10-18-2008, 12:26 PM
Dave,
Instead of telling us why we shouldn't vote for Pilago, how about giving us compelling reasons to vote for Kenoi? I have friends who support Mr. Kenoi and I understand why; they are old school Hilo-ites with personal and family ties that go way back. Right or wrong, it's basic human behavior to support family and friends. (See other thread about prejudice.) It seems to me that most folks who support Pilago (in the Puna area, anyway) are not shackled by relationships that can fog how humans evaluate and select political leaders. Just my humble opinion.
To be fair, I'll concede that Mr. Pilago is PARTIALLY independent of big money donors. But contrary to the implication behind your analogy ("a little pregnent"), control and influence are not either/or propositions. There ARE degrees of influence, there ARE degrees of control. So who will be MORE controlled by the big money donors? Of course I can't answer this definitively, but I have reason to believe that Mr. Pilago would be more independent of the donors than Mr. Kenoi. Just a hunch.
As you can see, I'm not suggesting that Mr. Pilago is perfect; for the sake of argument, let's assume he mis-stated the make-up of his donation base, or even flat out lied. Can you honestly say that Mr. Kenoi never committed these sins? Is he without sin? Looking at the two men objectively, is there a strong pattern of questionable conduct that makes one choice worse than the other? Please convince me that Mr. Kenoi has more integrity that Mr. Pilago, because I have no personal connections with either man.
Keep in mind that if you take an absolutist stance on integrity, then you are either suggesting Mr. Kenoi is perfectly moral, or you are acknowledging that both are morally flawed human beings. But you can't have it both ways.
Bottom line is, the issue of "big money donors" ON ITS OWN is not a deal-breaker for me. Ya gotta come to the shooting match with more potent ammo, my friend. With a solid, persuasive argument detailing Mr. Kenoi's qualifications and accomplishments, you have a shot at winning me over. Please tell me why I should vote for Mr. Kenoi!
I'm waiting to be persuaded...
Tim
Instead of telling us why we shouldn't vote for Pilago, how about giving us compelling reasons to vote for Kenoi? I have friends who support Mr. Kenoi and I understand why; they are old school Hilo-ites with personal and family ties that go way back. Right or wrong, it's basic human behavior to support family and friends. (See other thread about prejudice.) It seems to me that most folks who support Pilago (in the Puna area, anyway) are not shackled by relationships that can fog how humans evaluate and select political leaders. Just my humble opinion.
To be fair, I'll concede that Mr. Pilago is PARTIALLY independent of big money donors. But contrary to the implication behind your analogy ("a little pregnent"), control and influence are not either/or propositions. There ARE degrees of influence, there ARE degrees of control. So who will be MORE controlled by the big money donors? Of course I can't answer this definitively, but I have reason to believe that Mr. Pilago would be more independent of the donors than Mr. Kenoi. Just a hunch.
As you can see, I'm not suggesting that Mr. Pilago is perfect; for the sake of argument, let's assume he mis-stated the make-up of his donation base, or even flat out lied. Can you honestly say that Mr. Kenoi never committed these sins? Is he without sin? Looking at the two men objectively, is there a strong pattern of questionable conduct that makes one choice worse than the other? Please convince me that Mr. Kenoi has more integrity that Mr. Pilago, because I have no personal connections with either man.
Keep in mind that if you take an absolutist stance on integrity, then you are either suggesting Mr. Kenoi is perfectly moral, or you are acknowledging that both are morally flawed human beings. But you can't have it both ways.
Bottom line is, the issue of "big money donors" ON ITS OWN is not a deal-breaker for me. Ya gotta come to the shooting match with more potent ammo, my friend. With a solid, persuasive argument detailing Mr. Kenoi's qualifications and accomplishments, you have a shot at winning me over. Please tell me why I should vote for Mr. Kenoi!
I'm waiting to be persuaded...
Tim
Tim
A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions--Confucius
A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions--Confucius