Posted on 01/20/2010 4:34:57 PM PST by SmithL
California Republicans say Scott Brown's win in the Massachusetts special Senate election portends a conservative wave in November's midterm elections, and electoral doom for incumbent U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.
But Democrats cite big differences between the Bay State and the Golden State, and Boxer's challengers have a much tougher row to hoe than Brown did.
California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring asked Tuesday whether Democrats "will finally start listening to the American people, who want taxes lowered, the debt retired, and government out of the way; or if they will continue to let the most radical elements of their party continue to determine the direction of the country. With Scott Brown's election, the opportunity to do the latter has just been cut short.
"Barbara Boxer can't be too happy with tonight's results," he said. "If Massachusetts can elect a Republican to the United States Senate in 2010, so can California."
Boxer's backers didn't need Massachusetts to know that 2010 presents a tough political climate, campaign manager Rose Kapolczynski retorted Wednesday.
"We have an economic recovery that's going more slowly than anyone had hoped. and a more conservative off-year electorate," she said, also noting a historical pattern of the party in power losing seats in the first election after a new president takes office. "But we knew that from the beginning, so we've been preparing for a tough race and whether Advertisement it's (Tom) Campbell or (Carly) Fiorina or (Chuck) DeVore, we're going to have a competitive general election."
Kapolczynski said most Californians know Boxer is "fighting for them," and so will fight for her in November.
Campbell took a characteristically mild tone on Brown's win, saying "the people have spoken, and clearly they want to change course. In this regard, I'm the only candidate for Senate with a proven record of fighting federal spending — a record that stands in very sharp contrast to Barbara Boxer's reckless abuse of our tax money."
Fiorina dug harder, challenging Boxer Tuesday "to learn a lesson from tonight and become the 42nd vote on the side of California taxpayers, instead of for the special interests."
Fiorina pointed out "electoral similarities" between the two states. Democrats outnumber Republicans three-to-one in Massachusetts, she noted, while Democrats account for 44.6 percent and Republicans for 31.1 percent of California's voters; also, Democrats dominate both states' legislatures and Congressional delegations.
But she didn't note that more than half of Massachusetts' registered voters decline to state a party affiliation — a much larger independents bloc than California's 20 percent. And Brown ran for a vacant seat, while Boxer is a three-term incumbent with big name-recognition edge.
Brown's victory seems to have been due in part to a disenchanted base — voters in Democratic urban strongholds stayed home in droves, apparently underwhelmed by President Obama's and Congress' delivery on progressive promises — while Boxer remains favored by California liberals. For example, Courage Campaign activist Robert Cruickshank of Monterey, blogging Wednesday at the progressive Web site Calitics.com, praised Boxer and urged her to further shore up her base by working to jam health-care reform through Congress despite Republican opposition, while also getting tougher on banks bailed out by taxpayers.
"Barbara Boxer has a fight on her hands, but she also is prepared to win that fight. Campbell, Fiorina and DeVore will have a much tougher hill to climb than they think," he wrote.
Also, Kapolczynski said, "in a special election, every conservative in the country could focus on trying to capture that Senate seat, and they did. In November, they're not going to be able to have that single, laser-beam focus on one state."
Just six weeks elapsed between Massachusetts' special primary and general elections. California expects a bruising, costly GOP primary in June, while Boxer — with $7.2 million already in the bank and no primary challenge — will then have five months to blanket the airwaves with ads.
GOP strategist Dan Schnur, who directs the University of Southern California's Unruh Institute of Politics, said DeVore is the GOP contender most likely to attract the tea-party-generated "money bombs" like that which buoyed Brown. Some believe Boxer would rather run against DeVore — an arch-conservative less likely to attract independent and crossover voters — than the richer Fiorina or the more socially moderate and experienced Campbell in November, although Schnur said each candidate has strengths.
A Rasmussen Reports poll of 500 likely voters conducted last week showed Boxer leading Fiorina by three percentage points; leading Campbell by four; and leading DeVore by six in head-to-head matchups. But sources said Wednesday that a forthcoming Field Poll will show Boxer with a 10-point lead over Campbell, and wider leads over Fiorina and DeVore.
Boxers days are numbered as California will turn to the right. The times they are a changin’
I’ve never even stepped a toe in CA, but there are few things in the world that I would like more than to see that worthless piece go down in the election.
It means Boxer’s seat is up for grabs as is the majority of Dem Senate seats who are seeking reelection, if not all of them in November.
Buy a truck, CHUCK DEVORE !!!
Maybe, she be drinking “TEA” soon!
She’s gonna have to charge for being called a Madam, and Senator doesn’t mean shinola in a bread line.
It won’t be obvious to us the week before the election as it was with Brown & Coakley. As the saying goes, you can’t step in the same stream twice — if she didn’t know before, she knows now that she will indeed have to campaign. And she’s already been in the Senate for two or three terms so she knows the ropes.
Then there’s the relatively simple matter of avoiding the almost innumerable number of mistakes Coakley made. Everybody already knows that Boxer hates Catholics especially and Christians in general, she won’t make the mistake of thinking that Barry Bonds was a big Dodgers fan, she knows better than to try to swipe slogans from major corporations, etc.
I still don’t understand why Cornyn and the NRSC refused to back Larry Elder against Boxer. You’re in California...I’d be interested in your thoughts on the matter.
If Massachusettes (oops) can do it, we can too!!!
I know what the problem is here, the rats don’t know how to READ TEA LEAVES!
Curb that dog!
I gotta be honest, Larry Elder came and went so quickly that I had only the most faint recollection that he was ever in the process.
The short answer (and I had to look it up) is that they had already more or less decided to back former HP CEO Carly Fiorina and preferred her due to more name recognition among CA residents, close ties to Silicon Valley money people, etc.
This link looks like a decent explanation of what happened:
Watch Box ‘O Rocks “retire” and take her war chest and run.
Hope you are correct but so many mindless Ca. Voters including so many minorities
Who vote Dem like drone bees doing their duty. We will see-—perhaps the rising tide includes many of them too.
Does California require voters to declare a party affiliation? Virginia does not. If California does not, then this is a moot point
“She’s going to have to charge for being called a Madam..’’ OUCh! That’s wit,and very biting!
California has several parties that include “Independent” in their names. If you don’t choose a party, you are an official “Decline to State.”
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