HI 2014 Congressional Elections

[Morning in Atlas]

'Not a great move on Hanabusa's part to call Schatz the candidate of the 'kingmakers' when a big part of her campaign is, 'ya know, Inouye.

Even more cringeworthy is her press release about the LCV. She said that because Schatz didn't have a rating yet from them and Hanabusa's was a 96%, she was better on the environment. Problem is, Schatz doesn't need a ranking from the LCV: he has their endorsement.

Not as bad as EMILY'S List trying to tie him to Mitch McConnell, but still pretty bad.

[Morning in Atlas]

That puts Hanabusa at 73% liberal, which would be around Klobuchar, Tim Johnson and Elizabeth Warren if she was a Senator. A little skeptical that she's more liberal than Bernie, but whatever.

I still prefer Schatz, but if she's a less corporatist, moderate hero-ish Klobuchar, I'd be able to stomach her candidacy. It's not like she's Mark Pryor.

[Morning in Atlas]

Djou is stickin with HI-01.

Hopefully now pundits will stop rating HI-Sen Likely D.

Not that I'm a pundit, but I just moved it to Safe D.

Why wasn't it safe D in the first place?

Djou did very well in HI-01 in 2012 despite Obama's landslide in the state. Combine that with a very bloody primary and wounded Democratic nominee, and I could see a slight chance for Djou pulling it out. Sort of like Mississippi, which I have at likely R for now. If McDaniel wins the primary, the Democrats actually have a decent candidate.

Comparing Hanabusa or Schatz to a neo-Confederate Islamophobe who retweets white supremacists and Stormfront users is insulting. This seat never had a chance of going Republican.

The bold progressives at the PCCC have endorsed Schatz.

In other news, water is wet.

[Morning in Atlas]

Djou is stickin with HI-01.

Hopefully now pundits will stop rating HI-Sen Likely D.

Not that I'm a pundit, but I just moved it to Safe D.

Why wasn't it safe D in the first place?

Djou did very well in HI-01 in 2012 despite Obama's landslide in the state. Combine that with a very bloody primary and wounded Democratic nominee, and I could see a slight chance for Djou pulling it out. Sort of like Mississippi, which I have at likely R for now. If McDaniel wins the primary, the Democrats actually have a decent candidate.

Comparing Hanabusa or Schatz to a neo-Confederate Islamophobe who retweets white supremacists and Stormfront users is insulting. This seat never had a chance of going Republican.

It was an analogy. I'm not saying Hanabusa or Schatz were even weak candidates, just that Djou was a strong one. HI-01 is half the state, and he got 46% there against Hanabusa even during Obama's huge landslide, so is it really that implausible he could've kept the Senate race within single digits in a much more Republican friendly environment?

Yes. McDaniel's faults aren't because of a competitive primary. They're because he makes Ted Cruz look like Obama.

[Morning in Atlas]

Obama is endorsing Schatz.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/31/obama-brian-schatz-endorsement_n_5059433.html?utm_hp_ref=politics

Glorious.

[Morning in Atlas]

I wish there was more news in from the First district race. I'm still waiting for Donna Mercado Kim to receive the Emily's List and Planned Parenthood endorsement.

I'd be surprised, they usually only endorse Democrats.

Really, really stupid response.

Well the only liberal thing she has on her belt is abortion.

As far as the other issues go, she's barely to the left of Susan Collins.

[Morning in Atlas]

I wish there was more news in from the First district race. I'm still waiting for Donna Mercado Kim to receive the Emily's List and Planned Parenthood endorsement.

I'd be surprised, they usually only endorse Democrats.

Really, really stupid response.

Well the only liberal thing she has on her belt is abortion.

As far as the other issues go, she's barely to the left of Susan Collins.

Oh please, you know that is wrong.

I don't know much about Kim's positions, but she apparently does have some socially conservative views (at least on gay marriage) and some fiscally conservative ones, as well (at least on public sector unions).  I'll be very disappointed in the Hawaii Democrats if they nominate a bigot for a race where a bigot is not needed to win.

The HDP baffles me, in a way.  It's a pretty progressive state, but there are more prominent Blue Dogs than you'd expect from there.

OOPS SORRY: I thought all of you spoke about Colleen Hanabusa!

Oh god no. Hanabusa is tolerable, but not as good as Schatz.

Kim though... She needs a swift primary

[Morning in Atlas]

So the president's endorsement in his birth state is irrelevant, and keeping someone who's worked hard for the cause his entire life (as opposed to someone who magically started giving a sh*t the moment Inouye died) isn't important.

The Hanabots must be out in full swing today.

[Morning in Atlas]

She doesn't explicitly say she'd vote against a $10.10 minimum wage. As the closest thing to a Schatz cheerleader this forum has, this just seems like a bunch of sensationalized crap to me.

[Morning in Atlas]

Abercombrie is a f****** bastard, nothing new.

If I were in his shoes, and a dying Inouye had the arrogance to pick a successor, I'd tell him to piss off. Abercrombie really isn't in the wrong here.

[Morning in Atlas]

I agree. This isn't Daniel Inouye's seat. This is the people of Hawaii's seat, and Schatz is more in line with the people of Hawaii than Hanabusa is.

As someone who admires Patsy Mink, I would rather have someone who looked up to her than someone who weighed a primary against her. Hawaii deserves a progressive Senator.

[Morning in Atlas]

In HI-01, pro-gay groups are coalescing around Mark Takai as the best choice to take down DMK. Even though Takai only started supporting gay rights a few months ago, that's still better than Kim I suppose.


Emily's List is appears to be staying neutral, as there is no female Democrat who has a chance of winning the primary.

I'm endorsing Chang as the anti-DMK on principle. While I would tolerate Takai because he's more economically liberal than Kim, I don't believe his endorsement of SSM is sincere (as is Hanabusa's). I can't, in good conscience, endorse a candidate who suddenly has a "change of heart" on an important issue one month after declaring a run for higher office.

[Morning in Atlas]

Also worth noting that Some Dude and anti-GMO activist Brian Evans is in. The only reason I even know of him is that he made a song about Fenway.

[Morning in Atlas]

Hanabusa finally hits the airwaves. Still hasn't hit TV yet, but she's doing a radio ad here.

[Morning in Atlas]

Not a fan of DINO Mercado Kim. Hopefully Takai can catch up to her.

Same. Anti-gay, anti-public education, pro-Monsanto.

If it looks like a Republican, talks like a Republican, and acts like a Republican, then it's probably a Republican pretending to be a Democrat.

If Djou supports gay marriage he has my endorsement, bar a Green run.

[Morning in Atlas]

I would love for Xian to win, but she doesn't have a chance. I'm backing Chang wholeheartedly.

As for my personal views, I would like to see Hanabusa as a new Secretary of VA. She has a good record as far as veterans' issues go.

[Morning in Atlas]

Not really a knock on Hanabusa's part, but my mom just got this email.



Stay classy, Emily's List.

[Morning in Atlas]

Not a fan of DINO Mercado Kim. Hopefully Takai can catch up to her.

Same. Anti-gay, anti-public education, pro-Monsanto.

If it looks like a Republican, talks like a Republican, and acts like a Republican, then it's probably a Republican pretending to be a Democrat.

If Djou supports gay marriage he has my endorsement, bar a Green run.

Djou does support gay marriage.

Actually, he does not. He only was pro-DADT, but he was also pro-DOMA.

Looking at his other isssues, I'll probably refuse to endorse him too. It's a shame that one of the most liberal states might have to decide between two Republicans.

[Morning in Atlas]

Not a fan of DINO Mercado Kim. Hopefully Takai can catch up to her.

Same. Anti-gay, anti-public education, pro-Monsanto.

If it looks like a Republican, talks like a Republican, and acts like a Republican, then it's probably a Republican pretending to be a Democrat.

If Djou supports gay marriage he has my endorsement, bar a Green run.

Djou does support gay marriage.

Actually, he does not. He only was pro-DADT, but he was also pro-DOMA.

Looking at his other isssues, I'll probably refuse to endorse him too. It's a shame that one of the most liberal states might have to decide between two Republicans.

Looking at Donna Mercado Kim's website , she seems to be a solid progressive on most issues (or at least on the ones she mentions). Also, the website looks very low-tech, possibly hinting at an underfunded campaign. It may still be possible for a more liberal candidate to sneak through to the nomination.

She's anti-gay marriage, appointed a Monsanto shill as the head of the Water Commission, and supports funneling public education funds towards private subsidies.

Actions speak louder than words. She doesn't even deserve to be called a DINO.

[Morning in Atlas]

Not a fan of DINO Mercado Kim. Hopefully Takai can catch up to her.

Same. Anti-gay, anti-public education, pro-Monsanto.

If it looks like a Republican, talks like a Republican, and acts like a Republican, then it's probably a Republican pretending to be a Democrat.

If Djou supports gay marriage he has my endorsement, bar a Green run.

Djou does support gay marriage.

Actually, he does not. He only was pro-DADT, but he was also pro-DOMA.

Looking at his other isssues, I'll probably refuse to endorse him too. It's a shame that one of the most liberal states might have to decide between two Republicans.

Looking at Donna Mercado Kim's website , she seems to be a solid progressive on most issues (or at least on the ones she mentions). Also, the website looks very low-tech, possibly hinting at an underfunded campaign. It may still be possible for a more liberal candidate to sneak through to the nomination.

She's anti-gay marriage, appointed a Monsanto shill as the head of the Water Commission, and supports funneling public education funds towards private subsidies.

Actions speak louder than words. She doesn't even deserve to be called a DINO.

She sure makes Hanabusa seem good in comparison, LOL.

No kidding. At least Hanabusa is Generic D.

[Morning in Atlas]

Beautiful. Great to see that the real defenders of women's rights (and the daughter of one of feminism's most noble warriors in modern history) are lining up behind the actual pro-choice candidate.

Godspeed, Schatz. I await his defeat of Hobbybusa.

[Morning in Atlas]

Emily's List has endorsed Donna Mercado Kim!!!!

Praise The Lord! Praise The Lord!

http://www.emilyslist.org/candidates/donna-kim

Is this the first time Emily's List has teamed up with a right-wing Christian Coalition?

I don't think so. They haven't even endorsed Garrison, who's even more loathsome to me than DMK.

[Morning in Atlas]

But yeah, surprisingly I have no problem with this. Say what you want about DMK on the other issues, but on a woman's choice she's just as good as the rest of the party.

And now that I did a little research it seems Hanabusa did vote for the emergency contraception bill after all. I still have my reservations, but in case of a Hanabusa win, I'll tolerate it.

[Morning in Atlas]

It seems Hanabusa's campaign is entirely based on "Daniel Inouye wanted me to be senator, so you should vote for me"

You wouldn't be wrong.

[Morning in Atlas]

I feel like Hanabusa is running because she sees a good shot at winning due to Abercrombie being unpopular, and as she can take advantage of being a Native Hawian Islander. There is no reasonable ideological difference to motivate her to run.

Hanabusa is running a campaign based around race baiting, it's shameful

There's also the gender baiting. The insinuation by Emily's List that only a women can win as a Democrat in Hawaii is ridiculous.  Emily's List should pull out of Hawaii, and focus on Louisiana, North Carolina, Kentucky, and Georgia.

It's not even insinuation - it's blatantly misleading women. Twice, they have put Brian Schatz alongside Mr. Motorcycle Abortion Thom Tillis, failed abstinence advocate Bill Cassidy, and Scott Brown, who's currently hiding in a bathroom from any sort of stance on women's issues. Looking through the other e-mails my mom got, they've also compared Schatz to Scott Walker and the Texas and Ohio GOP, who both passed bills assaulting a woman's right to choose. Instead of being honest, or even running wholly on Inouye's endorsement or her gender, they've decided to paint Brian Schatz as the Republican opponent, and that's despicable.

I really hate to sound like a neckbeard, but if Brian Schatz's name was Brianna Schatz, then Hanabusa would be demonized by the abortion lobby.