In the clearing stands a Boxer

Boxer op-ed argues the Climate Security Act vote was a big step forward

Posted by Kate Sheppard at 10:32 AM on 10 Jun 2008

Muckraker: Grist on Politics Environment and Public Works Committee Chair Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) wrote an op-ed in today's San Jose Mercury News on the failed Climate Security Act that she championed in the Senate. In it, she argues that last week's vote was an important advancement. "[O]ur strong vote proves that we are moving in the right direction," she writes. She also notes that other landmark environmental laws took quite a bit of time to pass:

Our generation has been handed a tremendous challenge. Legislation to combat global warming will not happen overnight; it took 10 years to pass major Clean Air Act legislation. We started voting on comprehensive global warming legislation in the Senate five years ago. We must get there -- scientists have told us clearly that time is not on our side.

For story: In the clearing stands a Boxer
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The Challenge for the Future

is not going to be dealing with trogs like Inhofe, especially if predictions come true of the greatest Democratic sweep since 1964. The greatest challenge will be an opposition to climate change legislation within the Democratic Party. An opposition that saw its debut with this Climate Security Act vote and the letter posted on yesterday's Grist. It will be the greatest test of salesmanship and arm twisting you ever saw since the passage of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Act. Unfortunately, I don't see either Barack Obama or Harry Reid having the political genius and productive ruthlessness of an LBJ.

The greatest danger for the environmental movement is to think that all our problems are with the GOP and that returning the Democrats to power will be our great getting up morning. As the old song goes, "It ain't necessarily so!" It's not just your enemies you should worry about. Worry about your friends as well.

Randy Cunningham
Cleveland, OH

Randy Cunningham

by randino at 5:12 PM on 10 Jun 2008

I love the song........

..... but I never met a boxer who was ashamed or felt forced to fight for economic reasons. Fighters fight because they love it. I boxed for ten years and miss it dearly.

Victory in Pattani

by MAD MAC at 4:48 AM on 11 Jun 2008
[ Parent ]

Boxer's "Anger and Pain" op-ed

Apparently, in her op-ed's lead Sen. Boxer claims she has 54 senators. Unfortunately, immediately following the vote, 10 Democratic Senators (9 who voted with Boxer) sent her a letter telling her that they were not supporting the bill. The letter is the reminder of every glove that cut her until she cried out in anger and pain (her op-ed).

Frank Maisano

by fmaisano at 7:25 AM on 11 Jun 2008

On the other hand

(and as highly as I regard Barbara Boxer), the NY Times editorial suggests she did not do enough work, plus she mucked things up with unnecessary additions, plus there was the difficulty of timing things, what with expenses facing consumers in a period already of high fuel costs:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/11/opinion/11wed1.html.

Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

by caniscandida at 8:09 AM on 11 Jun 2008

Humans Fiddle While The Earth Burns

Actually, it would be great if all humans were doing were fiddling. Unfortunately, it looks like business as usual until the Earth is way past the point that humans could do anything about global warming even if they were willing to lower their population and stop living such environmentally destructive lifestyles, which there's no evidence that a significant number of them are.

by Wolverine at 1:46 PM on 11 Jun 2008

ADVERTISING POLICY

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