Barbara Boxer, the junior Senator from California, is about to enter the ring once again. She's warming up, bouncing on her toes, ready to defend her title against whoever wins the Republican duke-out on March 2. She's not expecting a first-round knockout -- she never does. She's too smart for that, too much of a savvy campaigner.
The 1998 battle against Matt Fong is a case in point. Until a few weeks before the election, Sen. Boxer showed a deficit in the polls. Then she found her opponent's points of vulnerability, and in a blizzard of end-game media, pounded them hard. The "too liberal" Boxer ended up beating the "right wing" Fong by 10 percentage points.
Given her winning record -- she was first elected to the House in 1982 and to her first term as Senator in 1992 -- there may be a sense here that Sen. Boxer is invincible. But it would be a mistake for California Democrats to take the win for granted.
This year the big guns are out. For the first time in many years there's a Republican -- you know who -- in the State House. And the likely Republican contender is Bill Jones, former Secretary of State, a favorite of the hard-core, right-wing base of the party. If you
examine his position papers, you will note the typical soft-peddling and disingenuous fudging on issues dear to the hearts of California voters, the majority of whom are registered Democrats.
But if Jones is the Republican nominee, you can bet on both of them to attack and attack hard on the clear fault lines between their respective stands. He is anti-abortion, and he voted for the Iraq war. Boxer is a fervent supporter of Roe v. Wade, and voted against both the war powers resolution and the $87 billion supplemental. Thus, she will be called "weak on national security," when the record shows she's anything but. (Alas, it's a trope that may resonate, merely because the "liberal" label sticks, and outdated word associations die hard. The power of the argument may finally reside in how the candidate at the top of the ticket resolves it.)
Here are more predictions on how the fight may play out.
Boxer is feisty, and great on the stump. Her record in the Senate has depth and breadth. She has a fine campaign staff, and lots of ammo. But in an electoral season that has already made us dizzy with its swings and roundabouts, if there's anything we know it's that we can take nothing for granted. In other words, anticipating that she may need to go fifteen rounds, we should be giving full support to Barbara Boxer's campaign. She is a fighter worth fighting for.
Full disclosure: Barbara Boxer is a Brooklyn girl and so am I. In fact we grew up there at the same time, and and it's entirely possible that we even went to grade school together. There's just something about coming from Brooklyn -- no matter where you end up, you always gotta root for the home team.
Ellen Dana Nagler
Santa Barbara, CA
The Dolphin