Former congressman Ed Case on Saturday urged Democrats to forsake identity politics and choose the Democrat they believe has the best chance to defeat former Gov. Linda Lingle for U.S. Senate in November.
Case, courting Democrats at the party’s state convention, said there was too much at stake — including the potential political balance of the Senate — for the party to succumb to old divisions or take the Republican Lingle for granted.
U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono, Case’s primary opponent, has used her life story as the daughter of a Japanese immigrant who struggled financially as one element to explain her commitment to Democratic values. Over the past several days, Case, unhappy with the number of debate opportunities, has said that primary voters are familiar enough with the candidates’ backgrounds and need to hear their differences on public policy.
Hirono lost to Lingle in the governor’s race in 2002 after beating Case in the primary. Case said the Senate campaign is not about the next four or eight years, like when selecting a governor, but possibly a generation.
"I am a Democrat," he told delegates at the Sheraton Waikiki. "No, no, we are Democrats, not because of where we were born. Not because of how we were raised, where we went to school, where we work. Not because of our gender. Not because of our race. Not because of our age. Not because of our income. Not because of our orientation or any other classification, but because we stand for people.
"All the people. All the time."
Case said a Republican majority in the Senate would threaten women’s rights, labor, environmental protection, and Social Security and Medicare. He said Senate Republicans would obstruct Hawaii-born President Barack Obama if he is re-elected.
Case said if he becomes the party’s nominee he would debate Lingle across the state and "call her out at every turn on the difference between her rhetoric and her beliefs and actions."
The former congressman, a moderate who has described Hirono as part of the extreme left of the party, said he has the ability to attract the independent voters Lingle is relying on to be competitive.
"You have a choice," he told delegates. "It’s your choice, nobody else’s. All we ask from you right now is think about it. That’s all we ask. The stakes are that high."
Hirono is scheduled to speak to the state convention this morning, soon after delegates honor U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii.
"It’s profoundly disappointing that former congressman Case attempts to dismiss the significance of Representative Hirono’s life story and commitment to helping others through public service as a result of it," said Carolyn Tanaka, a spokeswoman for the Hirono campaign.
Delegates at the state convention, meanwhile, voted on Saturday to amend the party’s constitution and create two paths to recognize potential candidates who want to run for elected office as Democrats.
Delegates kept the main threshold — party membership for at least six months — but will also allow potential candidates who have not been members for six months to interview with party leaders and explain their fidelity to the party’s platform and values.
The amendment removes an exception process to the six-month rule, which was criticized after Democrats rejected Laura H. Thielen — a former director of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources under Lingle — who has filed to run as a Democrat for a Windward state Senate seat.
Dante Carpenter, the party’s chairman, said Saturday that the party has not decided whether to challenge Thielen’s candidacy in court or move to expel her.
Several Democrats view the amendment as an acknowledgement that the old rule was flawed and believe it gives the party a reason not to challenge Thielen’s candidacy.
In a brushback to Gov. Neil Abercrombie and some at the state Legislature, delegates approved a resolution that puts the party on record in opposition to legislative action to exempt public or private construction from environmental review.
Lawmakers considered several bills last session, including some backed by the Abercrombie administration, to exempt state construction projects from environmental review. Most of the bills failed, but the debate left residual anger in the environmental community.
Gary Hooser, the director of the state Office of Environmental Quality Control, who led the party’s environmental committee that produced the resolution, said he was pleased delegates voted to "maintain environmental protections and maintain the public protections and the public interest."
In another push-back aimed at Abercrombie and the Legislature, delegates adopted a resolution calling for respect for public school teachers and their collective bargaining rights. The governor and key lawmakers had favored a bill last session requiring teacher performance evaluations, which the teachers union said would infringe on collective bargaining. The bill failed to advance, but the governor’s appointed state Board of Education has moved forward with teacher evaluations.
Delegates softened a resolution that is intended to send a message to elected officials who wander from the party’s platform. Delegates reminded elected officials that they should support the platform, but deleted language that would have urged conformity on 60 percent of the planks.
The resolution stemmed from the frustration many party activists have with elected officials who do not adhere to the platform, which is generally more liberal than the views of those who hold office.
Delegates chose not to take action on a proposed resolution that would have required the governor, the congressional delegation and state and county chairs to remain neutral in party primaries.
