A large, two-page “double truck” advertisement for Mufi Hannemann’s campaign that appeared in the center of the front section of Sunday’s Honolulu Star-Advertiser falsely implies the former mayor has been endorsed by Hawaii’s two U.S. Senators.
Hannemann’s ad leads off with the senators’ photographs, along with quotations praising Hannemann. They appear at the top of the page, above photos of others who have given their active endorsements.
But Senators Dan Inouye and Dan Akaka have both previously said that they are remaining neutral in the primary contest between Hannemann and former Congressman Neil Abercrombie.
Senator Inouye’s office today reiterated his position.
“The Senator has NOT endorsed anyone in the primary,” press secretary Peter Boylan confirmed in an email.
Senator Akaka’s office similarly confirmed that he “is not endorsing anyone in the Democratic primary.”
According to deputy communications director Jess Broder Van Dyke:
The Hannemann campaign contacted Senator Akaka’s office and informed that they were going to use a statement from a congratulatory letter Senator Akaka sent to Mayor Hannemann in 2008. The letter was addressed to Mayor Hannemann and as such, he has the right to use it however he wishes. No endorsement.
![[text]](http://ilind.net/images_2010/dan-neil.jpg)
Back in June, Inouye underscored his neutrality by visiting Abercrombie’s campaign headquarters. It was a pointed message by the senior senator in the midst of the primary campaign.
Yesterday’s campaign ad creates the impression of an endorsement by including comments by each of the senators drawn from remarks made previously at nonprofit fundraising dinners at which the then-mayor was honored.
An appearance at this kind of community event is an expression of support for the sponsoring organizations, and use of the comments out of context is misleading at best.
The advertisement also places Inouye and Akaka in the politically awkward position of appearing to have failed to honor their commitments to remain neutral.
Abercrombie, in a press release, called the ad “yet another political game meant to confuse voters.”
The Hannemann campaign told the Star-Advertiser the senators’ statements “speak for themselves.”
The advertisement is the latest in a string of deceptive practices by the Hannemann campaign, including supposedly “independent” groups to offer endorsements that were actually creations of the campaign.
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Going to mix my metaphors: the Hannemann camp had an empty barrel, so they took the cream of the crop, poured it into the bottom, and scraped it. Weird. So sad.
That is really good. I hope to remember that analogy when I need it.
The akamai voter looked at the quote dates and realized these were of course not endoesments. This was to catch the attention of the low information voter. Brian Schatz did something similar when a TV ad implied Governor Ariyoshi would have endorsed him dispite the fact that his son Donn Ariyoshi is co-chair of Norman Sakamoto’s campaign. Nothing illegal here, just more playing politics.
@OldDiver: Indeed, you are diving for some bottom-feeders if youre again attempting to somehow smear Schatz, rather than allowing your candidate to campaign on his own merits.
Who knows why you possibly thought it was a good idea to try to hijack Ian’s entry about the Govs race to try to steer it to the LG race, but since YOU bring it up, if you really want to talk co-chairs, lets talk about Sakamoto’s OTHER co-chair, Mr. Mitch D’olier, shall we? Mr. Target. Mr. Im-Going-To-Kill-Kailua. Mr.HB444/Hawaii Business Roundtable Fiasco.
Indeed, Mitch D’olier is lining himself up to be Hawaii’s very own Dr. Evil, here to take over our little world.
Mitch D’Olier is certainly a powerful man but he is patently ignoring the very community that is responsible for. Mitch fully knows that Kailua does not want Target moving in, and yet, without notifying the community, Mitch D’Olier has assured that is exactly what will happen. In so doing, Mitch argues he will be helping small business in Kailua? But the fact is he will be killing small businesses in Kailua, including places like MaryZs, First Stop, Morning Brew, Bostons Pizza, Hardware Hawaii, Bookends, Gamestop, that toy store and the baby story near Times, just to name a few business that will be sorely affected by Target assuming residency. And yet, Mitch tries to spin his PR story that Target will help Kailua? How dishonest is that?
Dont even get me started on the traffic Target will cause. Kailua will now see thousands of new cars coming in, and Mitch knows this. Sure, the City will do a traffic study for that road, but we all know the outcome of that, dont we? Its kinda like giving the answers for a test.
Continuing on dishonesty, lets talk about the role he had on Hawaii Business Roundtables veto recommendation on HB444. Mitch. Mitch. Mitch, it must have stung to see so many even-more-powerful businesspeople kick you in the buttocks for trying to manipulate that. The fact that Mitch would ram that veto recommendation through without full consultation with his fellow members sure does speak volumes, too.
In fact, what do these two significant social and community issues have in common? Mitch does not listen to anyone, at all, because he does not care about anything but what he cares about.
Lovely examples of abuse of power, arent they?
I happen to like Senator Sakamoto as a man. I really do. But if his co-chair, Dr. Evil, is on his way to building more power to destroy beautiful communities like Kailua, reinforcing the denial of civil liberties, and more through the LG office, then like Good vs. Evil, Dr. Evil must be stopped.
So, @OldDiver, in summary, I suggest that you look inward into your candidates campaign for your own achilles heel before trying to throw potshots at Brian.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32C0eKRQVt8
Once again you failed to respond to my statement. I stated fact, and you changed the subject. How clever.
Why, thank you for your compliment! I love being called clever, just dont call me late for dinner. But hows your kettle calling me black? Who tried to change the subject of Ian’s blog? Once again, turn that finger on yourself, OldOldDiver. Not feeling so clever? You opened this door, not me. You got the worst-of-the-worst of Hawaii’s Most Hated backing your guy up and you know it – or you would have him up and out on Normans website, too. I am so not down for handing Dr. Evil even more power for him to do even more Dr Evil-ish harm to our community.
But just so you know, I didnt speak to the Ariyoshi-specific statement because @What? sufficiently addressed it.
That was a pretty good rant about Mitch. While I don’t agree with everything he’s done as the unelected Mayor of Kailua, i will have to say, 100% of the female shoppers in my extended, 4 generation Kailua household/family are all for Target coming to town. I’m with you on the traffic issues and it’s potential to change our downtown. For better or worse, change comes and change happens. But i’ve yet to get any sense of some ground swell of anti-Targetism; except from my friends who buy their fishing squid from there.
So, Old Diver, if my dad supports a candidate, I am assumed to support that candidate, too?
Now that my dad is gone, do I not get to have political opinions?
I’m not criticizing your political views — just your “A plus B equals D” line of thought here.
Sorry but I’m not following you. The story is about a candidate implying he is being endorsed by someone without actually being endorsed. What does this have to do with your dad?
I was responding to your comment that a “TV ad implied Governor Ariyoshi would have endorsed him dispite the fact that his son Donn Ariyoshi is co-chair of Norman Sakamoto’s campaign.”
I don’t understand what Donn Ariyoshi’s views have to do with his father’s, or how his father’s opinion can be assumed based on his son’s support of a candidate. That’s all I meant. Sorry I wasn’t clear.
Not true. I am an akamai voter, who did not look at the quote dates. You’re right — just more Mufi politics of the deceptive kind…
Huh, Old Diver? I think you might be referring to Bobby Bunda who has a pic of Jean Ariyoshi in the background in one of his ads. Schatz’s ads make no reference to any other politician, except President Obama.
Schatz had an older gentleman say that he believed Governor Ariyoshi would have endorsed him. They may have pulled that ad after Governor Ariyoshi said he appreciated if no one would use his name in the primary.
Abercrombie could run a similar ad, except neither Senator has ever said one nice things about him. Ditto for most people that have had to work in a professional capacity with Neil.
The closest time was when Senator Inouye said Neils early resignation was leaving a huge void in our Congressional delegation. As we now know, that void was filled by Djou….
Kailua Resident, we know that you are…a long-time Hannemann staffer.
Kailuaresident,
Are you around both Senator’s full-time? How can you possibly know what was said between either of them and Neil Abercrombie? What you are saying is something that you believe (or hope) is true, but the fact is that BOTH Senator’s have said they are remaining neutral. Facts are what matters the most, not the spin you are trying to put on this whole matter/
Not true (again)! I’ve lived here 37 years, kailuaresident, and your claim is totally false.
We kinda know that Dan and Danny both prefer Mufi anyway.
Part of the political dance in a contested Primary (except when Ed Case took on Dan Akaka, where both Dan Inouye AND Neil Abercrombie clearly sided with incumbent) is to feign neutrality in public while giving tacit support– you just gotta look at the who’s who of Dan Inouye partisans in Mufi’s exploratory committee & donors and his campaign think tank to see that the Powers-that-Be preferred the tall kid from Iolani. As OldDiver notes, the ad will just confirm for “low information” voters that the old guard is for Hannemann (I like the way the big pictures and simple text was easier for quick scanning than combing through small print to see which women signed on to an ad for the short weightlifting guy).
it’s about time that people just come out and say it: this is the democratic primary and Mufi isn’t a real democrat. he’s an opportunist that has landed in your guy’s tent but that creeps you all out b/c of how socially conservative (he’s much more like Duke than Neil) and mean spirited he is. funny that he was let in to begin with. as they say, you make the bed you sleep in.
Been sayin’ that for months. In the debate he said he was a fiscal conservative, we know he is a social conservative, what else is there?
Ian is right – implying endorsements when the Senators have stated that they are neutral is extremely dishonorable.
As another blogger noted elsehwere, he is treating our Senators like pawns and minions. Despicable and disrespectful -we’ve come to expect that from Mufi’s campaign.
Anonymous: you know better what they think than they do?
The cumulative impression from a couple of your blog items is that the Hannemann org really feel like an underdog and is acting like Nixon dirty tricks lite.
Pay good attention to the tactics used by politicians, for their tactics (including dirty tricks) belie their character. Thanks, Ian, for your insights.
Not to change the subject, but what I find outrageous these days is the open primary system. Which makes it possible for Repubs to vote for the Dems that they would most like their candidate to run against (and beat?).
I support Target AND HB 444 AND oppose with passion anything having to do with Mufi Hannemann AND am sorry to see that Gary Hooser is not going to be at the Legislature – or anywhere on the 5th Floor either AND I live in Kailua.
The campaign did ask. Of course, they asked. Does anyone really think that anyone, including Mufi, would dare do anything like this without the full knowledge and support of the Senators? Come on!
What all of you Neil supporters cannot deal with is the reality that Mufi is most people’s choice. He has the better record, more experience, and is the better candidate.
Neil is just upset he had neither the approval nor the money to run a similar ad.
Sorry but as passionate as you are the situation is quite different.
If you cross the former mayor, watch out you won’t exist in his world, ever. He backs down in a fight it has been shown multiple times. The sewer thing in Waikiki, he spent tons of money to fight what had already been ordered by the feds until some brave soul cleared the air for him. Look at all Caldwell has done for the people in a short time since the tall one resigned, many little details that were just not sexy enough for the tall one to spend any energy on. Then there is the steel rail debacle. Literally railroading through a railroad.
Anyone who feels Hanneman will govern for everyone is sorely lacking in prospective. You are in a great spot if he wins, just watch your step. [lightly edited]
hey, time will tell, people’s choice or not. i’ve yet to see any evidence that puts Mufi in the winner or “people’s choice” column. perhaps the campaign’s internal polling has him winning this contest.
Why don’t people just be honest and call out the
two Dans for being coy and dishonest in trying
to have it both ways? They want to claim
neutrality, but also want to be a little bit
pregnant in allowing Mufi to play games with
their implied endorsements.
Why don’t the Dans show some guts and take
a position already instead of trying to confuse
people. Either that or shut up.
Wow, I’m amazed that Kehau has the time to defend Mufi at every turn! Thanks to her friend, I now know the reason why she thinks he’s terrific – she doesn’t know him! She only met him at the Elton John concert (which I was at too) in January and got a little rock star struck. She hasn’t ever had to meet with him and beg him for basic stuff every community needs – roads, playgrounds, sewer fixes – and all you get from Mufi is higher taxes. She hasn’t had to beg him to stop illegal B&Bs and rampant development only to be ignored because those B&B owners and developers gave hefty sums of money to Mufi’s campaign. And now we find out that Mufi received a quarter of a million in campaign contributions from people connected with vendors with rail contracts. You have to pay to play Mufi’s way or it’s the highway – a true “members only” club that regular, hard-working citizens cannot join.
If I gave you the impression that she ‘only’ met him at the EJ concert, thats my fault and that is incorrect. Thats just where he saw her and the campaign-related conversation began.
None of the Target supporters can actually say WHY it is good for Kailua. All I hear is that it is convenient. If you people actually looked at the facts you would never consider supporting it and if you did, then you are all as evil as Mitch D. Target uses child labor, there is proof of this all over the internet just look into it. Target backs political campaigns that are against gay rights. The amount of carbon emissions that will be increased with Target coming is ridiculous and will destroy ocean and the very air your children breath. Not to mention, the taxes we get to pay on the “traffic improvements”, the 250 jobs that will be lost, businesses that will close, and the community that will suffer because only $12 per $100 of the money you spend at Target will go back into the community vs the $48 if you had spent that at a local business. You give your money to Target and it goes right to the mainland. There is so much more I could go on and on. Just please people do the research. There is PLENTY of information out there, other examples of towns like Kailua and what happened to them when Target or Walmart came. These people don’t give a crap about the community. Someone needs to fire Mitch Dolier, before he destroys the Castle name and our homes!!