I agree. Let’s forget about Boxer in this blue state.
I don’t know about forgetting about Boxer.
I think the answer is for the CA GOP to get its act together for the first time in 15+ years.
Last time Boxer was up for reelection was during the overheated 2004 election. Perhaps nothing could have stopped her reelection in a state that saw Bush lose by over a million votes.
But it also did not help that the GOP had nominated Bill Jones — with a primary election endorsement from Governor Schwarzenegger. Bill Jones was completely MIA on the trail, he had no state wide media campaign, and his election web site looked like something hosted on Geocities and had a message about opposing abortion in large font as its central theme in a state that is overwhelmingly pro-abortion.
There were better candidates that could have defeated Boxer, at least in an off year election, Toni Casey and Rosario Martin chief among them. Casey in particular would have been an attractive candidate for CA voters, with her pro-choice stance and pro-business background. She would have been a better fit for Schwarzengger’s endorsement, too. But he chose to play the typical party insider politics.
If the CA GOP nominates someone like Casey this time around, we could have a real shot of defeating Boxer. But that isn’t likely to happen with this state Republican party. Instead, expect yet another candidate who rails about abortion and little else.
That’s just the way the CA GOP rolls. And why they are almost non-existent. The hardcore pro-lifers are all that are left, and they make sure to keep it that way.
This isn’t an attack on pro-life values, mind you, but the unavoidable fact here is that California is not Idaho, and if the California Republican party keeps acting like it is, they are going to continue to be irrelevant in this state.