Fiorina calls Boxer one of the 'most bitterly partisan' members of Senate

California Republican Carly Fiorina skewered Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) for being a bitter partisan short on legislative accomplishments during an hourlong debate Wednesday.

Boxer defended her record and repeatedly accused her opponent of behaving like a "Wall Street CEO" during her time at the helm of Hewlett-Packard.

During a spirited exchange on stage at Mary's College in Moraga, Fiorina called Boxer "one of the most bitterly partisan members of the U.S. Senate."

"That is why after 18 long years in the Senate, 28 years in Washington, D.C., she only has four relatively insignificant bills with her name on them," she said.

Fiorina said the Senate Democrats' energy bill was Boxer's "signature piece of legislation."

"She could not shepherd that to a conclusion," Fiorina said. "That bill was taken away from her and given to [Massachusetts Democrat] John Kerry [because] he had a better chance of getting bipartisan support."

Boxer responded that she has been influential in shaping the language of numerous bills.

"The fact is 1,000 Boxer provisions have been enacted," Boxer said. "I'm very proud of those provisions."

Boxer said the way Fiorina was determining ownership of bills would have precluded Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) from claiming ownership of the legislation that bears their names, the McCain-Feingold Act. "Neither of them would have gotten credit," she said.

Boxer tried to paint the $21 million dollar severance package Fiorina received when she left Hewlett-Packard as excessive in light of the jobs that were lost during her tenure as CEO.

"If she’s calling for accountability with teachers, there ought to be accountability of CEOs," Boxer said. "My opponent, we know that she shipped jobs overseas — thousands of them — we know she fired workers — tens of thousands of them. But we also know she has opposed every jobs bill we voted on."

Fiorina defended her leadership of the technology company, as well as her compensation.

"Every dollar that I earned at Hewlett-Packard was voted on by shareholders and every dollar was tied very specifically to performance," Fiorina said.
Boxer was asked why at a Senate hearing last summer she insisted Brig. Gen. Michael Walsh, of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, call her "senator" and not "ma'am."

"In that particular moment, we were having a lot of back-and-forth," Boxer said. "This was a formal hearing, so I made the call that I should call the general 'general,' and it would be better if he called me by my formal title, instead of 'sir,' 'ma'am,' 'general,' 'senator.' "

Boxer said she offered to apologize to Walsh.

"Afterwards, I called the general and I said, 'Do I owe you an apology? Did I upset you?' He said, 'No, not at all.' And we work very well together," Boxer said.

Fiorina said she was "pleased" to hear Boxer had called the general to offer an apology.

The debate was the first between the two women and included questions on issues such as climate change, gun control, stem cell research and abortion.