Let’s hope the race for Honolulu mayor is getting its nonsensical moments over with early.
The three candidates had their first debate last week, a lively discussion on many issues, but all that’s come out of it is flapdoodle about whether it’s dirty politics to dare disagree with U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, our senior senator.
Former Gov. Ben Cayetano lit the fuse when he restated his difference of opinion with Inouye on Oahu’s $5.27 billion rail project and said the senator is "out of touch" with current public opinion on rail.
You’d have thought he brought a skunk into a revival meeting.
As Cayetano spoke the words, Mayor Peter Carlisle affected a look on his face like Cotton Mather hearing the Lord’s name taken in vain.
The third candidate, Kirk Caldwell, took the opportunity to drop that he and his wife recently had dinner with Inouye and his wife, and that he knew Inouye was in touch with constituents because he saw him shaking hands with restaurant patrons.
The next day, Inouye announced from his respite in Las Vegas that he was "deeply offended" by Cayetano’s "personal attacks."
Pacific Resources Partnership, a pro-rail alliance of contractors and the Carpenters Union, launched a "Be Nice Ben" petition encouraging supporters to "stand with Senator Inouye" and demand that Cayetano "show more respect."
Even Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa entered the fray with a statement declaring, "Senator Inouye is a man to be respected and honored, and does not deserve being the brunt of political posturing."
Cayetano, who said during the debate that Inouye deserves respect but not deference on rail, dismissed the contrived controversy as "childish."
He said, "I don’t think what I said should be taken by someone who is as experienced as the senator as offensive. For crying out loud, people say worse things about me every day."
Judging from online comments at numerous sites, the idea that rail’s future should be decided by genuflection rather than reflection isn’t playing well with the public.
When John White of Pacific Resources Partnership plugged his "Be Nice Ben" petition on Facebook, even some of his friends were put off, with one suggesting he should "suck it up & move on."
It’s good advice. Part of the reason rail is in trouble is the PR overkill by proponents in bashing critics, and trying to save it with more of the same is a dangerous game.
If Carlisle and Caldwell continue hiding behind Inouye instead of running on their own merits, they risk confirming Cayetano’s description of them as "potted plants."
And Inouye should remember that the president when he came of political age was Harry Truman, who famously said, "If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."
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Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com or blog.volcanicash.net.
