Bloodless Coup

There is a shaking going on in our government. New things - "surprises" are springing up. A new generation of "righteous" and leaders of "integrity" are needed in this critical time of our nation. This is not about a popularity contest, or loyalty to political parties. It's not about fame, power, money or position, but rather, there is a "calling" on those who have been specifically chosen in this desparate hour of our county. Leaders that will be held accountable in the end. Hawai'i is being "transformed" into a new Hawai'i. No longer will it be business as usual. Rise Up, you leaders of Hawai'i, and fulfill your destiny for all the world to see!

It just makes sense. We all love Sen. Akaka and are he has made us all very proud. But as the state continues to grow and change (like it or not) so must our ideas around politics. Congressman Case is shaking things up - but it is for the best. The old boys have done a lot for our state, but preparing their party for transition is not one of their better strengths. Look at the race for Governor! Not a single viable Democratic challenger. Ed Case is planning for our future and we while we should respect and thank those who came before, we shouldn't hold so tightly onto the past that we can't move forward.

Well, I understand the argument that it's time to change from the ways of the past. But if that's really the goal and Case is looking to offer a new approach for the future and reinvigorate (or change) the state party - wouldn't he be better able to accomplish that as governor? I mean wouldn't it make more sense to run against Lingle instead of Akaka?

so sorry the good old boys cant handle the future. They apparently believe that the best is yet to come out of our representation in Washington DC, and the best starts at 80! Come on..talk about selfish and selfserving...How long must the people keep saying 'thank you' to the PARTY which seems to become far more important than 'the people'...HEY! Remember US? WE THE PEOPLE? It is not about RESPECT for the elders...it is about doing what is RIGHT FOR THE PEOPLE. How long do these wonderful gentlemen think they will live anyway? Will it be wonderful to leave the STATE in a LURCH should one of our hero's die? They both have had the chance for many years to TRAIN IN someone..but NOOOOOO, cant do that. Well, is THAT GOOD FOR THE PEOPLE? I dont thing so.
Our State Democratic Party would do well to stop with the Mafia trip, and start recognising there are LOTS of folks waiting for representation. Ed is right on. He may have cut off his own foot here, if the DEMOCRATIC MAFIA PARTY has it way...but the PEOPLE of HAWAII must stand up for ED CASE AS WELL...he, and others, are the future...and the future can not always be decided by those who live the longest.Let some of us through who have idea's, without the protocol of KISSING the, did someone say..RING? of those who have held power for ages. The future belongs to us ALL. We all have a right to build it. We all have EARNED IT. WIN OR LOSE..GO FOR IT ED.

Hawaii Democrats: Ed Case is not being divisive by running for the U.S. Senate. It’s a bold move at a time when Hawaii needs to look to the future, not exacerbate problems from the past.

I thought Sen. Daniel Akaka was a good senator until he started pushing the Akaka bill (S. 147). As a person of Hawaiian ancestry, he personally stands to gain enormously, as does his family and all of their descendents, if his bill passes.

The Akaka bill will create a racially separate government that would operate like an Indian tribe with its own laws and racial voting restrictions. This new "tribe" would include about 20% of Hawaii's current residents plus about 400,000 other Americans nationwide. To be a part of this new “Native Hawaiian tribe,” you would not need to have any affiliation, knowledge or affinity with Native Hawaiian culture, language or politics. You don’t even have to have ever lived in Hawaii. You just need to have one drop of the right kind of blood.

The people under the jurisdiction of this new government would not be defined by geography, community or cultural cohesiveness, but by race. This sort of ethnic hierarchy, racial division and separatism can only hurt our fine State. Look what the people of Hawaii have created in the past hundred years: true multigenerational ethnic mixing and a sense of Aloha that draws hundreds of thousands of people here every year. Akaka’s destructive bill is both anti-aloha and anti-Hawaiian. I’m appalled that our Senator would propose such an ethnically divisive bill, especially given his potential to personally profit from it.

The Akaka bill could forever destroy Hawaii’s one of a kind ethnic mixing. Instead of equality amongst all racial groups as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, Hawaii’s citizens of Chinese, Japanese, Samoan, Tahitian, Filipino, Indian, and the many, many other Pacific, Asian and European ancestries could be held hostage supporting a single ethnic group that most likely wasn’t even the first people to reside on these islands! This gold mine for one ethnic group could be a land mine for the rest of Hawaii’s people.

Perhaps Senator Akaka wants to see ethnic Hawaiians cash in on the profitable casino privileges that have been given to American Indian tribes. His own family, relatives and descendents, as part of the newly created “tribe” could grab some of the high-priced real estate in these beautiful islands and claim it as their tribal heritage. Perhaps he’s not even thinking of his own wallet, but only trying to help what he considers his people. But he’s supposed to represent all Hawaiians, not just the kanaka māoli, or ethnic Hawaiians. If he feels he should represent his own ethnic group to the detriment of all other citizens, then I’m glad to see someone running against him.

Most people support the allotment of tax money to facilitate improvement in the lives of our impoverished and at risk citizens of Hawaiian or any other ancestry. And public policy currently allows for ethnic favoritism in funding, so to speak, by identifying or establishing target populations for services. We do that already with programs that provide free and low cost job training and/or college, free medical care, free childcare, free housing, etc. for ethnic Hawaiians to the tune of billions of dollars every year. But creating a false tribal group with financial and political powers over the future of these islands goes way beyond supporting any particular down-trodden group. The Akaka bill establishes a process that could perpetually redirect tax money from hardworking Hawaiian citizens directly to ethnic Hawaiians, whether they’re already rich or not, and whether they live here in Hawaii or not. A Filipino-American working two or three jobs to be able to pay rent here in Hawaii could be taxed to pay restitution (or fees for the use of their “property,” for instance the land UH is built on) to a rich New York businessman with one percent Hawaiian ancestry. Not much aloha there, eh brah?

The Akaka bill creates a false tribe whose members will not be held to the same standards, laws and principles that other Americans are. This tribe would include people who don’t live here and who might care nothing for Hawaii, but who would be entitled to money for whatever historical wrongs are perceived to be righted by the Akaka bill. Worse still, Senator Akaka will be one of many people who could pocket the money that would be better spent on helping truly needy Hawaiians create and sustain a better life here. Creating a race-stratified society is simply wrong. It’s a step backward, and it’s offensive to the U.S. Constitution and to a national commitment to equal justice for all.

Hurray for Ed Case for stepping up to the plate and challenging someone who has been veering off into nasty ethnic divisiveness. We need someone representing us who isn’t going to use an old “poor me” story to create a perpetual fountain of riches streamlined and directed to a single ethnic group.

ha, ed case makes me laugh. he's a political opportunist with no spine and no vision. his leadership resembles a rudderless vessel drifting on the sea of political ambition. what has he offered the people of hawaii since moving to DC? a few newsletters and talk story sessions w/ the people does not equate to effective legislative action. of course his opponent, the esteemed dan akaka, should have retired years ago along with his colleague daniel inouye. rep. case's decision to challenge the status quo will provide great media fodder for poli-sci wonks but will add nothing to social structure of hawaii nei

Case is a climber. He seeks higher office for the sake of higher office. He supposedly represents neighbor islands, but I have no idea what his vision is. What I do know, looking at his voting record, is that he tends to be too conservative for my tastes. With a legislative, executive, and judicial branch controlled by conservative extremists, we do not need Case's conservative values added to the Senate.

However, I see his attempt to unseat Akaka a good thing, because Case will surely lose and a more progressive democrat from Hawaii will surely replace him in the House.

LC, I suggest you educate yourself. Though your writing is cogent, it lacks depth and is mostly comprised of rhetoric.

The Hawaiian Bill is not about Akaka, it's about a people and a country illegally overthrown. Perhaps you have no inkling of the History of Hawaii, so let me summarize: Hawaii was its own sovereign kingdom; it had diplomatic relationships with various nations like England, Russia, and the U.S.; it printed its own newspaper; had its own currency; and conducted its own trade. Along comes a pack of capitalist white exploiters, one of which had a friend in the U.S. navy. Those “Robber Barons” didn’t like the pro-people slant of Hawaii’s last queen, so they called in a gunship (without congressional or presidential authority), and had her abdicate her thrown. She traveled to the U.S. Congress to plead her country’s case. The president at the time commissioned the Blount Report. That report found that the Kingdom of Hawaii was wrongfully taken. WWI happened, and the rest is history.

Unfortunately, no UN existed at the time, so there was no international body to say, “Hey US, you violated just about every form of customary international law and convention, give the Kingdom of Hawaii back.” On the other hand, the idea of sovereignty and comity between nations was a standard since the earliest civilizations, so the US cannot claim ignorance.

I’m not native Hawaiian, nor am I married to one. So I have nothing to gain here. But it’s clear to me that the Kingdom and its people deserve some type of reparation for the forcible and illegal overthrow of their government. The Akaka Bill is one “small” step in that direction. It creates an interagency team to look at what’s to be done. It does not give Hawaiians land that they don’t own, or monies that are not theirs. It would probably give them more authority to manage Hawaiian Homes Lands and the proceeds from crown lands owed to them under Hawaii’s constitution.

In any event, I fail to see what any of this has to do with race, LC? Are you playing the race card to cloud the debate? The fact of the matter is that the US has an ugly history: slavery, oppression of non-white races, imperialism, unrestrained capitalism, etc. But, it is how a country deals with is misdeeds and transgressions that show its true character; e.g., women’s suffrage, the civil rights era, emancipation, etc. Those stand at the masthead of our great nation.

Avoiding history and an unwillingness to make amends shows a weakness in character that does not suit our country.

The Booman Tribune has an update on the Akaka/Case race here:

"Aloha" Means Hello and Goodbye, You Old Goats ... The powerful Democratic party machine in Hawaii has just endorsed incumbent U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka over challenger, U.S. Rep. Ed Case [PHOTO] (appointed to the deceased Patty Mink's seat and winner of his first reelection campaign).

Hawaiians share West Virginians' problem -- but times two. Both of their U.S. Senators will soon be in their 80s. Akaka is 75 years old. Case is warning his fellow Dems that "the state would lose all clout in Washington if the state's two US Senators, both of whom are over 80 years old, leave office within a short time of each other."

Case knows about fighting Hawaii's Dem party machine. Case challenged several insider Dems in the 2002 Democratic gubernatorial primary - "[r]iding on public anger over the status quo under the leadership of what was collectively known as the "Old Boys' Network" of Hawai'i politics" - but narrowly lost. Check out Ed Case's campaign Web site and MrLiberal's Jan. diary at DailyKos.

As the link now correctly notes, Akaka and Inouye are already in their 80's - they are 81. Robert C. Byrd is currently 88 (and about 3 months). I think it's fair to raise that as an issue - but barring any "senior moments" during the campaign, I doubt the campaign will turn on that point.

Awesome LC. We need major change in our blind voted democratic state. A change that should have happened years ago.