As a State Senator from Kauai currently in the final stages of a campaign to be elected to the U. S. Congress representing Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District, I have submitted several diaries to the Daily Kos over the past few months.
In response to the advice of numerous Kossacks I have tried to submit pieces that will let the residents of this place know and understand who I am, what drives me and what my values are based upon.
Today, in my ongoing effort to build relationships among those of you likeminded individuals who frequent this place, I offer you my perspective on "why this candidate is so green"
Last month, the Sierra Club of Hawaii issued its annual scorecard on the performance of legislators relative to environmental issues. It is perhaps no accident that the two people with the top scores in the entire House and Senate of the Hawai`i State Legislature are from Kaua`i: Rep Hermina Morita and myself.
I believe living, raising my family, and working on Kauai, as well as serving as a State Senator for Kauai'/Ni'ihau, have turned me instinctively "green." I believe that what is not good for Nature cannot be good for human beings whose lives and well-being are inextricably intertwined with the health of the planet. I know that if I voted wisely on the ten environmental bills on which the Sierra Club based its scorecard, it was because I voted with both my conscience and my commonsense.
The Sierra Club has thrown a spotlight on how wisely or unwisely legislators in Hawaii are handling this responsibility. Look at what the national spotlight exposes. Newsweek devoted a cover story recently to the greening of America. Tom Brokaw has brought the subject of global warming to our TV screens. The theatres are filled with people trying to deal with "An Inconvenient Truth."
As a nation, we have not been good stewards of the earth.
There is some irony in that because the Bush Administration is not short on pieties. This Administration is quick to invoke God and morality as if they had an intimate understanding of both. Their actions suggest the opposite. They have been quick to define the "axis of evil" and wage a so-called "crusade" against "evil-doers" that has cost thousands of innocent lives and lost this great nation the respect it once enjoyed.
War is unmitigated brutality to the planet. Recovery takes several generations. As the gorilla of gas consumption and carbon dioxide production, our shameful refusal to sign the Kyoto Accord tells the world that materialistic self-indulgence is more important to America than leadership in protecting the environment from further degradation.
The Bush Administration has systematically exploited the moral and religious sense of the American people to advance its agenda. This same Administration should pay particular attention to the fact that, according to the respected Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, strong majorities among all major American religious groups support more vigorous efforts to protect the environment.
Looking for scriptural authority? Go to the seminal Christian, Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist texts and you will find repeated exhortations to protect the earth. It's been here a lot longer than we have and we should leave it in a decent state for our children and for their children's children as well. End
If you would like nuts and bolts answers to policy positions and/or information on my past voting record you can visit my website http://www.garyhooser.com
Two particular diaries that reflect my core beliefs are Candidate from the Country, ready for the revolution and my personal favorite A candidates view of Bush and his preference for firmness
Reading these two dairies will tell give you a clear glimpse into the core of who I am.
Authors note: I am a second-term State Senator (Kaua'i-Ni'ihau) from Hawaii who is running for the seat vacated by Congressman Ed Case. Case is running against incumbent Senator Daniel Akaka. For additional information about the values, positions and policies that are especially important to myself and the residents of Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District visit http://www.garyhooser.com