10-28-2008, 12:38 AM
Somehow this topic got hijacked. But I don’t mind a good discussion.
Jerry, you make several points I’d really prefer to respond to in private but, against my better judgment, will try to answer here. I read the comments that came out follow the Kalani candidate forum and wondered again why people were so willing to give breaks to Emily Naeole for being a novice legislator (on the county level) but not so for her cousin, Faye, who was also a novice legislator but on the state level.
So the Kalani forum was not her best “performance.” She has not had the focus on her elected life that Ms. Naeole has but in the months leading up to this election, I have seen her put herself forward more and more as she learns to “perform.” She has a very different personal style from her cousin and, IMHO, a more traditional Hawaiian approach and style which inhibits her ability to “promote” herself the way we expect politicians to do (similar to Sen. Akaka, I might add). She also has health concerns and I think she felt very uncomfortable (possibly in “foreign” territory) at the Kalani forum. So what? Does one forum make or break a candidate? Apparently in this site’s eyes, it does.
Faye Hanohano did not have pundits to advise and help her navigate the travails of the State Legislature. How do you know she didn’t “even make a noise for Puna?” Even Russell Kokubun got shot down in the end by the “good old boy network” in Honolulu during the last session.
And who in HNL is going to listen to Fred Blas, besides the Contractors Association who endorsed him? Not the Democratic majority. And, certainly, his benefactoress Linda Lingle won’t be listening…she’s too busy running for the U.S. Senate! While Aiona is running for gov.
Actually, Rep. Hanohano did make noise for Puna through her support of taro as the state plant, a tactic she’d hoped would keep that culturally vital plant free of GMO but a move that got her publicly scorned by Puna bloggers. And keeping taro GMO-free got derailed by her fellow Big Island legislator Clifton Tsuji. But the County Council, which actually doesn’t have the power over such issues as the state does, unanimously passed the GMO ban for taro. Go figure!
Yes, Rep. Hanohano needs to learn better how to communicate with her constituency and to foster transparency in her legislative agenda, and she needs help with that. But she has made good alliances to help further her legislative aims and I believe her votes have accurately reflected the needs and goals of her Puna constituents.
As for the Democrats’ “good old boy network,” it is in disarray throughout the state. The plantation system, which dominated the politics of Hawaii for more than a hundred years, is truly DEAD! Locally, Lorraine Inouye and Stacy Higa lost their bids for mayor and they were more representative of the “GOBN” than any of the other candidates.
It took the repercussions of the Feb. 19 Democratic caucuses for me to see there was a leadership vacuum in the statewide Democratic Party. Yes, Senators Akaka and Inouye are aged, and aging. And, as one very highly placed individual in HNL told me recently, there are 72 people a day taking the pulse of the 2 senators, looking for their opportunity to jump in and claim new territory.
Think about it…Mufi’s running for gov, not mayor, and he’s just one faction. Then there’s Colleen Hanabusa, who got Anne Kobayashi to run against Mufi for mayor, so that’s another faction with a better Hawaiian pedigree (Mufi’s the Samoan faction). There’s Ed Case, who like his wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing Democratic Party affiliation, is using the Con-Con issue (which he knows is going to lose) to keep his name before the public as he is also running for gov. Then there’s both Abercrombie and Hirono who would both, I’m sure, prefer to run for office every 6 years instead of every 2 years. That’s just the most obvious pulse-takers.
So when the Feb. caucus tripled the Democratic Party membership in this state overnight, there was no apparatus in place in HNL to input all the data. So a bunch of people, including myself, volunteered to do data entry for the Dem. Party and that’s when I started attending precinct and county party meetings and started making my observations that the old Democratic Party machine (the GOBN) is currently on life-support. And the HNL cats just don’t get the sustainability issue, which has taken on even greater urgency with the world economy in the state it’s in!
I’ve had a unique frontseat observation post to modern Hawaiian history for the past 30 years, beginning with my journalism studies at UH-Manoa in the early 1970s, and continuing with my job as assignment editor at KITV News in 1974 and 1975. That was the beginning of the “Hawaiian renaissance” and when the Protect Kahoolawe Ohana and the Hawaiian movement began to demand just compensation for public use of their lands, etc. And it was also the heyday of the state Democratic Party machine, something I’d never witnessed before.
Well, with the demise of the plantation era (and their weakened unions) that machine no longer exists here. Brian Schatz (former HNL legislator and defeated US Rep candidate) and Andy Winer (Obama’s campaign manager for Hawaii) jumped in and grabbed the reins of the state party this past spring but I don’t think their support is widespread. It’s also surmised that both Brian and Andy have higher aspirations and the party posts are just stepping stones.
So this really is the best time for grass-roots supporters to step in and fashion the Democratic Party to their liking. That’s what I’ve been trying to do. So please come out to the Grand Rally featuring Willie K next Monday and help us take Hawaii’s Democratic Party out of the hands of the “good ole boys” and into the 21st Century! Then come to the local Dem. meetings and help our state leadership see that sustainability is the key to our future!
And, Jerry, could I please ask you to check Sen. Akaka’s voting record in the Senate? I think you would be amazed at how differently he votes from Sen. Inouye (the ultimate GOB). When I read of our congressional delegation’s votes in the HNL Advertiser, Sen. Akaka’s votes represent much more of my feelings on national and international issues…he was one of the few senators to consistently oppose U.S. war in Iraq from the beginning. Last week, he scored 100 percent in the rankings of the League of Conservation Voters, a top environmental group. Yes, he’s old and hard of hearing. But he has a top-notch staff and seniority counts in Washington D.C. It counts A LOT!
I have several friends, mostly newcomers to the state, who are impressed by Ed Case. He is much more Republican in philosophy than Democrat which is his perogative, and Democratic Party views do range a full 180 degrees. But I really question the candidacy of anyone whose campaign is sponsored primarily by the National Realtors Association, which Ed’s was. There was not one mailing, not one TV commercial for Ed that did not have the Natl Realtors listed as the group paying for that promotion. I know; I looked!
Well, that’s it for me…I’m sure I’ll regret spilling my guts like this but WTH! Please, everyone, rather than bitch about the good old boy network, let’s get together and create a better Hawaii from the grass roots up. Aloha and malama pono, Frankie
Jerry, you make several points I’d really prefer to respond to in private but, against my better judgment, will try to answer here. I read the comments that came out follow the Kalani candidate forum and wondered again why people were so willing to give breaks to Emily Naeole for being a novice legislator (on the county level) but not so for her cousin, Faye, who was also a novice legislator but on the state level.
So the Kalani forum was not her best “performance.” She has not had the focus on her elected life that Ms. Naeole has but in the months leading up to this election, I have seen her put herself forward more and more as she learns to “perform.” She has a very different personal style from her cousin and, IMHO, a more traditional Hawaiian approach and style which inhibits her ability to “promote” herself the way we expect politicians to do (similar to Sen. Akaka, I might add). She also has health concerns and I think she felt very uncomfortable (possibly in “foreign” territory) at the Kalani forum. So what? Does one forum make or break a candidate? Apparently in this site’s eyes, it does.
Faye Hanohano did not have pundits to advise and help her navigate the travails of the State Legislature. How do you know she didn’t “even make a noise for Puna?” Even Russell Kokubun got shot down in the end by the “good old boy network” in Honolulu during the last session.
And who in HNL is going to listen to Fred Blas, besides the Contractors Association who endorsed him? Not the Democratic majority. And, certainly, his benefactoress Linda Lingle won’t be listening…she’s too busy running for the U.S. Senate! While Aiona is running for gov.
Actually, Rep. Hanohano did make noise for Puna through her support of taro as the state plant, a tactic she’d hoped would keep that culturally vital plant free of GMO but a move that got her publicly scorned by Puna bloggers. And keeping taro GMO-free got derailed by her fellow Big Island legislator Clifton Tsuji. But the County Council, which actually doesn’t have the power over such issues as the state does, unanimously passed the GMO ban for taro. Go figure!
Yes, Rep. Hanohano needs to learn better how to communicate with her constituency and to foster transparency in her legislative agenda, and she needs help with that. But she has made good alliances to help further her legislative aims and I believe her votes have accurately reflected the needs and goals of her Puna constituents.
As for the Democrats’ “good old boy network,” it is in disarray throughout the state. The plantation system, which dominated the politics of Hawaii for more than a hundred years, is truly DEAD! Locally, Lorraine Inouye and Stacy Higa lost their bids for mayor and they were more representative of the “GOBN” than any of the other candidates.
It took the repercussions of the Feb. 19 Democratic caucuses for me to see there was a leadership vacuum in the statewide Democratic Party. Yes, Senators Akaka and Inouye are aged, and aging. And, as one very highly placed individual in HNL told me recently, there are 72 people a day taking the pulse of the 2 senators, looking for their opportunity to jump in and claim new territory.
Think about it…Mufi’s running for gov, not mayor, and he’s just one faction. Then there’s Colleen Hanabusa, who got Anne Kobayashi to run against Mufi for mayor, so that’s another faction with a better Hawaiian pedigree (Mufi’s the Samoan faction). There’s Ed Case, who like his wolf-in-sheep’s-clothing Democratic Party affiliation, is using the Con-Con issue (which he knows is going to lose) to keep his name before the public as he is also running for gov. Then there’s both Abercrombie and Hirono who would both, I’m sure, prefer to run for office every 6 years instead of every 2 years. That’s just the most obvious pulse-takers.
So when the Feb. caucus tripled the Democratic Party membership in this state overnight, there was no apparatus in place in HNL to input all the data. So a bunch of people, including myself, volunteered to do data entry for the Dem. Party and that’s when I started attending precinct and county party meetings and started making my observations that the old Democratic Party machine (the GOBN) is currently on life-support. And the HNL cats just don’t get the sustainability issue, which has taken on even greater urgency with the world economy in the state it’s in!
I’ve had a unique frontseat observation post to modern Hawaiian history for the past 30 years, beginning with my journalism studies at UH-Manoa in the early 1970s, and continuing with my job as assignment editor at KITV News in 1974 and 1975. That was the beginning of the “Hawaiian renaissance” and when the Protect Kahoolawe Ohana and the Hawaiian movement began to demand just compensation for public use of their lands, etc. And it was also the heyday of the state Democratic Party machine, something I’d never witnessed before.
Well, with the demise of the plantation era (and their weakened unions) that machine no longer exists here. Brian Schatz (former HNL legislator and defeated US Rep candidate) and Andy Winer (Obama’s campaign manager for Hawaii) jumped in and grabbed the reins of the state party this past spring but I don’t think their support is widespread. It’s also surmised that both Brian and Andy have higher aspirations and the party posts are just stepping stones.
So this really is the best time for grass-roots supporters to step in and fashion the Democratic Party to their liking. That’s what I’ve been trying to do. So please come out to the Grand Rally featuring Willie K next Monday and help us take Hawaii’s Democratic Party out of the hands of the “good ole boys” and into the 21st Century! Then come to the local Dem. meetings and help our state leadership see that sustainability is the key to our future!
And, Jerry, could I please ask you to check Sen. Akaka’s voting record in the Senate? I think you would be amazed at how differently he votes from Sen. Inouye (the ultimate GOB). When I read of our congressional delegation’s votes in the HNL Advertiser, Sen. Akaka’s votes represent much more of my feelings on national and international issues…he was one of the few senators to consistently oppose U.S. war in Iraq from the beginning. Last week, he scored 100 percent in the rankings of the League of Conservation Voters, a top environmental group. Yes, he’s old and hard of hearing. But he has a top-notch staff and seniority counts in Washington D.C. It counts A LOT!
I have several friends, mostly newcomers to the state, who are impressed by Ed Case. He is much more Republican in philosophy than Democrat which is his perogative, and Democratic Party views do range a full 180 degrees. But I really question the candidacy of anyone whose campaign is sponsored primarily by the National Realtors Association, which Ed’s was. There was not one mailing, not one TV commercial for Ed that did not have the Natl Realtors listed as the group paying for that promotion. I know; I looked!
Well, that’s it for me…I’m sure I’ll regret spilling my guts like this but WTH! Please, everyone, rather than bitch about the good old boy network, let’s get together and create a better Hawaii from the grass roots up. Aloha and malama pono, Frankie