Carly Fiorina: Just call me "ma'am"

The former Hewlett-Packard CEO criticizes political opponent Barbara Boxer for expecting professional respect

Published November 11, 2009 2:01AM (EST)

It's always so refreshing to see female political candidates engaging each other on the important issues -- too bad Carly Fiorina is doing the exact opposite in her attempt to win Barbara Boxer's Senate seat. The former Hewlett Packard CEO has wasted no time getting straight to that familiar first-stop on the campaign trail: Smear-town, U.S.A. Fiorina is seizing on the fact that Sen. Boxer once requested that a man in uniform call her "senator" instead of "ma'am." What an uppity and emasculating bitch!

As The Frisky's Jessica Wakeman reports, Fiorina's camp is circulating an e-mail that links to the "shocking video" (posted below) of a Senate committee hearing in June during which an Army brigadier general refers to Boxer as "ma'am." She interrupts him to ask that he call her "senator" and explains, "I worked so hard to get that title, so I'd appreciate it." The Fiorina e-mail blast calls this evidence of Boxer's "arrogance" and "disrespect," and the message concludes with a plea for donations: "Every dollar you generously give today will be used to defeat Barbara Boxer and ensure no member of the United States military is berated by her ever again." The campaign has also launched the Web site CallMeBarbara.com -- as in, elect Fiorina so that Boxer can no longer verbally castrate men by wielding her razor-sharp title of "senator."

It might not be much of a platform to stand on, but that's nothing a strong campaign slogan can't fix -- maybe, "Acts like a senator, answers to 'ma'am.'"


By Tracy Clark-Flory

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