[Mb-civic] The Boxer Rebellion

[Michael Butler]

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Verve and the Democrats

The Boxer rebellion
Jan 27th 2005 | WASHINGTON, DC
>From The Economist print edition


Has the left found its La Passionara?
EPA
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Speaking for the silent

BEING parodied on ³Saturday Night Live² is a backhanded tribute to political
significance. Last weekend saw ³Barbara Boxer² grilling ³Condoleezza Rice²
in the Senate, using an increasingly bizarre series of props. Starting out
by waving a large scorecard-figure zero (³how many weapons of mass
destruction found in Iraq²) and a graph with a tiny yellow bar (for ³the
truth²) and a large blue bar (³what you say²), the Californian senator
graduated to pouring vinegar (³your lies²) and baking soda (³our current
situation in Iraq²) into a plaster-of-paris volcano (³the rising tension in
the Middle East²). Mrs Boxer's ³lie volcano² duly erupted.

The feisty Mrs Boxer has become a heroine to the left. She was one of only
two senators in committee hearings to vote against Ms Rice's nomination
(John Kerry was the other). She was also the only senator to challenge
George Bush's election, holding up the formalities to question the
certification of Ohio's electoral-college vote.

Of course, none of this has made any official difference. Mr Bush became
president and the Senate approved Ms Rice this week by 85 to 13 votes. But
it has electrified the left. Activists deluged her office with praise for
forcing a congressional debate on voting rights.

More surprisingly, moderate Democratic senators privately wish her well for
(in their view) calling the Bush administration to account for its duplicity
in foreign policy. They share her suspicion that ³loyalty to the mission
overwhelmed [Ms Rice's] respect for the truth², but senators who represent
Republican states or who have narrow majorities are afraid to say so. Mrs
Boxer, who was re-elected in November by 2m votes in deep blue California,
has at least six years to express the inexpressible frustration of her
peers.


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