Hmmmm. Mazie Hirono’s campaign has been doing some good “fact check” responses to Lingle attack ads. I’ve gotten a bunch via email, but just checked the Hirono campaign website and don’t see them there. That’s kind of a puzzle. Why hide them?
Anyway, here are a few examples.
On Mazie’s voting record
THE FACTS:
In Congress, Hirono has voted 95% of the time—she has cast 4,794 votes in her congressional career.
BACKGROUND:
Since being elected to Congress in 2006, Hirono has cast 95.2% of all eligible votes.
It appears that Hirono began missing votes sometime last year when beginning her Senate campaign. Through most of her terms in Congress, she missed few recorded votes.
It might also be interesting to look at how often Lingle was out of state during the 2008 election season and her last year or two in office as governor. As I recall, she spent a good part of her time traveling, both for Republican campaigning and for Asia-Pacific junkets.
Then on the question of whether there should be more debates, Mazie’s campaign fired back with this.
Republican Linda Lingle’s extreme makeover not only extends to her, um, spotty record on debates in the 2012 campaign, but also to her debate history during her re-election bid for Governor in 2006.
During that 2006 election, Lingle reluctantly agreed to just one debate against her Democratic opponent Randy Iwase. Lingle’s sole debate was on October 6, 2006, just one month before the general election.
During Hawaii’s 2012 Republican primary campaign, how many debates did Linda Lingle agree to with her opponent, John Carroll? Zero. Between October 13, 2011, the day Linda Lingle announced her candidacy for U.S. Senate, and the primary election on August 11, 2012 – Linda Lingle went 303 days refusing to debate.
And, despite repeated attempts to convince voters of her “bipartisanship,” Republican Linda Lingle was the only major U.S. Senate candidate who failed to appear at the bi-partisan Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association (HLTA) debate on May 29, 2012 – one that Mazie Hirono, Ed Case and even John Carroll participated in. This was just one of five debates Hirono participated in during Hawaii’s 2012 primary campaign.
So, don’t take the bait on Linda Lingle’s belated and hollow attempts to create a false “debate about debates” with Mazie Hirono. Hirono and Lingle will have plenty of debates between now and November 6th – Linda Lingle knows it and she clearly has no standing when it comes to lecturing others about debating.
On Lingle’s claim to be “bipartisan”….
THE FACTS:
Even as she tries to distance herself from the national Republicans’ extreme agenda, Lingle is serving as an honorary chairwoman of the Romney-Ryan campaign.
Lingle is the Republicans’ “top recruit” for US Senate in 2012. Over the past ten years, Lingle has been the point person for National Republicans in Hawaii. She served as a surrogate for the Republican McCain-Palin ticket in 2008—traveling the country disparaging Hawaii’s island son Barack Obama. Lingle even called Republican President George W. Bush the “greatest president ever.”
BACKGROUND
Even Though She’ll Need To Run Far Ahead Of Romney To Win, Lingle Signed On As Chairwoman Of the Jewish Americans for Romney Coalition. In August 2012, Hotline reported, “Linda Lingle is running for Senate in Hawaii — a deep blue state where favorite son President Obama will walk easily to victory. So it probably doesn’t do her much good to be associated with the national Republican Party — or with Mitt Romney, who she’ll need to run far ahead of to win her race. Yet Romney announced Lingle as an honorary chair of his newly-formed Jewish Americans for Romney Coalition. Other honorary chairs include House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and former Minnesota GOP Sen. Norm Coleman.” [National Journal Hotline, 8/1/12; emphasis added]
Lingle Is National Republicans’ “Top Recruit” For The US Senate Race. According to Roll Call, Lingle was the “top recruit” in Hawaii for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the partisan organization exclusively dedicated to recruiting and running Republican Senate candidates across the country. [Roll Call, 10/12/11]
Lingle Is Raising Money For Her 2012 Senate Campaign From The Architects Of The Republicans’ Senate Agenda. In June 2012, Republican Senator John Barrasso, chair of the Senate Republican Policy Committee, the organization responsible for creating and driving the policy agenda of Republicans in the US Senate, will host a fundraiser for Republican US Senate Candidate Linda Lingle in Washington, DC. [Politico, 6/4/12]
In 2008, Lingle Barnstormed the Mainland On Behalf Of Republicans John McCain and Sarah Palin, “Telling Audiences That Democrat Barack Obama Was ‘Indecisive’ And ‘Not Comfortable With Leadership,’” And “Derided [His] Economic Agenda, Saying He Would ‘Devastate Our Economy.’” In March 2009, the AP reported that “almost five months ago, the two-term Republican [Linda Lingle] was barnstorming the mainland on behalf of GOP presidential candidate John McCain, telling audiences that Democrat Barack Obama was ‘indecisive’ and ‘not comfortable with leadership.’ At another point, she derided Obama’s economic agenda, saying he would ‘devastate our economy.’” [AP, 3/4/09]
Lingle Called George W. Bush Our “Greatest President.” In May 2002, the Honolulu Advertiser reported that while at a GOP convention, Lingle called President George W. Bush our “greatest president.” [Honolulu Advertiser, 5/19/02]
Lingle “Strongly Defended President Bush” And Led His Reelection Campaign In Hawaii. In June 2004, the Honolulu Advertiser reported that “Gov. Linda Lingle yesterday strongly defended President Bush and promised personally to help local Republican candidates win more seats in the state Legislature. Speaking before hundreds of Hawai’i Republican Party convention delegates and others at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel, Lingle referred to last weekend’s Democratic convention, which focused largely on criticizing the Bush administration. She welcomed a challenge to Bush’s record. ‘I hope they run against the president’s record – his record of protecting our nation from terror and liberating people in other countries from brutal regimes,’ Lingle said. ‘I hope they run against his education record, since children are doing better in the country. And I hope they run against his economic record, because our economy is growing stronger every day.’ Lingle, who is heading Bush’s re-election campaign in Hawai’i, said the president’s policies have protected the country since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and liberated 50 million people in Afghanistan and Iraq. She defended Bush’s No Child Left Behind education program, saying it has improved student achievement nationwide and no longer allows educators to make excuses for disadvantaged children. She said Bush’s tax policies have reinvigorated the economy and driven job growth nationwide.” [Honolulu Advertiser, 6/6/04]
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You are hammering a gnat with a pile driver. As I’ve written before, it doesn’t matter how you compare Lingle and Hirono. All that matters is that the Democrats keep control of the U.S. Senate. We no longer have the luxury of voting for the person rather than the party. Lingle is a Republican who supported George W. Bush: end of analysis.
Yawn. Political campaigns are attempts to grab my brain energy so that I can feel them, be them, and believe them. Well, my family, my work, and walking my dog deserve 99.999% of my energy. That leaves 0.001% to try to digest this info. Sorry, I can’t get anywhere with any of the information they throw into the mix. But, that is only because of my priorities, of course.
Even Mazie’s campaign doesn’t pretend she has any achievements. Her rise to the US Senate is almost like some kind of magic trick, inexplicable. But like the man said, it’s only about keeping the Senate.
Oh, please. Hawaii does not vote for the person over the party. Out of the three main leadership positions (Governor, US Senator, US Representative) Hawaii voted for a total of 4 Republicans since Statehood! That’s vs. 19 Democrats. Not even close.
Many thanks for the reminders of Lingle’s poor judgment choices over the years. The most alarming to me is that Lingle would possibly precedence to Israel over America in foreign policy decisions. Unfortunately in 2009 Mazie’s AIPAC sponsored trip to Israel opens her to the question of her loyalties on foreign policy decisions. The immoral support of Israel has long lacked common sense. America is a nation of many cultures. To have peace and harmony within our nation, we can no longer give preference to one beligerent state, Israel. But has America’s gov.’s goal ever been peace?
I find curious Lingle’s “defense” in response to the claim she is co-chair of the Romney-Ryan campaign. She says she is only co-chair of the Jewish Americans for Romney Coalition.
It is clear she is torn between a desire to NOT be seen by Hawaii voters as too closely aligned with Romney, but want s to help the national campaign as one of the few prominent Jewish elected officials. (American Jews vote overwhelmingly for Democrats and many Jews are uncomfortable with the GOP’s embrace of Christian fundamentalism as The Official Religion of the Republican Party and the United States. So the few Jews who have won high elective office are pressed into service to convince Jewish voters it is OK to vote for, or contribute to, Republican campaigns).
I will vote for a potted plant, including one named Mazie Hirono, as long as there is a “D” after that plant’s name because I’d rather stick a red hot fork in my eye than have Mitch McConnell take over the Senate.
Incredibly sad that our choices are such that someone like Mazie could become a United States Senator. I guess if the cup is even one drop full, it’s not empty.