Mufi Hannemann’s campaign calls this campaign mailer “Compare and Decide”.
It’s what you might expect from a campaign mailer late in a potentially tight race. That is, designed to mislead the reader and distort the records of both candidates, one positively and the other negatively. Of course, that’s what a lot of campaigning is all about.
Mufi looks pretty impressive, at least in his own telling, but the comparisons, although full of distortions, helped me to understand the broad differences .
It boils down to this.
Mufi’s whole career has been as the candidate of the corporate-political elite. He’s been encouraged to run, supported in his campaigns, and “taken care of” with corporate or political appointments when he lost, and has the perspective and baggage that flows from that privileged position.
Neil Abercrombie has run for office at every level of government–county, state, and federal–and he has won on his own, the voters choice and not the corporate elite’s choice. He’s won despite the fact that the power structure, from Senator Inouye to the insider corporate circles, would have preferred someone else.
Voters have trusted him, not because he doesn’t make mistakes, but because they are his own mistakes, not those of the elite who would cozy up to him to do their bidding. When push comes to shove, he’s been on our side, not theirs.
So you’ve got Mufi, the consummate insider, and Neil, the outsider who has fought for and earned each of his positions.
Rather than tagging each of the distortions or omissions in the “Compare and Decide” mailer, I’ll just demonstrate what would happen if the spin were different?
It might look something like this.
Education:
Neil: Masters Degree and Ph.D.
Mufi: No graduate degree
Experience in elected office:
Neil: elected to city, state (House and Senate), and federal offices
Mufi: Experience limited to city government
Other experience:
Neil: Chaired the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Air and Land Forces, with oversight for U.S. Army and Air Force operations, budget, and equipment and weapons systems procurement worldwide.
Mufi: Managed the Punaluu Sweetbread Bake Shop (Naalehu, Hawaii)
Compare and Decide!
You see how it works?
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My favorite Mufi comparison was the droll observation that Neal had won a beard contest. Your comments are instructive and useful.
My stomach was sour once I received and reviewed that mailer. I knew you’d give an appropriate commentary. My letter to the editor has already been sent. Thanks, Ian.
THANK YOU, Ian!
Like Wailua, I found that Neil having won a beard contest was the most salient point of the flyer.
I’m glad you wrote on this subject today. I was offended by this mailer the minute I received it. It was so “He’s Haole and I’m Not.” They even chose a flattering picture of Mufi and not the best photo of Neil.
Are you seriously dismissing the Laura I. Flores case as a “distortion?”
Laura I. Flores was sentenced to 6 months in Federal prison in 2006 after pleading guilty to embezzling from Neil’s office.
Source: Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/07/AR2008050703620.html
This speaks to Abercrombie’s ability to manage even a small group of subordinates. Also, according to the story Ms Flores received a reduced sentence in return for providing evidence to the Justice Department about having to work on campaign activities on the taxpayer dime. It’s all in the Washinton Post.
Try sweeping that under the rug.
And the Flores case isn’t any worse than the Gale Bracey case. A woman who was stealing from the city garages, and who helped get rehired by city workers?
Boy, then you must be opposing Peter Carlisle for mayor:
(1) His executive assistant, the late Jean Patterson, was busted for doing campaign work on office time, premises, and equipment, and served a two week suspension without pay for doing so;
(2) Carlisle hired Patterson’s (probably unqualified) son to be (chief?) investigator after which he was indicted for stealing office weaponry (ammo, etc.) and keeping it in/selling it out of his garage. He ultimately plead guilty/nolo and was sentenced but had been out on worker’s compensation “stress leave” in the meantime;
(3) Carlisle’s first First Deputy, Iwalani White, was not even registered to vote and got busted for subletting her city-owned parking space and pocketing the proceeds; and
on and on and . . . . .
What do you suppose this says about Carlisle’s management abilities?
Guess you’ll be blaming Muffy for all the city directors and other city employees who have used taxpayer time to work elections; and all the other criminal actions during his administration. There are some still employed who have sold fund raiser tickets on OUR time.
The list goes on….
I, too, received this from Hannemann’s camp.
It really struck a nerve. Unfortunately for Hannemann, the wrong nerve.
The personal information provided simply illustrates that they guy loves to play the ethnicity card. Must throw in the Japanese last name, huh?
And I guess Hannemann is better than Abercrombie because he graduated from Iolani and Harvard, no? Guess that means he’s also better than those among us who went to public school and who never graduated from an ivy league. Oh, and the education bullet points reminded me of a comment Hannemann made at a speech years ago: I went to Iolani because the entrance exam at Farrington was too difficult! Ha!
Just reeks of bratty, elitist attitude if you ask me.
And bratty, elitists NEVER made good leaders.
Note to Jim: I’m taking vacation time today.
Well done Ian. You got to the heart of the matter.
And for You Keith, you forgot to mention that Flores was doing it simultaneously to three different Congressional offices and that they caught her and she went to Jail. Half truths just don;t hack it. The truth will out.
Sorry, Ian, I am voting for Mufi. When I worked in the attorney general’s office in 1978, I saw a letter Neil wrote:
Dear Mr. Amemiya,
F**k you! (the obscenity was spelled out)
then he signed his name.
I was shocked by that letter and will always remember it.
Anyway, I like that Mufi graduated cum laude from Harvard, and has administrative experience.
i like a candidate who will actually speak his mind.
Hey Glenda, any other letters from your time at the A.G.s office you wish to share with us?
Or is the only one you can remember one that conveniently portrays a politician you don’t support in a bad light?
It’s really too bad Neil wrote such a crass, vulgar letter to the attorney general. If he hadn’t, maybe I would vote for him. I can’t see him as the governor of Hawaii.
Gigi.
You sure you are not confusing letters? The most famous one as I remember it was addressed to Walter Kupau in exactly the same format and blunt message. Walter tried to use it to embarrass Neil, but it turned him into a kind of folk hero.
No, the letter I saw was signed by Neil.
WRT Mufi’s administrative experience…..
Dan Boylan wrote that Kirk Caldwell claims that for the last two years as managing director, he’s administered 21 departments employing 10,000 with a budget of $1.82 billion.
Since Caldwell claims the managing director is the actual administrator, and Mufi has never been managing director, it seems that Caldwell is claiming that Mufi doesn’t have any public sector administrative experience.
Very good point. The MD does all the work running the day to day operations of the city so the Mayor can be free to do ceremonial activities and sign letters.
wow 1978. I really do not care for Abercrombie, he seems a bit slimy and weak and with all of his complaining about “Bully” Mufi he comes across as a wimp to me at least. I also have my concerns about the mailer, it was really not fair and the topic should be on how they are envisioning to move the state forward.
That said, this letter written in 1978 could be attributed to the times and the age of the candidate. I remember a young German green party representative named Joschka Fischer standing in parliament and addressing the chancellor of the country by saying: “Quite frankly Dr. Kohl you are an a**hole.” This young man became one of the most respected statesmen. I think we need to take that in perspective. Now if only I knew whom I should vote for?
Mufi said a big “F**k you!” to me and many of my friends when he made the choice to oppose civil unions.
I’ll take someone who writes a nasty letter over someone who tries to deny others their rights any day. Easy choice.
A lot of us feel that way – e.g. F you to petty tyrants in State employ
If Doc Buyers hadn’t created Mufi by inventing jobs for him to keep up his visibility
during his early years, I doubt he’d be where he is on his own. Haven’t voted for Mufi ever and that’s not about to change.
Great post, Ian! Thank you for your insight and wisdom.
Neil had the beard award on HIS campaign literature. Its funny when Neil does it but when Mufi does it its dirsty and mufi being a bullly??
That, of course, is not the point at all!
Its my point. Its like the politician who puts his cute kids all over his campaign material and then gets grumpy if the pres wants to ask them a question. You cant have it both ways…
Mufi did go to Harvard. I am not sure it is in itself a recommendation. So did a certain member of the Leg who frequented strip joints and ended up a drug addict. Harvard was notorious for the sexual licentiousness and pot smoking of its students. Of course not all of them slept around and smoked dope and many who sowed their wild oats straightened out, came clean and have walked the straight and narrow since graduating. I would not hold Mufi’s time at Harvard against him (or for him, whatever the case may have been).
The beard thing reminds me of Mad Magazine’s Guaranteed Effective All-Occasion Non-Slanderous Political Smear Speech: http://gis.washington.edu/phurvitz/outgoing/bustagut/Non-SlanderousPoliticalSmearSpeech.htm
There is a slippery slimy slope downwards in political contests that Hawaii has so far avoided. We really don’t want to go there.
you really do not want to go there, yet you mentioned the party animal students of Harvard University… geeesh.
That Mad Magazine thing was pretty funny. I’m glad someone around here has a sense of humor.