Barbara Boxer on Sarah Palin: A harsh attack

As an unswerving member of the left wing of the Democratic Party, Sen. Barbara Boxer of California wasn't going to be much impressed with whomever John McCain selected as a running mate.

Still, her reaction to the pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is noteworthy for its sharpness, especially given Boxer's commitment to feminist causes. Here's Boxer statement:

The vice president is a heartbeat away from becoming president, so to choose someone with not one hour’s worth of experience on national issues is a dangerous choice.

If John McCain thought that choosing Sarah Palin would attract Hillary Clinton voters, he is badly mistaken.

The only similarity between her and Hillary Clinton is that they are both women.  On the issues, they could not be further apart.

Sen. McCain had so many other options if he wanted to put a woman on his ticket, such as Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison or Sen. Olympia Snowe -– they would have been an appropriate choice compared to this dangerous choice.

In addition, Sarah Palin is under investigation by the Alaska state legislature, which makes this more incomprehensible.

Snowe, considered by many in the GOP a RINO -- Republican in Name Only -- never was a vice presidential prospect. Hutchison's name surfaced over the last few days as a strong possibility, but her stance in favor of abortion rights likely made her a non-starter for the McCain camp.

-- Don Frederick

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., makes a point during her address at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008. AP photo by Ron Edmonds

Comments

[Guy Thompto]

"this dangerous choice." Dangerous to whom, Barbara?
No foreign policy experience? Pray tell, outside of some heavily choreographed visits overseas, what experience does your guy have - half of a term in the Senate? So she's not Olympia Snowe -- thank God!

I hope she infuriates the left - we don't want your votes anyway. We need the undecideds who, when recently polled, said that they do NOT want change.

[Tom]

Yea Barbara is a good role model. I think she needs some more plastic surgery she is looking bad

[Maggie Knowles]

From Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin

Governor Palin is currently under investigation by an independent investigator hired by a legislative panel to determine if she abused her power when firing Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan. [47][48] On July 11, 2008, Palin dismissed Walter Monegan as Commissioner of Public Safety and instead offered him a position as executive director of the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, which he subsequently turned down.[49][50] The Commisioner serves at the will of the governor, so her right to fire him is not in dispute; but Monegan alleged shortly after his dismissal that it may have been partly due to his reluctance to fire an Alaska State Trooper, Mike Wooten, who had been involved in a divorce and child custody battle with Palin's sister, Molly McCann.[51] In 2006, before Palin was governor, Wooten was briefly suspended for ten days for threatening to kill McCann's (and Palin's) father, tasering his 11-year-old stepson (at the stepson's request), and violating game laws. After a union protest, the suspension was reduced to five days.[52]

Palin replaced Monegan with Chuck Kopp, who had previously been removed from supervision of an employee he had allegedly sexually harassed. [53] Palin knew of Kopp's alleged sexual harassment before she appointed Kopp. [54]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`
hmmmmmm..... more of the same?

[Elizabeth]

Senator Boxer could not be further from the truth. I am a democratic female who, unfortunately, applauds not my party, but the Republican Party. Life is not about a Party, it is so much more. Sarah Palin, from what I have read this morning, is strong, smart and authentic. I have now made up my uncertain mind. I will be voting for the McCain / Palin ticket. Wake up Democrats, next time make the right decision.

[bobby]

barbara boxer this is (Y) she is a complete nut and y(sarah palin ) is and will be the next (VP) and not poor Hillary... ps. you are such a PRE SCOOLER!!!.... BOBBY IN TN.

[Jenna]

This seems like a dangerous line of criticism. If she wants to talk about inexperience, she need only look to Obama. Does she really want to go down that road? Also, I read that she is under investigation for allegedly getting her wife beating brother in law fired. It might have been wrong (although it isn't proven yet), but I would have done the same thing in a heartbeat. Who wouldn't defend their family from a wife beater?

[Fisher]

Barbara, Sarah Palin is more of a women than you have ever been or ever will be.

[smave]

I knew Republicans were boring, but would never have guessed how bad at math they are.

Obama served in the Illinois state senate for several years and has been a senator the three years now. He is 46 years old. Rip him all you want, he does, mathematically, have more experience in government that Sarah Palin.

Palin's stance that creationism should be taught in schools really sets the debate in relief: this is about science vs. religion, facts vs. superstition, truth vs. fiction. America, let's make the right choice here. Obama/Biden are the way out of the Republican mess we are in. Stop letting FOX news (owned by a man who is NOT AMERICAN, Rupert Murdoch) dictate our lives.

[Cheryl]

Palin is a conservative, which points out that John McCain is a conservative. But a mayor of a town of 9,000? She is just a year and a half in the Alaska governor's office. She doesn't have national foreign policy experience. There are Republican woman who could step up to the plate and take charge and know what they are doing, if the old man McCain should die, but not this one. It shows that McCain is the unstable, irrational fellow even some GOP people have been warning about. Does he really have any good judgment left of what is best for this country? Is his brain that far gone?

[Teliza]

I am jumping up and down for joy at Palin's nomination. John McCain is going to LOSE! What an extraordinarily odd choice. Hillary diehards are going to go over to Obama now in droves. The republicans are scratching their heads in disbelief! This is great!

[kbird]

After all the harping over experience this is the best that McCain could do? He has really gone McLame! This woman has an abuse of power investigation hovering over her head in Alaska where she made political adversaries quickly. WOW! "Governor Palin I know Hillary Clinton and you are no Hillary Clinton!" Shame on the conservatives for forcing such an ingenue onto the American people!

[erik]

What might be the responsibilities of the Alaskan governor..

Step1-Wake up
Step2-Tell Somebody to drill there
Step3-No don't drill there
Step4-Stopping shooting at the bears
Step5-Go to Sleep

That about rounds that up for the countries least populated state... Thanks for picking somebody that represents America so well... Should I buy my snowmobile now or wait...

[PFJ]

Ah, here are all the conservative activists showing us their ability to be uniters. ROFLMAO

[Steph]

I am a secular (and moderate) conservative. I believe in abortion rights in the first trimester, but not after that. I don't like religion mixed with my politics, and I was disgusted to see Ralph Reed chiming in on Palin's choice--he's such a desperate has-been that any media op will do. I believe common sense and compassion have been largely absent from the public discussion of abortion. I do not believe abortion should be used to engineer the human race and I am in awe of Sarah Palin's choice to have her child knowing that he would have Downs syndrome. Having an abortion would have essentially expressed the sentiment "I only want you if you're perfect." Deciding to have the child said "I will accept you as you are." Obama talks beautifully about acceptance of diversity, but Sarah Palin has actually made it a part of her daily life in a very intimate and courageous way.

[Eusebio Lara]

I was born and raised in SoCal and have traditionally voted for the Republican party. If the Republican party ever thought about winning CA, they just threw the baby out with the bath water.

[John]

Hey Bobbie in TN. Even if Hillary were just a "pre scooler"...more than likely she made it further than you did in "scool" John in Cal

[Chris]

"Senator Boxer could not be further from the truth. I am a democratic female who, unfortunately, applauds not my party, but the Republican Party. Life is not about a Party, it is so much more. Sarah Palin, from what I have read this morning, is strong, smart and authentic. I have now made up my uncertain mind. I will be voting for the McCain / Palin ticket. Wake up Democrats, next time make the right decision."

Nice fake blog post, Elizabeth (if that is your real name). The Republican Way: If you can't win on your ideas, just resort to lies and trickery. There are so many out there like you, doing this all day. Why don't you all get real jobs?

[RS]

Shut up Barbara, you old crone. You know it has all passed you by.

[anotherview]

What a great choice! Simply awesome! And what a message McCain is sending with this pick!

McCain does show once again he is a maverick. This marks the makings of a new start for the Republican Party.

McCain just eclipsed Obama in choosing a new direction for this country. This makes it so clear that the next four year years will look fresh. It is Obama/Biden that now look like four more of the same, or worse!

I feel like Chris Matthews does about Obama, except the feelings run through by whole being. Simply a great decision by McCain.

Based on her presentation today, she will have no trouble with Biden. As far as Iraq, she and her husband are living US policy with their oldest son getting ready to deploy there.

Obama/Palin on foreign policy experience..dead even. On accomplishments in public office...you tell me. On executive leadership experience..no contest, Palin could defeat Obama in a presidential election on that one.

The responses that we see out of the Dems and liberals will tell jsut how concerned they are . For me just the VP choices define the Obama and McCain. Who is walking their talk?

[PRW]

4 More Months....

[Alexander Lara]

I am ecstatic over the choice of Palin and I think the Republican line still ought to focus on Obama's inexperience. While she may be the next VP and is thin on experience, she will have a great mentor in McCain and on-the-job-training from a wonderful vantage point. I would much rather have my VP in training than have my President in training. Clearly they are BOTH relatively inexperienced. Further, as the father of two Texas daughters, I am once again proud to say I am a Republican and was on the fence in this election until Sen. McCain added Palin to the ticket. Bravo! ajl in TX

[Mark Yeager]

This does it -- I'm out. Boxer is right -- this is a DANGEROUS choice. This is not treating the office with the respect it deserves. This is willy-nilly. This is desperate. This is demeaning to the office. This is wrong.

I'm in for Obama. Bring it on. I know I'm going to pay a few more bucks in taxes, but so be it. The GOP has SQUANDERED both the peace and prosperity we had. It's time to see what the Dems can do.

Geesh. A sad day.

[Karl in Burbank]

Oh Please....Obama has 143 days of Senate experience. Ask Boxer why California's delegates weren't counted at the convention.

[Fred]

I guess McCain should have reviewed his choice for VP with the Dems. We wouldn't want a candidate that they aren't happy with.

Btw: Which of the 4 candidates has executive office experience?

[grrlyrida]

Well there goes the experience trump card McCain was using. Also the "understanding issues that affect most Americans card". This woman is from a state that doesn't have immigration issues, or culturally diverse for that matter. If this was a ploy to get Hillary supporters, Palin's antiabortion and social conservative stands will turn off many Hillary supporters. I'm a Obama supporter and I can't believe that McCain has handed Obama such a gift. Bloggers are already calling her Dan Quayle with a pony tail.