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On Politics Richard Borreca |
Democrats reluctantly
adjust to sharing powerEven as last week's meeting between Associated Press member newspaper editors and reporters and Democratic Senate leaders started at a quiet pace, it soon escalated.
As legislators detailed their objections to Governor Lingle's 50 vetoes of just-passed legislation, the senatorial trio grew more intense.
They didn't like the tone of the veto messages, they didn't like the reasons for the vetoes and they felt disrespected by the governor.
By the end of the meeting, the Democrats were in a full-blown rant against Lingle.
It made one wonder if perhaps the Legislature's Demo-crats were progressing through Stage Two of the five stages of coming to terms with Lingle.
Stage One: Denial. At first, Democrats really didn't believe that simply because Lingle got more votes, she was the real governor. Someone else must be running things. That is why the Legislature's initial reaction was to not fund the Office of the Governor.
As lawmakers discovered that Lingle was not going away, they came to realize that they had created a position that was one of the most powerful governorship in the nation. The governor of Hawaii makes the appointments, spends the money and has a say in almost every public thing that counts in Hawaii. Such a realization led to the second stage.
Stage Two: Anger over the fact that Lingle is the governor and will be for 3 1/2 more years. The anger builds as they discover that, as governor, Lingle can veto the Legislature's handiwork. The chance of overturning a veto prompts the Democrats to the next area.
Stage Three: Bargaining to save your own power. This is when the Legislature explores the possibility of overriding the 50 Lingle vetoes. Legislators feel a certain new power as they debate the vetoes, but then they recognize that nearly all of the vetoed items contain state funds and Lingle has said that because the budget is not balanced she is likely to restrict the funds anyway. Such a glum consideration leads to the penultimate stage.
Stage Four: Depression causes lawmakers to grieve for their loss of power. Others faced with this stage show overwhelming feelings of hopelessness, frustration, bitterness and self-pity. Legislators, however, are more likely to wonder if they can face another election. But legislators are politicians and politicians want to be winners, which leads to the final stage.
Stage Five: Acceptance of a new political reality. This is when Democratic legislators come to terms with the Republican governor. Some decide the best way to win is to accept everything and become Republicans, while others accept that their next stage may be that of a minority party.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Richard Borreca writes on politics every Sunday in the Star-Bulletin.
He can be reached at 525-8630 or by e-mail at rborreca@starbulletin.com.