Boxer criticized for Gore e-mail
Attackers say call for campaign contributions in thank-you letter to former vice president is ethically questionable
By Frank Davies
MEDIANEWS STAFF
WASHINGTON - Al Gore, global warming rock star, will grab the media spotlight today before Sen. Barbara Boxer's Environment and Public Works Committee -- and Boxer is using Gore's appearance to help raise money for her 2010 re-election campaign.
In an e-mail sent earlier this month, Boxer asked her supporters to sign an online thank-you card to Gore "for his many years of leadership and hard work," which she plans to give to him today. So far, more than 63,000 people have signed the card, according to a campaign consultant.
Next to the link for signing the card is a link to "contribute today" to the Friends of Barbara Boxer, which takes the user to instructions on how to donate online.
One campaign finance watchdog, Melanie Sloan, called the e-mail "inappropriate, coming close to an ethical line," because it suggests a link between a congressional hearing, legislative activity and campaign contributions.
A Boxer campaign consultant in Los Angeles, Rose Kapolczynski, defended the e-mail: "The entire focus is on Al Gore, not on making a contribution. There is a pro forma 'contribute' button at the bottom of the e-mail. There is no special access or benefit to the donor."
The text of the e-mail does not ask for a campaign donation.
"A campaign is never completely disconnected from the important issues of the day," said Kapolczynski, who ran Boxer's three previous Senate campaigns. "Sen. Boxer has always focused on the issues, and she runs on her positions."
Kapolczynski said the e-mail was sent only to supporters, not to people or groups coming before Boxer's committee.
Sloan, executive director of the Center for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington, which tracks special interest influence, said that Boxer's pitch was "part of the system that exists in fundraising."
"There have been more overt appeals," she said.
A former federal prosecutor, Sloan cited the behavior of former Rep. Richard Pombo, a Tracy Republican, who accepted large contributions from tribes and other groups that had business before his Natural Resources Committee. Pombo was defeated in November by Democrat Jerry McNerney of Pleasanton.
Massie Ritsch, communications director for the Center for Responsive Politics, said many committee chairmen cite their clout in fundraising appeals, and that Boxer's e-mail was "not in the same league" as the "pay to play" system some GOP congressional leaders used in recent years.
Under that system, lobbyists who made contributions and hired Republican congressional aides could receive favorable treatment from committees.
Gore's appearance today highlights Boxer's new power as a committee chairwoman. In her e-mail, Boxer tells her supporters that Gore "accepted my invitation to testify," and that his testimony will "elevate the visibility of this important debate."
Gore's testimony before a joint hearing of two House committees in the morning and Boxer's committee in the afternoon are expected to attract standing-room crowds and live cable news coverage.
Boxer said Gore will help boost her efforts to craft legislation to "reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase conservation, and develop new alternative energy sources to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels."
Even though Boxer's re-election is three years away, the demand for campaign money is ongoing. Republicans have targeted her in the past, and "as chairman, now she's an even bigger target," Kapolczynski said.
The consultant said the Friends of Barbara Boxer hope to raise $20 million before the 2010 re-election campaign.
