HI 2014 Congressional Elections

[Anti Democrat Democrat Club]

I really don't like this from a political viewpoint, but she will win. The Japanese have a culture of strong respect, and when an elder's will is dictated, then it's strictly adhered to.

Here's to hoping Schatz goes for HI-1.

[Anti Democrat Democrat Club]

Endorsed.

Lets hope Inouye's wish is finally realized.

But... Why? Yeah, Inouye was a legend in Hawaiian politics, but he had his own interests, and Hanabusa served those interests.

There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with Schatz.

See my last post. I'm guessing she's running to "right the wrong" Abercrombie made against Inouye and his last wishes.

[Anti Democrat Democrat Club]

See my last post. I'm guessing she's running to "right the wrong" Abercrombie made against Inouye and his last wishes.

So?  Inouye doesn't get to dictate who should keep his seat after he leaves.

Not repeating myself. The people get to dictate who gets the seat, and the people seem to be leaning towards Hanabusa.

[Anti Democrat Democrat Club]

Sorry, maybe I misunderstood (sounded like you supported the idea).

Gotcha. Consider this my endorsement of Schatz.

[Anti Democrat Democrat Club]

But I want a funny named Senator to be there, especially since Mike Crapo is probably going to go down in a firey primary after his drunk driving or not even run. I endorse Brian Schatz!

Isn't Risch up this year though?

[Anti Democrat Democrat Club]

God damnit.

[Anti Democrat Democrat Club]

He looks like such a hoagie in this picture.

...he looks like a sandwich?

Color me puzzled too.

[Anti Democrat Democrat Club]

Al Gore has endorsed Schatz.

[Anti Democrat Democrat Club]

Gabbard should just run

No. Schatz is a great Senator and I'm looking forward to his service.

[Anti Democrat Democrat Club]

I haven't been following this race as much as the mainland, but why did Hanabusa even decide to go for Senate in the first place apart from her original killer +20 point lead over Schatz as opposed to running for Governor against Abercrombie? Abercrombie has had constant low approval's in the 40's ever since appointing Schatz over Hanabusa for Sen. Inouye's old seat.

Granted Hanabusa would stand a better chance at defeating Abercrombie than David Ige, it may have been better if they swapped simply because it was because of Abercrombie why Schatz got in which should make Hanabusa want to go after him more and Hanabusa is going to have to give up her seat while Ige doesn't. It just seems those two and the Hawaii Democratic Party at large has more to gain from getting Hanabusa to easily primary Abercrombie, prevent the Republicans from taking the Governor's seat while still holding a job after giving up her House seat, and still give Ige a decent chance at beating Schatz.

For the same reason why Liz Cheney ran: because she wants to.

[Anti Democrat Democrat Club]

Not really. She's basically running because she feels entitled to the seat. I'll give her more leeway because like I said before, it's more of a cultural thing, but it's taking resources away from other close races like Georgia or Alaska.

[Anti Democrat Democrat Club]

Are you out of your mind? We need her in Washington! Just look at what happened a few months after the late Shelley Berkley lost her seat in Congress.

>attacks another poster for not supporting her candidate
>defends a corrupt congresswoman even when she has a better candidate replacing her



And yes, it is a cultural thing. Japanese culture is much more centered around elders than American culture, so when the face of Hawaiian politics tells you who to appoint and you deny it, you'll feel entitled to run. It's not racism, it's the f***ing culture, and it's certainly better to spend money helping Nunn or Landrieu or Begich out than to help whoever in the primary the DSCC supports.

Please know what you're talking about before you start throwing barbs.

[Anti Democrat Democrat Club]

SawxDem is convincing me to send money to Hanabusa's campaign.

You two would get along well anyways, considering you're both barely Democrats.

[Anti Democrat Democrat Club]

I don't think Becca is being illiterate; I just think she's being troll. She's saying this rating proves Schatz is a DINO/not a true leftist, acknowledges Hanabusa was rated to his right but thinks, for whatever reason, that she'd move drastically to the left if/when she's in the Senate.

Yeah, I'm not sure if she's serious either.

[Anti Democrat Democrat Club]

And Mercado Kim is anti-gay marriage, anti-minimum wage increase, and promoted a Monsanto executive to the state's Water Commission.

Almost tempts me to go with Djou if he runs again. At least he admits he's a Republican.

[Anti Democrat Democrat Club]

Probably. She's to the right of Miles.

[Anti Democrat Democrat Club]

People may not know this, but Kim is also pro-choice and used to be a Planned Parenthood official!
She can get the Emily's List endorsement which would help her immensely in the primary.

And apparently she voted for emergency contraception, unlike Hanabusa. Would vote for someone closer to Patsy Mink, but she's outside of DINO territory now.

[Anti Democrat Democrat Club]

Emily's List is a total joke.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Because having the incumbent progressive Senator Brian Schatz win re-election instead of a much more conservative Democrat is totally a victory for Mitch McConnell.

Emily's List became a joke when they endorsed the candidate who voted against emergency contraception in the Senate over the candidate who sponsored it in the House. How a pro-choice organization can endorse a candidate whose views are to the right of another one is beyond me. I honestly don't see how she deserves this endorsement whatsoever.

I'm personally not enthused about any of the Democrats in the HI-01 race, and I'm currently rooting for Ikaika Anderson because he hasn't given me a reason to dislike him yet.

I'm backing Kathryn Xian (the most progressive candidate). No idea about the other 4 (Espero, Chang, Takai, and Anderson), but she seems more progressive. I don't care who gets in, just as long as it's not DMK or Mufi. I wouldn't mind right-wing Democrats in swing districts, but this really isn't a good district for a right-winger. I also have no idea why Mufi's a Dem.

[Anti Democrat Democrat Club]

Inouye is not a god.

I am a Schatz supporter. Hanabusa reminds me of Ro Khanna in California, believing that she is entitled to the seat. Schatz has more potential than Hanabusa ever will.

^ This.

She's part of the "New Democrat" coalition.

@ http://my.firedoglake.com/paiagirl/2013/05/27/dino-challenges-progressive-sen-brian-schatz/


If you're actually a Republican who, 10 or 20 years ago, decamped to the Democratic side and don't want liberal social and political policies, "New Democrats," who have no ideology, is right up (or down) your alley.

In that case, Colleen Hanabusa would be it.

Maybe we can elect moderate heroes in actual moderate/conservative states or districts. But in the second most liberal state in the nation? Plus she's a hawk too who only seems to be running because she wants it.

Time to knock Colleen Cheney out of politics.

[Anti Democrat Democrat Club]

I don't see the problem with EMILY's List supporting Hanabusa either. Sorry, but even if a man votes the right way 100% of the time, he'll never care about womens issues as much as a woman with the same beliefs does. They may be sincere in their beliefs, but they'll never have the experience of being a woman.

It's the same for anything - civil rights, gay rights, whatever. If you live it, your passion will be more focused on that issue.

And they only exist to get pro-choice women elected so I don't see why it's so outrageous anyway. Schatz supporters creating controversy out of nothing.

I'll agree with your first point here. I will never have as much experience on women's rights as someone like you. That being said, some women decide to vote the wrong way on this issue. Hanabusa very well could have overridden Governor Lingle's veto on contraception, but she didn't. Schatz championed it since Hanabusa entered politics.

It's outrageous because they're siding with the right-wing candidate in the pro-choice debate. I'm not going to sit here and act like the average friendzoned fedora-wearing MRA and cry about "LE MISANDRY" over it, but EMILY's List is hurting the cause here, especially when they're presenting Schatz as a Republican and trying to tie him to Mitch McConnell.

Schatz's goal was to be the next Patsy Mink. I'm sure you're familiar with her: one of the greatest advocates for women in Congressional history, mother of Title IX, and the woman who led the charge for equality in education. Your favorite candidate was the one who nearly tried to primary her because she wasn't strong enough on defense and too sympathetic to unions (something that's actually to the right of Manchin). She constantly trumpeted the fact that she was to the right of Mink. Hanabusa ran against the legacy of the greatest advocate for women's rights in modern history. Schatz ran to continue it. You can think that Hanabusa's going to be a better Senator than Schatz. That's a matter of opinion. But I don't know how you can sit there and say that she's a better advocate for women than Schatz.

[Anti Democrat Democrat Club]

Sad to see Takei endorse the opportunist over the freedom fighter.

[Anti Democrat Democrat Club]

Hanabusa must really be getting desperate on the environmental issue...

She's trying to spin the LCV having a 96% rating and Schatz not having one yet as her being better on the environment... except for the fact that the LCV endorsed Schatz.

Hanabusa seems about as upset as BeccaM is that she's not being taken seriously by progressives.

[Anti Democrat Democrat Club]

You're the one who's been all over my ass about Schatz. It's time I got in the first blow.

[Anti Democrat Democrat Club]

Did not know Hanabusa thought Murray-Ryan went too far.

This pleases me. My endorsement still stands, but this gives me much more faith that she'll stand with us if Schatz loses.

[Anti Democrat Democrat Club]

If Hanabusa wins, then it's all but confirmed Gabbard will succeed her, but she'll probably retire closer to 2026 or 2032 than 2020, and if she leaves, it'll be for a cabinet post (possibly VetAff). She's not going into a bloody primary for one term.

To give her credit, she's moved to the left, and like I said, she'd be perfect if someone like her ran in a state like Iowa or even Michigan, but she's not progressive enough for somewhere like Hawaii. Although her lifetime vote% is a 90%, her lifetime crucial vote % drops to an 80%, which would put her around the 34th-36th most progressive Senator if that holds up (right next to Klobuchar and above Feinstein, actually).