THERE are plenty of writers around who can analyze the political landscape better than moi but I feel it is my duty to address the comic relief aspects of the current campaign. Flying mud will
bankrupt campaignFor instance, I was on KHVH radio last week and a caller asked, by way of a rather lengthy manifesto, whether I thought that Republican candidate for governor and current Maui Mayor Linda Lingle would send too much of Oahu's resources to her home island. The caller charged that Lingle would use the position of governor to funnel funds and freebies to Maui.
The idea is so ludicrous that I wasn't sure what to say. If the caller really felt that way, it was clearly a symptom of some peculiar political pathology far beyond my ability to understand. It was much easier to believe she was just a Democratic party operative holding up yet another bogeyman to scare voters away from Lingle.
If this is just a hint of the kind of campaign zaniness to come, hold on to your beanies, baby.
Yes, Lingle stole the Hula Bowl from Oahu for Maui. But you can't attack her for that anymore than you can attack Congressman Neil Abercrombie for successfully fighting for federal sugar subsidies for Hawaii or Gary Rodrigues for fighting for public union benefits. That's what they do. If Lingle becomes governor, I wouldn't be surprised if she stole the Hula Bowl right back to Oahu or at least got Honolulu something even better. Any governor should have that kind of zeal.
Another Democratic game plan seems to be to convince voters that Lingle actually has put Maui in the economic dumpster, despite all evidence to the contrary. For instance, prominent Democrats last week charged that Maui had more bankruptcies than any other county. But numbers from the U.S. Trustee's office, an impartial provider of bankruptcy statistics, shows that just isn't so. Maui had 592 bankruptcies in 1997 vs. Oahu's 3,223.
It's stupid to even try to compare bankruptcies on different islands because the populations are so different. The key figure is that there were more than 4,450 bankruptcies statewide last year and that's because the economy sucks in general. The economy sucks largely because Hawaii is joined at the hip with collapsing Asian markets, which is beyond the control of Lingle, Ben Cayetano or even the kid bagging groceries at the supermarket.
But the bankruptcy tactic gives a hint of the silliness to come. For instance, did you ever think you'd see the day when a political smear would consist of "You're a friend of Henry Peters' mother?"
That's the other devastating allegation against Lingle: that Hoaliku Drake, mother of Bishop Estate trustee Peters, is campaigning for Lingle. Gasp! The line of thought goes that Drake helps Lingle, so that if Lingle is elected governor she'll head off the state Attorney General's Bishop Estate investigation. Please. That's assuming a lot. Like Drake is some kind of brain-dead Bishop Estate robot under the control of her son. Anyone who knows Drake knows that just isn't the case.
The fact that it's suddenly a political liability to have any association with Bishop Estate is startling. As someone who has covered Bishop Estate for way too many years, it just amazes me that the estate has gone from a political bird of prey to albatross. Legislators Terrance Tom and Joe Souki may already be dead ducks because of their ties to the estate. And now Lingle's enemies are trying to put the big old albatross lei around her neck. It ain't going to fit. But who knows what they'll try next.
Come on, folks. Can't we all just get along? Personally, a mudslinging, record-distorting personal attack-style of campaign will provide me with heaps of column material. But we all get soiled in the process.
Charles Memminger, winner of
National Society of Newspaper Columnists
awards in 1994 and 1992, writes "Honolulu Lite"
Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Write to him at the Honolulu Star-Bulletin,
P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, 96802
or send E-mail to charley@nomayo.com or
71224.113@compuserve.com.
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