
“Barbara Boxer’s attempts to force job-killing cap-and-trade legislation through the Senate have poisoned the legislative process and forced members of her own party to look elsewhere for leadership on this issue. But listening to her speech today on climate change, you wouldn’t have guessed that she has failed in this regard as she stunningly tried to take credit on the international stage for work she hasn’t done. The truth is that Barbara Boxer isn’t fooling anyone; her bitter partisanship and ineffective leadership on this and many other issues are exactly why she has so few accomplishments to show for the three terms she has been in the Senate. They’re also why California voters will turn to a problem solver like Carly Fiorina to replace her in 2010.”
LOW EXPECTATIONS
Senate Insiders Feared Senator Boxer – “An Outspoken Partisan Liberal” – Would Be Unable To Make The Compromises Needed To Pass Climate Change Legislation. “For some Democratic staffers, the incidents underscored the danger of having an outspoken partisan liberal in charge of making the kinds of compromises needed to get cap and trade through the Senate.” (Politico, 7/23/09)
MEETING THOSE LOW EXPECTATIONS
The Boxer Bill “Has Floundered Since Passing The House In Late June.” “Webb is the latest in a series of Democratic moderates to raise significant concerns with the climate bill, which has floundered since passing the House in late June.” (Politico, 11/16/09)
“Rank-And-File Members From Both Parties Dismissed The Boxer Bill.” “Rank-and-file members from both parties dismissed the Boxer bill, coal-state senators were unhappy and many said Boxer’s move to approve the bill without any Republicans even in the committee room had poisoned the process. ‘It dooms that particular legislation. The question is what comes next,’ said Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski. ‘We will see what Plan B is.’” (Politico, 11/6/09)
Virginia Democrat Senator Webb Announced He Will Not Support “Troubled” Boxer Bill On Climate Change. “Virginia Democratic Sen. Jim Webb said on Monday he would not back the cap-and-trade legislation sponsored by Sens. John Kerry, (D-Mass.) and Barbara Boxer, (D-Calif.), another blow to the troubled Senate climate change bill. ‘In its present form I would not vote for it,’ he said. ‘I have some real questions about the real complexities on cap and trade.’” (Politico, 11/16/09)
WSJ: Boxer’s “Clumsy Bobbling” Of Cap-And-Trade Has Been Criticized By Fellow Democrats. “On the legislative front, Ms. Boxer chairs the Senate Environment Committee. Her clumsy bobbling of the cap-and-trade bill designed to address global warming has even been criticized by some of her fellow Democrats. Ms. Fiorina has a different take: ‘Thank goodness she’s failed to pass that job-killer, but it shows how little she gets across the finish line.’” (The Wall Street Journal, 11/27/09)
FLASHBACK: BOXER WAS BLAMED FOR THE LEGISLATION’S FAILURE LAST YEAR
Senate Insiders Blame Boxer’s “Abrasive Personal Style” For Killing Bipartisan Climate Change Legislation In 2008. “A big chunk of the House climate change bill is in the hands of Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer — and some of its supporters are worried that she’s not up to the task. In private conversations, Senate staffers say that Boxer’s abrasive personal style helped tank the climate bill that Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and former Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) sponsored last year. And several recent embarrassing episodes involving the California Democrat have them worried about a repeat performance.” (Politico, 7/23/09)
Senate Insiders Say Boxer Failed To Win Over Her Fellow Democratic Senators In 2008 Climate Change Bill. “Although the Lieberman-Warner bill cleared her committee last year, Democratic staffers complain that Boxer failed to win over enough Democratic senators to get it through the Senate and relied on moralistic global warming arguments to guilt Democrats into backing the bill – even though several thought they lacked the information they needed to vet or alter it.” (Politico, 7/23/09)
