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Honolulu Lite
THE 19-member Republican minority in the state House of Representatives is breathing new life into Hawaii's nearly-comatose democratic process, but the patient is fighting the CPR all the way. Republicans finally
get in the gameFor the first time in the last 50 years, the Republicans have gained a modicum of power. And it's giving the Democrats fits. People like House Speaker Calvin Say say Republican insistence to debate certain issues on the House floor is getting in the way of the legislative process, which is something like saying that the buses would run on time if they didn't have to stop and pick up people. Debate IS the legislative process.
To change analogies in mid-stream, Hawaii politics is like a football game. For Democrats, it's like, we've got the ball, we score! We got the ball again, we score! We got the ball again, we fumble (whoops, Bishop Estate debacle), but we recover the fumble (appoint new trustees) and we score! It's great fun to play a game that way, but not much fun to watch.
The problem was that the ironically named House of Representatives wasn't completely representative. Voters fixed that in the last election, putting more Republicans in the House than ever before, and tilting the balance of power ever so slightly, just enough to give the Republicans the ball from time to time.
And what did they do with the ball? They sat on it. They delayed the game. They made demands that certain bills be released from committee for full public debate. It was an outrage! The nerve! Why, these upstarts will never be allowed to score no matter what. So, why are they running out the clock, keeping the Democrats from putting even more points on the board?
With the yelling, whining and in-your-face reactions to the recent House gridlock, Hawaii's political ball game has gone from the staid, predictable NFL (Non-Functioning Legislature) to the XFL (X-Tremely Fun-to-Watch Legislature).
ALL we need are some scantily clad cheerleaders in the gallery above the House floor yelling, "We've had enough of Calvin's bluster! How'd you like a filibuster!" Or -- to be bipartisan -- "Republican bills are dead, dead, dead, 'cause Sam Slom is a doo-doo-head!"
The rancor and personal attacks we've been seeing in recent days were predictable. Both sides have never had to play nicely together because the balance of power so favored one side. For the first time, Democrats are having to -- yuck -- talk to the other team.
One reason is that the Republicans have put themselves on the good side of a couple issues, not the least of which is raising the age of sexual consent from age 14 to something more civilized, which would be ANYTHING over 14. Democrats don't even want to discuss the matter and have tried to keep the issue bottled up in committee. Many residents were shocked to learn that a 14-year-old girl in Hawaii can legally consent to sex with an adult. The scary thing is that if the Republicans hadn't gotten their toe-hold of power, residents STILL might not know about this shameful situation.
You have to feel a little sorry for the people in power. It's a scary time. They are being pushed to make deals with the enemy. Yet, if they let the Republicans put any points on the board, even a safety or field goal, that will make the upstarts even more powerful in the next election. And it's too late for Calvin to take his ball and go home.
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 cmemminger@starbulletin.com.
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