Abercrombie’s good advice to Hawaiians: compromise

One of Hawaii’s longest, loudest and strongest supporters of Native Hawaiian sovereignty, former Gov. Neil Abercrombie, is offering counsel as preparations are made for the next step in the drive to create a new government.

At the request of the U.S. Department of Interior, which is drafting rules to set a path for the federal government to recognize a Native Hawaiian government entity, Abercrombie issued a statement giving his full support and offering counsel.

The 77-year-old Democratic former governor and congressman is now in business for himself as a consultant with a firm called Pacific Strategies.

He urged Native Hawaiians to expand their range and not close out options.

Warning that “the loud voices have their own agendas,” Abercrombie advised that “the broad community of Native Hawaiians need to be and must be heard today, if there is to be a Native Hawaii world of tomorrow.”

Abercrombie stressed that a Native Hawaiian government will neither form in a vacuum, nor be successful if it “does not take into account existing institutions — governmental, economic, social and above all constitutional.”

Then Abercrombie touched on an issue that caused controversy during his term as Hawaii’s governor, the argument made loudly by a small group that the Kingdom of Hawaii still exists.

“Continued verbal sniping, empty rhetoric about Kingdoms and denunciations of those attempting to address political reality will only serve to retard, if not destroy, any possibility of a timely conclusion to this opportunity,” Abercrombie says of the chance of Hawaiians to form their own government.

Back in 2012, during a Hawaii island speech reported by West Hawaii Today, Abercrombie expressed his frustration with Native Hawaiian activists protesting construction of the Queen Kaahumanu Highway.

“It’s being delayed by what I’m told are Native Hawaiian organizations,” he said, then asking rhetorically which organizations. “It’s somebody self-designating and getting some standing. That’s something we’ve got to move past.”

In an interview last week, Abercrombie, stressing that while he is speaking as a non-Hawaiian, he is also a veteran of 45 years in politics, including 20 in Congress.

“The proposed rules offers the most sensible, practical and reasonable way of addressing what it means to be Native Hawaiian in the 21st century,” Abercrombie said.

That will mean that if Hawaiians vote to go into a constitutional convention and draft a proposed constitution for a native government, it has to be discussed and not ignored.

“At this stage Hawaiians can simply not look to someone else to blame. You got to decide: Do you want to keep pulling each other down? If you want to keep tearing yourself to pieces, everyone else is going to stand around on the sidelines saying, ‘There they go, tearing themselves to pieces,’ and that is going to be the end of it. This is it.”

In an interview, Abercrombie said, “My only observation as a non-Hawaiian is: When are you going to put it together? You can’t be a victim forever. At some point, you have to get up and take charge of yourself.”

If instead, Native Hawaiians are able to work with both state and federal governments to fashion a government that can represent Native Hawaiian interests, “I think everyone will stand up and cheer,” Abercrombie said.

While warning Native Hawaiians that the entire process is political, meaning there will be both winners and losers, Abercrombie gives some good advice, saying that the ultimate victors will be those who are most successful in compromising.

Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser.com.