Why are we throwing away a house seat in Hawaii?

[catgirl]

The republican leads because the two dems are splitting votes. WHY doesn't Colleen Hanabusa drop out?
Early mail-in voting has already begun!

The latest poll shows the GOP candidate leading with 38%, followed by D-Ed Case with 28%, then Hanabusa
with 22%.

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20100502/NEWS01/5020349/1001/LOCALNEWSFRONT/Hawaii+Poll++Djou+leads+Democratic+rivals+in+congressional+race

[Ozymanithrax]

1. Because both want the power and they are not thinking about the Democrati party. n/t

[IndianaGreen]

9. They are supposed to represent their constituency, not the Beltway's political hacks

Country trumps party!

[Ozymanithrax]

10. They both want the power and the prestige. n/t

[athena]

2. Because Ed Case is not much of a liberal.

Having Ed Case replace a true liberal like Abercrombie would be a disaster.

Furthermore, Ed Case is an unsavory character. (When he challenged Dan Akaka in 2006, his main argument against Akaka was that he was too old and would die soon. His other argument was that Akaka was wrong in voting against the Iraq war in 2002.)

I really hope Hanabusa will somehow manage to win this.

[Hippo_Tron]

7. Ed Case really had no rationale for running against Akaka other than his own ambition

And while politicians are ultimately motivated by their own ambition, successful ones at least are able to convince the public that they have less self-serving reasons for seeking an office. Ed could not even come close to making that case (zing!) in 2006 when he ran against Akaka.

[athena]

3. Note also the following:

From http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/morning-fix/republican-hopes-in-hawaii-spe.html?wprss=thefix

The result of the special election is likely to be interpreted as a national referendum on the state of play in advance of the November midterm elections. But, remember that Democrats -- even if they lose later this month -- are likely to win the seat in the fall due to its strong lean toward their party and the fact that it will be a one on one race rather than a three-way battle.

[catgirl]

4. Thanks for the info. n/t

[quiller4]

5. This is an election for the remainder of a term. Most Hawaiians

assume that Hanabusa will win because her Asian supporters always refuse to answer polls. She has won every election she has run but was always behind n the polls right up to election day.

My sister-in-law and three adult nephews all live in the district. The nephews are all Japanese Hawaiians.

[Hippo_Tron]

6. Hawaii's first past the post system is ridiculous, but I wouldn't declare Djou the winner yet

12% undecided is still quite a bit and three way races are a lot harder to poll. Regardless, Djou will have a very short tenure in office (i.e. we'll get this one back in November) if he wins. But unfortunately we'll probably have to spend a little more money to beat Djou since he will be an incumbent.

[IndianaGreen]

8. Why doesn't Ed Case drop out? He is Rahm Emanuel's lapdog!

Hanabusa has a solid liberal record when compared to Case.

[Quetzal]

11. whoa whoa whoa

Aloha from the Aloha state, Hawaii.

As someone who is a voter in the 1st congressional district of Hawaii, I will like to give some of the DUers here some context as to the dynamics here in Hawaii.

The 1st district here in Hawaii is solidly Democratic - it is just which Democrat do we want to send to Congress? Hanabusa and Case both have their very loyal Democratic groups who will not back down from their candidate. Hanabusa represents labor unions and traditional Democratic party activists while Ed Case - well - I guess maybe some voters who find him to be comfortably moderate in his views - I am not sure what groups that he represents - support Ed Case.

As to who will be on the Dem. ticket, I would rather have this settled during the primaries in September instead of sending DLCer, Lieberman for President endorser in 2004 candidate Ed Case in the very seat that Abercrombie represented. The winner of the primary will definitely beat and Republican in the seat.

Might I also say that many in the local Democratic party leadership have supported Hanabusa - that includes Senate Appropriations Committee chairman Sen. Inouye and the Senate Veterans Affairs committee chairman Sen. Daniel Akaka - and many local labor leaders. These people and groups will not back down from supporting Hanabusa.

If there are any other Hawaii DUers out there, I believe that there is a lot of support for Djou, although not a majority. I think it is because of his staunch opposition to the high-speed rail project in Honolulu. There was a city amendment question during the 2008 November election asking Oahuans if they wanted rail and it was a close vote - 53 percent in favor and 47 percent against. In metro Honolulu, the rail narrowly lost but won huge margins in suburban and rural Oahu on the leeward side. Djou was kind of the poster child for being against rail and I feel he is definitely drawing the support of those that are against rail that live in the district.

If the DCCC or the President steps into this race and endorses Ed Case, the local party Democrats will not like it at all but I would have no idea as to what would happen in the aftermath.

Quetzal

[Cha]

12. Aloha & Good luck..from what I just read it

seems like Colleen Hanabusa is the best one..

http://www.hanabusa2010.com/

[Quetzal]

13. here is an editorial from the advertiser

the advertiser endorsed Ed Case but give kudos to hanabusa for staying in the race

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20100506/OPINION01/5060310/Give+Hanabusa+credit+for+hanging+tough+

[Cha]

14. Thanks!

"Hanabusa showed she's a fighter, not a quitter. Polls have been wrong before. And besides, what's the point of dropping out when thousands of ballots have already been mailed in?"

Not a quitter..nobody needs a quitter.

[Quetzal]

15. OH Definitely, she doesn't back down from a fight

but at the same time she doesn't let her feelings get the best of her - she knows when to work together and when to fight.

If Ed Case gets elected to the House, most likely he will be on a path to the US Senate - if it goes to a Dem primary election later in the year, Hanabusa will win and she will win in the November general. We want to put Hanabusa on the path to the US Senate, not Ed Case. This is the same Ed Case who endorsed Lieberman in 2004 and this guy "labels" himself moderate and thus boxes himself into compromising wholly with Republicans.

You will not be satisfied if Ed Case gets to either the US House and ESPECIALLY the US Senate.

[dkf]

16. Ed Case voted for the Iraq war. In 2004 he supported Joe Lieberman for President.

That kind of tells you where he stands. Besides the special election Is just to fill Abercrombie's seat til we have the November elections. If Hanabusa wins the primary some speculate that Case will run as an independent. Ed Case is a Joe Lieberman kind of Dem.

[Quetzal]

18. I do not dislike Ed Case

but when I observe him in the debates, he is also very quick to label himself as moderate, middle of the road person. I could care less if he is moderate or whatever he label himself as - they gotta have some guts in them to fight for what they need to fight for. He strikes me as the kind of guy who will cut a really bad deal to get a small victory attached to his name.

[ShadowLiberal]

17. Because we have two stubborn democrats and there was no primary

Also I've read an article that said that Hanabusa's support may be understated in polls, because for whatever reason her supporters are more likely to claim they're undecided even though they've already made up their mind, I have no idea why.

[Quetzal]

19. It is due to the large Asian population in Hawaii

Although I too do not know the reason why many Asians prefer not to disclose who they are voting for, it was reported that many Asians prefer not to disclose who they are voting for when asked on the phone by the pollster.

I too feel that Hanabusa's support is understated in the polling but on the flipside it is also very possible that Djou (R) will win this special election - this is going to be a close three way election.