Barbara Boxer: Step 1 — Find mouth. Step 2 — Insert foot.

July 17, 2009 | By JOSHUA THOMPSON

Author: Joshua Thompson

Harry C. Alford, president and chief executive of the National Black Chamber of Commerce spoke yesterday during the Senate hearing chaired by Barbara Boxer (D-CA) , entitled "Ensuring and Enhancing U.S. Competitiveness while Moving toward a Clean Energy Economy.”  Fireworks ensued.

After Mr. Alford spoke about how the climate change bill would negatively effect small businesses, Sen. Boxer found it appropriate to read a resolution from the NAACP supporting the bill into the record.  Mr. Alford shot back questioning the relevance of a resolution by the NAACP when he was invited and brought documentation to support his testimony.  After some back and forth Mr. Alford said:

"We are referring to the experts regardless of their color. And for someone to tell me, an African-American, college-educated veteran of the United States Army that I must contend with some other black group and put aside everything else in here — this has nothing to do with the NAACP and really has nothing to do with the National Black Chamber of Commerce. We're talking energy and that road the chair went down, I think, is god-awful."

You can watch the video here.

H/ts: politico, Wall Street Journal, New York Times.