Hawaii congressmen
act secure
Case and GOP rival Gabbard each
say the other is out of touch
The three members of Hawaii's congressional delegation running for re-election do not appear concerned about their general election opponents.
U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye and U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie did not even mention their Nov. 2 races during a Democratic Party gathering yesterday.
Inouye said he is going to focus his effort in helping John Kerry win the presidential election.
"I am going to do everything I can to see to it that we have a new president in the White House," Inouye said.
Cam Cavasso, Inouye's Republican challenger, said he is not bothered that Inouye is ignoring him.
"He's never paid attention to any candidate in the past," Cavasso said.
Abercrombie pledged the support of Hawaii's congressional delegation in getting other Democrats elected in November.
"We're going to put our money, we're going to put our effort, we're going to put our experience, we're going to put our credibility behind electing Democrats across the board," Abercrombie said.
U.S. Rep. Ed Case, who is also running for re-election, dismissed Mike Gabbard, his Republican challenger, and Cavasso as candidates with radical views.
"They're so far right that they don't even share the mainstream of the Republican Party," Case said.
Gabbard, who responds to media inquiries by e-mail only, said, "Ed Case and the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, which is owned in part by Ed Case's uncle, will do everything they can to hide Case's extremist views and record from Hawaii's people."
Case's uncle Daniel Case is one of six minority investors in the Star-Bulletin.
Gabbard also said, "I fully expect Case's and the Star-Bulletin's name-calling and character assassination campaign to continue through November 2nd."
Frank Bridgewater, editor of the Star-Bulletin, said Gabbard should contact him if he can cite any instance of inaccurate reporting. "My telephone number and e-mail address are listed every day on Page A2, and I would like to hear from Mr. Gabbard if he believes we have printed inaccuracies."
Cavasso, who is campaigning on a platform opposing gay marriages and abortion, said Case and Inouye are the ones who are out of touch with the heart of Hawaii and the country.
Case also took aim against Abercrombie's Republican challenger, Dalton Tanonaka, who has criticized Abercrombie as "a partisan guy who won't work with Republicans."
Case disputes Tanonaka's claim and credits Abercrombie for winning preliminary approval last week of the House version of the so-called Akaka Bill, which would grant federal recognition to native Hawaiians.
"That happened because of the relationship, a relationship between Rep. Abercrombie and the chair of the House Resources Committee, a conservative Republican from California by the name of Richard Pombo," Case said.
And Inouye took exception to Tanonaka's claim that Abercrombie does not deliver for Hawaii.
"Neil Abercrombie and Ed Case are called the two pork twins in Washington. They do so well," Inouye said.
Tanonaka said Inouye is being too modest.
"Inouye is the one who brings back the major military projects," Tanonaka said.
Inouye says Bush policies
might require draft
U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye is urging 18- to 20-year-olds to register and vote in the upcoming presidential election if they want avoid a military draft.
"If this (Iraq) war proceeds any worse, and it looks like it's going that route, they've got to seriously think about what the effects of a draft will be on us back over here," Inouye said.
Inouye is campaigning on behalf of John Kerry for president because "I think the incumbent has done enough damage."
Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards said last week there will be no draft if Kerry is elected president.
The military draft ended in 1973 when the country switched to an all-volunteer armed force.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has said he opposes reviving the draft, and there are no proposals in Congress to bring it back. But Inouye said continued U.S. military involvement in the Middle East is weakening the country's military reserve forces.
"You realize that just about every member of the National Guard is now destined to go to either Afghanistan or Iraq? What's going to happen to us if we have another Iniki? Where will our guards be?" Inouye said.
He said he voted against giving President Bush the authority to attack Iraq because all of the intelligence reports he had access to with his top secret clearance rating that said there were no weapons of mass destruction.
And when he saw the list of troops pegged for deployment, Inouye said there were many combat troops but none who would rebuild Iraq.
Inouye said it was a mistake for Bush to exclude former Iraqi military members from helping in rebuilding Iraq, ignoring everything the country learned in past wars.
But he said the biggest mistake was "when we told our allies and friends, 'We don't need you.'"
Inouye said it will take decades to restore the credibility, integrity and relations with the allies and friends America lost when it went to war with Iraq.
