Barbara Boxer: Call Me 'Senator' (VIDEO, POLL)

UPDATE: More fall-out from Sen. Boxer's insistence last week that the military officer she was questioning call her 'senator,' instead of 'ma'am.' Chuck DeVore, a Republican running for Boxer's Senate seat in 2010 called it "the latest liberal-military confrontation." He went on to bring up her participation in Vietnam War protests and ask on his website: "Why do some liberals apparently despise our military?"

Republican Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina was also disturbed by the nomenclature request, calling the Senator "a loose cannon" and an embarrassment to her party. From McClatchy's write up of the kerfuffle:

Republican critics in the blogosphere and elsewhere are excoriating Boxer... "I just can't put up with that kind of thing when people think too much of themselves, and we see a lot of that in Washington," DeMint told Fox News Channel.

UPDATE: John McCain poked fun at fellow senator Barbara Boxer on "Hannity" Thursday.

"Thank you for calling me 'Senator' and not 'sir," McCain said to the host, grinning.

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Yesterday at an EPW hearing, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) asserted herself. A military officer testifying began to respond to one of her questions by calling her ma'am. But Boxer interrupted: "Do me a favor," she said, "could you say 'senator' instead of 'ma'am?' It's just a thing, I worked so hard to get that title, so I'd appreciate it, yes, thank you."

Fox News actually reported out this story by calling up an Army spokesman to ask if it was disrespectful for the officer to call Boxer ma'am. Their conclusion: no big deal! What do you think?

Watch it here and scroll down to take our poll.

Quick Poll

Was the officer out of line?

No, Boxer is way too sensitive.

Yes, he's rude, and possibly sexist.

Maybe he meant it as a term of respect, but he's talking to a Senator!

Who cares?

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Comments

[Hopalongpoppyseed]

Senator Demented, you are not a southern gentleman.

[SpecOpsGuy1963]

Face the facts people. Boxer is burned out hippie who hates the military, and hates being referred to as a female. There's not much we can do about that. Who cares? No one is surprised.

[rich misty]

Why did Republicans scapegoat the military for GOP torture rape porn?

http://www.bushcommission.org/

Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, former commander of Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq testifies on how the abuse of prisoners in U.S. custody originated at the highest levels (audio) (text).

[lysistrata]

It is only that many Republicans have a problem with strong women. Democrats have the stronger women.

[SpecOpsGuy1963]

No, I saw a Democrat Senator and a Brigadier General in the film. What did you see?

[4 Real]

Every week a GOP senator or congressman finds something of zero consequence to whine about. Why is this party full of such petty little men and women who can't come up with any new ideas to help this country.
The party of no ideas is also the party of sore losers.

[instagladiator]

Divide and conquer ring a bell? Albeit, I don't think the GOP will be the conquers. They're just doing what they're told.

[instagladiator]

Sorry, conquerors.

[cinesimon]

Any intelligent American, regardless of party affiliation - does not have to think hard about the logic that many right wing folk have used against senator Boxer and others(that if they disagree with the republican party's foreign policy, then they hate the troops and don't support our armed forces) to understand that their thinking is warped, and that an extremely tired, worn out argument that simply does not work in today's politics.

If they want to continue down their McCarthy- style route, then they will reap the consequences at he polls.

[firelord5000]

Except for the part that this about her lack of respecting another person who was treating her with respect... stop trying to change the topic when you know she was in the wrong.

[Modok]

saying please call me Senator, I've worked hard for that title is disrespectful?

[cinesimon]

She wasn't in the wrong!

Molehill champions!

[rich misty]

Why are Republicans whining like children of a simple matter of protocol?

Who are the loose cannons who favor torture rapes of children?

[brandnewstuff]

Rich Misty-

I am going to vomit- The Larry King story and raping boys- Well, I will make sure my little sister watches this- The sad truth in Victoria Texas- This Cities defense funds almost all gone- As the former sheriff Micheal Ratcliff was busted having sex with an underage boy locked up and local law eforcement tried to cover up ( Public Consumption Now)- Victoria Texas Republican and the area of Senator John Cornyn

[rich misty]

Exactly the same MO as Abu Ghraib. The ultimate defense is the one tendered by Gonzales... Torture rape does not really hurt them.... Since there is no organ damage.

[rich misty]

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2009/05/19/am.intv.bradley.yvonne.cnn

Republican sexual mutilation ^

[DTOM]

Blinded. Watching a Senator treat a General in this manner is disgusting.

[Johnagain]

Oh spare us the fake, right wing, knee jerk indignation. If you weren't disgusted by what your Party did to our country, our Constitution, and the world at large during the Bush years, you have no legs to stand on in an instance like this.

Boxer showed no disrespect, period. You can make up whatever crap you want, but only Rush Limbo listeners believe it.

[firelord5000]

Keep telling your self that, but with 33% people voting against her, u better understand that pretty much 90% of them are us left wingers.

[Palemoon]

Oh, let me toss my hat in the ring on this coversation. I never bothered til now because, simply, Boxer isn't a progressive and I'm not about to stick up for her.

However, I see alot of misguided people sticking up for her for all of the wrong reasons. Most of which is party affiliation only.

I'm a veteran, and everyone calls me a liberal, yet I don't consider Mrs Boxer either a liberal or a progressive. What has she done for us lately?

The fact is, in the military you are properly taught how to address people based either on rank or gender. Either is permissable, neither method is mandatory. For example, when addressing say, a Captain. You can simply state "Yes sir", or you can use the alternative "Yes Captain". In regards to politicians, best as I remember, it's the same. When addressing her, you can say either "Yes ma'am" or "Yes Senator". The ONLY way you can refer to them as something that the Senator dictates is if she requests it in a less than formal fashion. Such as saying "Please, call me Barbara". Then you can refer to her in that fashion. It is NOT formal for the Senator to request a higher title when it's one of the 2 proper etiquette names to be addressed as.

Lastly, she better cool her heels before we civilians tell her to stop acting like a baby.

[tb92]

Oddly enough, when I contact my Congress members and tell them my opinion, Senator Boxer is the ONLY one who almost always agrees with me. Senator Feinstein is questionable, but Boxer is the best choice California has.

[Palemoon]

And yet she is stone silent on Prop 8, she has done nothing for LGBT rights, she has done nothing to advance healthcare reform, lobbyist reform, nor really done anything that I can recall that benefitted anyone I know.

[PhilipTaylor]

Having heard this comment and DeMint is DeMinted!

She is simply asking to be addressed properly like judges and professors do regularly!

So forget the BS!

[dalkowski]

I liked BB very much until this oversensitive ridiculousness. "Ma'am" is NOT a term of derision, disrepect or condescension any more than "Sir" is. Never was. The general, as a military man, was addressing her in deference as he would any woman or man (whom he addresses as "sir").

Boxer should mellow out and remember what they say in South Carolina: "if we want to show respect for a legislator, we DON'T call him or her 'Senator' or 'Representative.'"

[brandnewstuff]

Rich Misty-
I am so repulsed reading what the Soliders are criminal culpabilty with CIA - I really am repulsed by men NOW in general... so repulsed... Repulse with the male species... I could just be gay- and am horrified by what males are capabilty of and not give a damn.

[rich misty]

Not all men are ev.il... But if you take people indoctrinated in right wing religion, and the layer on top right wing politics... They can become monsters.

[brandnewstuff]

Rich Misty-
I am read what you posted in a PDF and saved about a detainee- and these people that did acts of Torture, Rape, Expliotation are above the RULE of Laws and The UCMJ code book - recieved a pay check ... for doing these acts-

shame shame shame- in a global world that never forgets.................

[rich misty]

I concur 100%

[Kalitipo]

DEMINT..a member of the mengroup who are scared of intelligent women...mark it..they gonna start calling her a witch

[dnegri]

Anyway, why would Republicans care about what a woman thinks or wants? Any more than a gay or a latino? It's just not in their DNA.

[zamerdee]

Sen. Barbara Boxer is my number one favorite Senator. She needs 100% respect.

[dnegri]

Barbara Boxer will clean her opponent's clock. Believe me, nothing Sen. DeMint says will lose her a single vote.

[tomasedison]

Everytime I see DeMint on TV I start laughing....I can't believe any state elected him. Then I remind myself that he's from South Carolina and clarity emerges from the mist.