She said, he said
January 14th, 2010 by Derrick DePledgeState Senate President Colleen Hanabusa sent out an e-mail blast to supporters last night claiming one of her opponents in the special election to Congress "suggested to reporters that I step down not only as Senate president, but also from the Senate, implying that because I am a woman, I am unable to perform my duties while running for a congressional seat."
From the e-mail:
For the past 30 years I have successfully managed a law practice in an area that has traditionally been “male dominated.” And for the past decade, I have continued to build my law practice and added a legislative career. In all of that time, like every other woman I know, I have never had difficulty with multi-tasking. So, I know I can manage my responsibilities in the State Senate as well as a campaign for Congress.
I know this statement will make some in my campaign committee nervous, but it’s what I believe.
The opponent, according to Hanabusa's staff, was former congressman Ed Case.
Case, who saw the e-mail last night, said he did tell a reporter it would be "virtually impossible" for Hanabusa to function as Senate president and run for Congress.
But Case said he did not say Hanabusa should step down or leave the Senate. He also said he did not make any references about her gender.
January 14th, 2010 at 4:41 am
"Because I'm a woman"?????
Where did that come from? Playing the gender card, I guess. That's really tacky, and comes across as desperate and inflammatory.
I'm no big fan of Case (or Hanabusa), but I really hate the smell of bulls...t.
January 14th, 2010 at 8:58 am
To suggest Case is sexist is so 70s. Where on earth did Dan's "gal" come up with that? Perhaps, Old Dan advised her to say that. Neil was at least honest enough to admit he couldn't do both well, so he gave up a good seat to run for governor. Sarah Palin (gag) left her governor's seat to be "able to serve the people better". Hanabusa is not going to be honest enough to step down because she is afraid she's going to lose and doesn't want to give up the job she promised the people she would do to the best of her ability. Who can we trust?
January 14th, 2010 at 9:44 am
C'mon Hanabuser! There was no mention of gender, nor any implication that a woman can't both hold and run for a legislative position. Shall we call this the first cheap shot of the election period?
January 14th, 2010 at 9:55 am
That's weak, Madame President, really weak. Whatever Case's weaknesses may be, as in his really careless and/or arrogant use of words, sexism is not one of which anyone could accuse him, nor is it even remotely supported by the statement attributed to him.
The fact is that as long as you have a bully pulpit in the Senate presidency and can, for example, control to some extent the timing of a special election, you have visibility and influence that he lacks. He can hide behind the precedent/analogy of Neil leaving Congress to run for Governor to suggest that, at the very least, you can not concentrate on both represnting your constituents AND running the Senate while also running for another office.
Your suggestion that Case is a sexist is beneath even you. What's it gonna be next, insinuations that you're "local" and he's not?
January 14th, 2010 at 11:37 am
Why must she reference a "male" dominated business. In 2010, this is way less relevant than it used to be. BTW, is she reverse sexism.
Aloha,
Keahi
January 14th, 2010 at 12:39 pm
Believe that case is being presumptuous - just because he cannot walk and chew gum at the same time, he should not conclude that others cannot. Traitors are notoriously known to be unable to mult-task.
January 14th, 2010 at 1:24 pm
This charge throws me for a loop. Can someone point out where Ed brought Colleen's gender into this? (I'm not saying he didn't--I just haven't seen it in the quotes I've seen).
I agree with Ed that it will be difficult for Hanabusa to serve as Senate President and run a strong campaign for Congress. But that should work to Ed's advantage, so what's his beef? I suspect her campaign would suffer more than the Senate. And if the Senate fails to run smoothly, won't that hurt her election prospects? Again, Ed benefits.
January 14th, 2010 at 2:34 pm
Everyone is piling on in defense of poor Eddie, but I didn't hear him call for Charles to step down from his duties. And I don't remember Eddie stepping down from his duties when he ran against Akaka. How come Charles and Eddie can do their jobs and run, but according to Eddie, Colleen has to step down? The only difference is she's a woman. Come on Eddie, come out of the dark ages.
January 14th, 2010 at 2:50 pm
Ed is "local" for whatever that is worth.
January 14th, 2010 at 4:05 pm
Charles, of course Ed is "local" in the sense that he was born and raised here but "local" in the sense used in political campaigns means, at least partly, "not haole." And in that sense, Hanbusa resorting next to any of the code words for "local" is playing the race card the way she played the gender card this time around.
January 14th, 2010 at 4:26 pm
Innocent Observer, that's maybe the most contemptible comment I've ever seen in a Hawaii blog. And what Hanabusa said is the most contemptible comment we've seen yet in this race.
Ed Case is right. Hanabusa cannot do a conscientious job as Senate President while running. She doesn't care. She's never been about doing the best job, only about how she can use her power to help herself, her boyfriend, and her cronies. Dan loves her because she'll take orders, just like Danny. They're all corrupt.
Ed has been fighting against Hanabusa-style corruption for, what, 15 years? Hanabusa is the reason our state is in such a mess, and Case is the kind of person we need to get out of it.
I'm voting Ed Case.
January 14th, 2010 at 6:37 pm
Between this gender thing, the coverage of the Inouye endorsement (trite endorsement of Hanabusa, passionate attack on Case) and the coverage of the "forum" between the 3 candidates yesterday, I would say that Hanabusa's campaign is not off to a strong start. I certainly don't think you can effectively campaign while still fulfilling the duties of Senate President in the middle of session. So....
if I'm Hanabusa, play it quiet for the special and save my powder for the primary. She knows she has a clear advantage with the party faithful. Let Case go to DC for a few months, beat him in the primary, and then hope the Case supporters don't break for Djou. If they do, echoes of '86?
January 15th, 2010 at 8:51 am
MikeJack, Case did not call for Hanabusa to leave office entirely, just suggested that she could not be Senate President and run for Congress simultaneously. He didn't call for Djou to step down from a similar leadership post because, as Hanabusa said so aptly of Case's first run for Congress, Djou has no leadership post from which to step down.
January 15th, 2010 at 11:16 am
Believe me on this one - Ed Case is a strong advocate for issues which progressive women have supported for decades such as reproductive choice, childcare options, gender equality in the workforce, and many others. He may suck on some economic issues, but on women's issues he has been clear and unambiguous. There is NO way that he could say what Colleen says he said.
Wish I could vote in the First Congressional District race.
Re Charles Djou - although he chairs a committee on the Honolulu City Council, he is not in the leadership wing. Furthermore, he wants to stay as visible as possible since he's not well-known outside his district which comprises about one-sxith of the First Congressional District.
January 15th, 2010 at 2:50 pm
She just lost my vote.
January 15th, 2010 at 8:13 pm
Mililani - if you like arrogant traitors - then vote for case. The rest of the Hawaii delegation will not work with him; rather, he will not work with them because he thinks he knows better than them. What a smuck! I would not vote for him even if he ran for toilet cleaner. I don't vote for traitors.
January 16th, 2010 at 8:15 am
innocent observer, I don't think Ed is a traitor. But his argument is his seniority can do more for Hawaii. Hawaii's delegation is strong because they work as a team. Ed's shown he's not a team player; nobody wants to work with him. Really, it should be about who can do most for Hawaii, ad I don't think Ed's the guy. I may be slightly biased, but I think Sen. Hanabusa is the one who can get the most done.
January 16th, 2010 at 10:20 am
There she goes folks. Spinning the truth and casting a web of lies. She'll continue to make these accusations and the public will hear it enough times so that some will start to believe it. That's why a special election is bad for her campaign. It doesn't give her enough time to repeat her lies.
January 16th, 2010 at 10:38 am
Hanabusa shouldn't minimize women's contribution to the law. According to a 2008 ABA report, 51.9 percent of women are in legal occupations. In Hawaii, there are many women attorney partners, solo practitioners, judges, and top government attorneys.
The reason why she's had a difficult time in the practice of law is because she's not good at it. Yeah, some magazine ranked her in the past, but that's PR (which she's good at), such rankings do not necessarily mean an attorney is effective.
January 16th, 2010 at 10:42 am
Source: Statistics about employed lawyers (# lawyers, gender & race/ethnicity) - Bureau of Labor Statistics (2008), available at http://new.abanet.org/marketresearch/PublicDocuments/cpsaat11.pdf.
January 17th, 2010 at 1:45 pm
@Publius808,
You wrote:
"That's why a special election is bad for her campaign. It doesn't give her enough time to repeat her lies."
That's a rather harsh articulation, but Ed makes a similar, but less harsh point. Let's consider the argument.
Whether Hanabusa's efforts to communicate to the voters is "lies" or "facts" or a combination of the two, shouldn't the voters have an opportunity to fully hear the appeals from all the campaigns? If you, Publius808, readily admit a speedy special election will impair her ability to get her message out, isn't that an admission you want to prevent her from getting a fair chance?
I guess you can justify cutting off equal and open debate if you believe Colleen will only use that "time to repeat her lies."
I have observed your comments for a long enough time to know you might want to re-think your position. Your current argument is pretty undemocratic.
January 27th, 2010 at 11:33 am
Aloha, kolea.
In response to your January 17th comment...
I have no preference for any one candidate in the Congressional race, and I standby what I said in my previous comments. My observation simply is that Hanabusa's hyperbole and truthiness will not work for her in a truncated campaign season. This is why she is trying to postpone the election--behind the scenes of course.
I'm not advocating less debate--though personally, I can't stand listening to the rhetoric. Their records are all that matter.
February 9th, 2010 at 11:49 am
I have got to say, politics and religion bring out the very best and also the bad side in folks. The best because both can lead to folk being incredibly self-sacrificing, the very worst because both can lead to amazingly obdurate and difficult acts. I am not criticizing you, your post simply made me see this, so thank you for that.