Linkmeister

For Hawai'i District One voters

This is a letter to the editor of the morning paper, expressing dismay at its endorsement of Democrat Ed Case for Congress in the upcoming special election. What's surprising is who wrote it: Dick Port, former Chair of the Hawai'i Democratic Party. Port reminds us of an episode Case would like to have us forget: his refusal to allow Patsy Mink's husband to serve out her term after she died in office. Instead, Case argued that he'd gain seniority in the House if he was elected ahead of the regular election in 2002. He was elected. Five years later he resigned to run for Senator Daniel Akaka's seat, giving up that seniority to try to displace a man who already had 16 years of seniority in the Senate. He lost and has been out of office for three years.

I don't like Ed Case either. My reason is pretty simple: while in Congress he was a prime example of a Blue Dog Democrat. He says that health care reform must include tort reform, and he's in favor of companies selling health insurance across state lines, two of the biggest Republican positions in the recent debate. Essentially, I don't trust him to vote with the progressive Democrats when his vote might be needed.

I intend to vote for Colleen Hanabusa, who's been an able State Senator for several years. I disagree with her on a few things, but as far as I'm concerned she's a lot more likely to vote with the Obama Administration and the progressive Democrats than Ed Case would be.