It’s not exactly a replay of the infamous Boxer Rebellion of 1890 where the Boxers, or “The Righteous and Harmonious Fists,” fought for the military expulsion of Europeans. They relied upon rituals and spells which they believed made them impervious to bullets and pain. 

Alas, the magic did not work so well and within a couple months, an international force captured and occupied Beijing and forced the imperial government to agree to humiliating terms.

Today, there appears to be a Boxer Rebellion shaping up in California.  Sen. Barbara Boxer, according to Fox News, appears to be  facing a potentially tough election challenge from prominent businesswoman Carly Fiorina, who is within striking distance in a recent poll.

Fiorina, is a former Hewlett-Packard CEO and, most recently, was the top economic adviser to John McCain’s presidential campaign.  She hasn’t fully committed to whether she’ll throw her hat in the ring against Boxer for the California Democrat’s Senate seat next year, but speculation is rampant.

She has to be encouraged by a recent Rasmussen survey which shows that Fiorina is trailing by only 4 percentage points behind in a hypothetical race with Boxer, a the three-term incumbent.
 
“Any incumbent who polls below 50 percent early in a campaign is considered potentially vulnerable,” the polling firm said. “However, a Democrat running in a heavily Democratic state like California is often able to overcome weak poll numbers.”

Boxer has drawn some unfavorable press recently as a result of contentious exchanges, with a military officer and a black business leader during senate committee hearings.

The question remains, will there be a Boxer Rebellion in California? 

Like the Chinese Boxers, in spite of their faith in magical protection, Barbara may also be vulnerable.

Tags: Barbara Boxer, Carly Fiorina, Rasmussen survey

This entry was posted on July 25, 2009 at 12:17 pm and is filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.