HI 2014 Congressional Elections

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What's wrong with Hanabusa going for this seat? Does Shatz have some sort of god given right to that seat just because he was appointed by the governor? I wonder why there is all this outrage....hmm.

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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.

Umm, didn't Ro Khanna patiently wait for stark to retire and not take him on directly? See where that got him. He will likely lose to Honda. His best chance was to defeat Stark, which he should have been able to do.

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What's wrong with Hanabusa going for this seat? Does Shatz have some sort of god given right to that seat just because he was appointed by the governor? I wonder why there is all this outrage....hmm.

It reeks of bitterness.

Of course I don't follow Hawaii politics very closely, but it looks Abercrombie just paid off one of his loyalists. Of course that is how politics works, but I can see why someone like Hanabusa, who has ran for federal office before, would be bitter. Why should Shatz be entitled to that seat? He hasn't actually won an election for it. Why not let the people decide who is better? I don't see anything wrong with that.

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What's wrong with Hanabusa going for this seat? Does Shatz have some sort of god given right to that seat just because he was appointed by the governor? I wonder why there is all this outrage....hmm.

I just think that, at this point, Schatz is the better person for the job in the interest of both Hawaii and the Democratic Party. I certainly agree that Abercrombie proved tasteless (or, if you prefer, a real dick) in appointing Schatz against Inouye's will. But now this is done, and primarying him will only add drama to the drama. Also, if you're so pissed off at Abercrombie, why not go after him instead?

Yeah, and if her final goal is to become governor, she should just go for that first and get rid of Abercrombie at the same time. Then she can become Senator for life is that is what she wishes. Or maybe she just isn't interested in being governor, who knows.

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What's wrong with Hanabusa going for this seat? Does Shatz have some sort of god given right to that seat just because he was appointed by the governor? I wonder why there is all this outrage....hmm.

I just think that, at this point, Schatz is the better person for the job in the interest of both Hawaii and the Democratic Party. I certainly agree that Abercrombie proved tasteless (or, if you prefer, a real dick) in appointing Schatz against Inouye's will. But now this is done, and primarying him will only add drama to the drama. Also, if you're so pissed off at Abercrombie, why not go after him instead?

Yeah, and if her final goal is to become governor, she should just go for that first and get rid of Abercrombie at the same time. Then she can become Senator for life is that is what she wishes. Or maybe she just isn't interested in being governor, who knows.

Why should I give a sh*t about what Hanabusa's political ambitions are? Political and tactical considerations are the only thing that matter.

So why is he the better person for the job? Except for age, why is he better?

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Hanabusa wants to be Senator. So? Schatz was never popularly elected. Why not put him to the test?

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My question is, if Schatz hasn't had any problematic votes, if he hasn't had any questionable personal behavior, if he hasn't embarrassed the party, if he's on the right track to seniority and a chairmanship (probably) if he hasn't said anything bad, if he hasn't been a part of any controversy (besides his appointment), then why primary him? I just don't see any real justification for Hanabusa to primary Schatz. Yes, she can do it if she wants, but why?

EDIT: Yeah, there's the "we need more women/people of minority descent in the Senate" argument, but beyond that, nothing.

Because she wants to be Senator! It doesn't get any simpler than that.

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My question is, if Schatz hasn't had any problematic votes, if he hasn't had any questionable personal behavior, if he hasn't embarrassed the party, if he's on the right track to seniority and a chairmanship (probably) if he hasn't said anything bad, if he hasn't been a part of any controversy (besides his appointment), then why primary him? I just don't see any real justification for Hanabusa to primary Schatz. Yes, she can do it if she wants, but why?

EDIT: Yeah, there's the "we need more women/people of minority descent in the Senate" argument, but beyond that, nothing.

Hawaii isn't exactly lacking non-white females in their federal delegation. Schatz is kind of the diversity candidate there.

She would be a minority in the Senate.

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My question is, if Schatz hasn't had any problematic votes, if he hasn't had any questionable personal behavior, if he hasn't embarrassed the party, if he's on the right track to seniority and a chairmanship (probably) if he hasn't said anything bad, if he hasn't been a part of any controversy (besides his appointment), then why primary him? I just don't see any real justification for Hanabusa to primary Schatz. Yes, she can do it if she wants, but why?

EDIT: Yeah, there's the "we need more women/people of minority descent in the Senate" argument, but beyond that, nothing.

Because she wants to be Senator! It doesn't get any simpler than that.

And we should give a sh*t about what Hanabusa wants, because... ?

It seems to me that it is up to the people of Hawaii to decide that. If you were a voter in Hawaii, you could express your displeasure with Hanabusa at the ballot box. I still don't get why you think Schatz should get a free ride. The guy got appointed to the Senate by his buddy. What has he done to earn that position?

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The point is why should we believe she would make a better Senator? I haven't read a single thing in this entire thread that would lead me to believe she would (whereas there are a few ones about Schatz).

Eh. They both have records (that I'm not familiar with). Seems perfectly reasonable for someone to prefer one over the other on the basis of that. Primaries happen. If not, why do we even bother with nonpartisan elections? (in fairness, a lot of people don't)

But again, no one even seems to have made a case for Hanabusa, except for the usual "that's what Inouye wanted!" crap. Since Schatz is the one who has the seat now, the onus of the proof is on the Hanabusa side to establish that she is better than him. And there seems to be no single valid reason to think she is.

Hanabusa will have to do so in the coming campaign. Chill out a bit.

BTW, it may seem like I am a Hanabusa supporter, but that is not really true. I haven't seen anything said against either candidate that would make me either support or oppose them. They both seem to be generic Democrats. I just think primary voters should have a choice, especially when the guy was appointed to the seat by his buddy and the primary is the real election. I also find this outburst of anger towards Hanabusa to be very odd and perplexing.

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The seat doesn't belong to Schatz either. God forbid he actually face ONE competitive election to prove himself before having the seat for life (the main election in a Hawaii Senate race is obviously the Democratic primary).

Schatz isn't any more entitled to the seat than Hanabusa is. If he wins, then good. He earned it. But stop acting like Hanabusa shouldn't even run.

^^ This. Why should Abercrombie get to decide who is Senator for life from Hawaii? If Inouye doesn't have the right to decide his successor, neither does Abercrombie have the right to appoint someone for life. Schatz should be challenged and the people of Hawaii should get a choice.

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The seat doesn't belong to Schatz either. God forbid he actually face ONE competitive election to prove himself before having the seat for life (the main election in a Hawaii Senate race is obviously the Democratic primary).

Schatz isn't any more entitled to the seat than Hanabusa is. If he wins, then good. He earned it. But stop acting like Hanabusa shouldn't even run.

^^ This. Why should Abercrombie get to decide who is Senator for life from Hawaii? If Inouye doesn't have the right to decide his successor, neither does Abercrombie have the right to appoint someone for life. Schatz should be challenged and the people of Hawaii should get a choice.

Yes, but Hanabusa's fans are acting like "Inouye's wishes is the only consideration for me". That's a sh**t argument. At least some of Schatz's fans have been more coherent about their arguments.

Really? I find their arguments to be the most incoherent. Just because someone got appointed Senator they shouldn't receive a primary challenge? No Senator should be immune from a challenge and most certainly not some Lieutenant Governor who got appointed by his Governor.

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The seat doesn't belong to Schatz either. God forbid he actually face ONE competitive election to prove himself before having the seat for life (the main election in a Hawaii Senate race is obviously the Democratic primary).

Schatz isn't any more entitled to the seat than Hanabusa is. If he wins, then good. He earned it. But stop acting like Hanabusa shouldn't even run.

^^ This. Why should Abercrombie get to decide who is Senator for life from Hawaii? If Inouye doesn't have the right to decide his successor, neither does Abercrombie have the right to appoint someone for life. Schatz should be challenged and the people of Hawaii should get a choice.

Yes, but Hanabusa's fans are acting like "Inouye's wishes is the only consideration for me". That's a sh**t argument. At least some of Schatz's fans have been more coherent about their arguments.

Really? I find their arguments to be the most incoherent. Just because someone got appointed Senator they shouldn't receive a primary challenge? No Senator should be immune from a challenge and most certainly not some Lieutenant Governor who got appointed by his Governor.

Nobody thinks Schatz shouldn't be challenged, most of us just think that Hanabusa's challenge doesn't make sense.

I think Hanabusa challenging him would make most sense considering her current position. Who else do you have in mind?