When I read this the yesterday about our fiery junior Senator Barbara Boxer, I thought, “Whoa, this is important California news!”
Last week’s Bloomberg Businessweek offered a somewhat light-hearted look at that most entertaining of animals, the U.S. legislator, in its natural habitat. The magazine spent two days in late March observing behavior on the House and Senate floors, and then turned to observers including the Hoover Institution’s Peter Schweizer; Daily Kos congressional expert David Waldman; and Wonkette editor/publisher Rebecca Schoenkopf for analysis.
Among the species observed were the “sustained touchers,” “power Blackberryers,” “iPad gamers,” “style mavens,” “peacemakers,” “primpers” and so on, but only one person got her very own category: U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. Here’s how the magazine described her:
“The impassioned California senator virtually never stood still. She also popped small candies. Schweitzer: ‘She’s probably more feared than loved among staffers and colleagues.’ Waldman: ‘She’s definitely high-energy. She’ll hit 10 to 15 people on her way to her Senate desk, then settle in.’ Schoenkopf: ‘She has personally yelled at me twice.’ ”
But when I heard that last bit, I knew this was a burning Orange County story. Rebecca Schoenkopf, as you know if you’re not living under a bridge – no, I take that back, there are always several copies of the OC Weekly under the bridge – is the OC treasure forever remembered as “Commie Girl.” I just had to call her to find out WHY Senator Boxer yelled at her. Personally. Twice.
Turns out, first time was twenty years ago when she was in college, and stood up to ask B-Box some “softball question” about health insurance … and was gobsmacked to get personally yelled at for not having insurance herself!
The second time, years later, was even personaller. Now an OC Weekly correspondent, and soon after the Clinton/Gingrich “Welfare Reform” passed, Becca managed to sidle up to Babs right before some big Democrat shindig, and ask “Pardon me, Senator Boxer – what would you say to those of us on the left who feel betrayed by President Clinton signing the welfare bill?”
This time our junior Senator stopped in her tracks, fixed Becca in her furious gaze, and YELLED, “There IS no left or right! We are ALL AMERICANS!!! It’s people like you, asking questions like that, who are the real problem!”
Well… that’s kind of fucked up. Still, Rebecca says, “I still think Boxer is one of our best Senators, going by her voting record and what she’s done. It’s just that, personally … she’s a real BITCH.” And this writer concurs, on both points.
Don’t blame me. I endorsed and voted for Duane!
Yeah, he’s a lot nicer. *snark*
“It’s people like you, asking questions like that, who are the real problem!”
Gee, that seems to be a common theme.
I think Joe Stalin said that first.
1996 must have been a hard year for her. Clinton was tacking hard right before the election and she probably hated it. I’d cut her some slack. She was mouthing the imposed party line of the day and that could not have been pleasant.
Argghh… she didn’t have to say what she said. She shoulda said, “I feel your pain, honey.”
Tony’s right – I have a hard time wrapping my head around someone I like to think is a pretty good politician saying something like “the problem is troublemakers asking questions.” That’s just un-American.
Yeah, I know. I’m not saying she was right, I’m saying she is only human.
When I was working on the hill my fellow interns atthe UCDC campus that worked for boxer would go on and on how they hated to work for her. And Ironically the senator that catches flak for being too far to the right is one of the most beloved and peronalble senators according to the interns tHts Diane Feinstein. DII FI would remember each and every interns name and where they came from. She would often have lunch with the interns. where as babs was down right rude to her interns.
That was my brief experience with DF. Nice person but out of touch… Probably due more to age than anything else.
Who F*****g cares!