Moderates will have choice of Thielen in November

THE ISSUE State Republican leaders have chosen Rep. Cynthia Thielen to run for the U.S. Senate against incumbent Sen. Daniel Akaka.

GOV. Linda Lingle proved four years ago that a moderate Republican can win a statewide election in Hawaii. GOP state leaders used that knowledge in placing state Rep. Cynthia Thielen on the ballot for the U.S. Senate against liberal Democratic incumbent Sen. Daniel Akaka. However, Thielen will need to overcome Akaka's high name recognition, likability and formidable campaign chest to launch a realistic challenge.

Several moderate Republican politicians departed their party years ago to improve their electability and effectiveness in a Democrat-controlled Legislature. Akaka's defeat of Rep. Ed Case in Saturday's primary election might cause moderate voters and politicians to return to the GOP in the future if the liberal Democratic machine remains as exclusory as indicated by the Akaka-Case results.

"We need people like Case," warns former Democratic Gov. Ben Cayetano. "We have been going in one direction too long. ... We need people in the middle and even those who are conservative, even though I didn't always feel that way."

Thielen is assistant minority floor leader in the state House, where she will remain if her Senate bid is unsuccessful. She was chosen for the Senate race to replace former naval aviator and prisoner of war Jerry Coffee, who withdrew from the GOP primary after suffering a heart attack. Coffee's withdrawal came too late for his name to be deleted from the ballot or for a prominent candidate to take his place, and he garnered the most votes -- including Lingle's -- over four unknowns.

Thielen, a lawyer, is a moderate -- a longtime environmentalist who favors abortion rights and appears not to be a fan of President Bush. Like Case, she favors U.S. withdrawal of troops from Iraq only "when Iraq will be stabilized. I don't want to leave that region in chaos." Akaka favors withdrawal of troops by next July, regardless of the potential chaos.

In the early 1980s, Thielen was an attorney for the Stop H-3 Association in its unsuccessful attempt to halt construction of the freeway through the North Halawa Valley. She also was an attorney for Protect Kaho'olawe Ohana to stop military bombing of the island.

Like Case, Thielen will hope to make Akaka's critical vote supporting oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge an issue. Endorsed by the Sierra Club, she has been a strong proponent of renewable energy sources, such as wind, wave or solar, during her 16 years in the House.

At the age of 73, she will not be able to adopt the key issue of Case, who turned 54 today, that it is time for a younger person to begin building seniority during the twilight of Sen. Dan Inouye's career to avoid a sudden lack of Senate seniority for Hawaii. Both Inouye and Akaka are 82.