While local and national conservatives alike praised Governor Lingle's recent speech before the Republican National Convention, for most in Hawaii it is just further evidence of how out of touch she really is.
It is no wonder that Republicans in Hawaii are fleeing their party in droves. Like GenXer's caught at a Polka fest, they can't get to the door fast enough. Unable to field competent candidates in the upcoming election they have left some 32 seats totally uncontested, and filled others with marginal conservatives totally out of touch with mainstream Hawaii.
Whether delivered by John McCain or Linda Lingle, the Republican message is simply the wrong tune - out of step, out of style and out of touch.
The de facto head of the Hawai‘i Republican party, Governor Linda Lingle, along with her chief wing man Lieutenant Governor Duke Aiona, are both in St. Paul this week, praising the failed administration of President Bush and Senator John 'Four More Years' McCain, and working hard to defeat Hawai‘i-born Senator Barack Obama.
Why on earth would they be doing this?
Party politics aside, there is no question whatsoever that the vast majority of Hawaii residents support Barack Obama to be the next President of the United States. Opposing Senator Obama is akin to cheering for Georgia at the Sugar Bowl and hoping for the defeat of the University of Hawaii Warriors.
Without a doubt, the candidate who will offer Hawai‘i the greatest direct benefits would be Barack Obama. Clearly he would continue to visit his place of birth—our island home—to spend time with family and friends. The attention would serve Hawai‘i well, and our Congressional delegation would surely benefit from having a Democratic President with strong Hawai‘i ties.
Governor Lingle once called President Bush 'the best President ever,' so it is not surprising that she believes John McCain 'is a perfect person to elect president of the United States at this time,' as was reported in the Honolulu media.
Senator McCain has been quoted often in support of the Bush administration’s decisions over the past eight years, and he voted with the President over ninety percent of the time. Except perhaps for Rush Limbaugh, Carl Rove and now apparently Governor Lingle and Lieutenant Governor Aiona, few people will deny that the past eight years of the Bush administration have been an unmitigated disaster.
'Bush lied and people died' is more than a catchy slogan on a t-shirt - it is the truth.
Lingle, Aiona, and the John McCain's of our country may look the other way in denial but the world community, backed by the overwhelming weight of the evidence knows it is the sad and brutal truth.
The election of Senator John McCain will only perpetuate the policies—and errors—of the past. Our country, our world and our community cannot afford four more years of this downward spiral.
McCain and the Republicans do not support Native Hawaiian recognition, and yet our Native Hawaiian Lieutenant Governor and our supposedly pro-recognition Governor still insist on supporting them. And they oppose Barack Obama who has pledged his support for the full recognition of Hawaii's indigenous people.
In light of the Hawaii connection and the obvious strong support for Obama by their state’s voters, the Governor and Lieutenant Governor could easily have refused an active role in the Republican convention and the McCain campaign. The leaders of their party would have understood. No one in either party would expect the Governor or Lieutenant Governor to campaign actively against their state’s 'favorite son.'
The role they have embraced at the convention is not simply an appropriate response to a party obligation; this is political pandering at its worst. Governor Lingle and Lieutenant Governor Aiona will be stumping this week for candidates who not only oppose Barack Obama, but who oppose Native Hawaiian recognition, oppose a woman's right to choose, oppose sex education in our schools, oppose equal rights being granted to all people, oppose environmental regulation, and oppose universal health care.
And why would our Governor and Lieutenant Governor be doing this?
It has to be about the money because it can't be about the votes. Lingle and Aiona are more likely to lose votes in their next elections as voters recall their opposition of Obama and support of Bush/McCain. Their aggressive support for McCain and opposition to Obama isn’t about votes, and it’s not about principle. It is about money.
While losing votes and working to reduce our state’s political capital, Lingle and Aiona will gain national recognition and make points with national Republican funding groups. Both will likely do quite handsomely in the fundraising department during the coming run-up to 2010, and both are most likely betting the memory of the electorate will be short while the pockets of their mainland contributors will be deep.
Gary L. Hooser
Hawaii State Senate
Majority Leader
http://www.garyhooser.com