That seems to be the campaign theme of Congressman Kai Kahele, who finally made public his long-signalled intent to make a late run for governor.
The rumors began making news early this year, and continued pretty much unabated for months. And unacknowledged by Kahele, who never made himself available to comment on the rumors or respond to reporters questions.
From the reporting, it also appears that the event to officially announce his gubernatorial run was also structured to avoid questions.
And, it seems to me, this strategy of making statements while safely away from public scrutiny is a big red flag.
After all, as they say, the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. In that case, I have to conclude that Kahele as governor would be as aloof and secretive as, well, as he has been as a member of Congress.
And in terms of past behavior, the public campaign statement issued on his behalf, which states his opposition to several practices, is startlingly at odds with his past behavior as a candidate and public official.
—Ban on fundraisers during the legislative session. During two terms as a legislator, Senator Kahele made full use of session fundraisers, according to campaign records. During his first session in 2016, he held two fundraisers while the legislature was in session, one in Wailuku and another at the Mandalay Restaurant downtown, a favorite spot for meeting and greeting lobbyists. In 2017, two more session fundraisers, the only fundraisers he held during the year. And ditto in 2018, with his only two fundraisers scheduled during the session.
-Prohibiting union-to-candidate contributions. Again, Kahele’s record shows absolutely no prior leaning in this direction, making his campaign rhetoric seem hollow.
You can look up his record of campaign contributions at the Campaign Spending Commission website. I’m traveling and don’t have access to my own version of the contribution data, but it appears that Kahele’s top 15 campaign contributors during his years as a legislator included ten unions, three large corporations, a hotel company, and a political consultant/lobbyist.
—capping campaign warchests. Well, that’s one way to try to turn a huge negative—a campaign trying to get started just a few months before the primary election, with at least two other candidates way ahead in collecting the funds necessary to run a statewide campaign. He’s trying to launch a campaign after a whole lot of money has been sucked out of the system by other candidates. So claim it’s a matter of principle, so that it doesn’t immediately appear to simply be a sign of luke warm support, at best, for his candidacy.
In any case, as you can tell, I’m highly skeptical of Kahele’s candidacy. His failure to follow-through on campaign pledges made during his campaign for the 2nd District seat in Congress, his failur to take questions from reporters over a long period, and his own past practices in campaign fundraising, all undermine the progressive sounds coming from his campaign apparatus.
“As me no questions, I’ll tell you no lies.” As one online source frames it, the phrase means “implies that you will likely tell a lie, because you do not want to tell the truth.”
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He’s also proved to have a populist demagogic streak, which is definitely not what’s needed these days.
One thing that makes Kahele dangerous is that he is a race-nationalist and prioritizes his native ancestry above all other topics.
Here are his first flurry of tweets & Facebook posts from Congress during new-member orientation & swearing-in:
11/13/20 FB:
“… asked by the Speaker to say the prayer for this evening’s freshman pick up dinner in Statuary Hall … time for ‘?lelo Hawai’i to resonate again in the halls of congress so I did the Pule Mea’ai & Ho’onani.” [video included]
11/13/20 tweet with photo of self in front of Kamehameha statue:
“Shared a quiet moment this morning with the only other native Hawaiian in Congress”
11/27/20 tweet “In 1893 the hawaiian language was banned for 100 years after the illegal overthrow … celebrate our indigenous cultural heritage …”
** Conklin note: Language ban is totally false; I have 3 detailed webpages disproving this racially incendiary lie used for victimhood status & reparation demands.
12/30/20 tweet: “Today I got vaccinated for COVID-19. I share this as a Hawaiian so you can see it’s safe.”
1/03/21 tweet: “Today, when given the opportunity to speak my first words, on the record, in the U.S. House to vote for Speaker I decided ??lelo Hawai’i would resonate in the chamber.
“Lunamaka’?inana ?o Nancy Pelosi”
What is it with CD2? First you have a Modi fangirl Hindu Nationalist and now Kai and his “Hawaiian-ness” Not that there’s anything wrong about caring for Hawaiian issues and being proud but when the card is ALWAYS being played…
To take advantage of funding vehicles when they are common practice is by no means inconsistent with supporting a change in laws that would better control them. How is he supposed to compete in this era of high-cost campaigns if he restricts himself in ways that others are not restricted?
I support Kai’s candidacy, in part because of his championing of a real, permanent, resolution of the Red Hill nightmare and also because he alone among prominent public officials in Hawaii was willing to call for serious steps to contain COVID (which are still needed, IMO, but time will tell). Besides, consider the alternatives!
IMHO the biggest issue in gov race is the system and candidates AND media who are in the same old dance of electing the front runner. Candidate Green is just as egregious in his accepting of donations and putting out same-ol, kid-hugging media ads rather than ones of any substance. His pandemic leadership was straight out of the federal government playbook that was fueled by money and one-size-fits-all vaccine and lockdown measures that have now been seen as fear driven and unhealthy.
Let’s step up media and give the other candidates names and ambitions. Get the voters out of lockstep.
Kahele was a mansplaining bully when chairing committees in the state legislature. I had hopes that his behavior & performance would improve once he got to Congress. Unfortunately, he has mostly been a do-nothing representative there, except for his push to have the Red Hill fuel tanks closed.
As for campaign money, perhaps he can survive without direct contributions from unions or corporations but his own union and employer have already collaborated to create a sweetheart deal for Kahele to retain his seniority and flight status as a Hawaiian Airlines pilot. How is that not a contribution by special interests?
Kahele, his family, and we the people of Hawai?i will all be better off if he leaves politics entirely and goes back to flying planes.
I guess “Don’t quit your day job” (Hawaiian Airlines) will prove to be true in his case……
There is no chance for him to win the top state job…..
I guess “Keep your day job” (Hawaiian Air) will apply to his case…..
He has no chance to win the top job in our state.
While doing a newsroom interview with Mahealani Richardson, he said he was “offended” by the Navy leadership stating that Red Hill wasn’t what they would categorize as a “crisis”. Mahealani then simply asked him if it should be shut down. He deflected that question, and she sternly asked him again if it should be shut down. He responded “um, er, um, well, um…I don’t have all of the information yet”…all at the same time that the Chief Engineer of the Honolulu Board of Water Supply was literally in breaking down in tears when being interviewed about its condition.
Kahele lied right to my face at a town meeting in Waimea years back in direct response to my question. Said he was not going to do exactly what he did a few weeks later with respect to the TMT issue. He says what the audience wants to hear, without regaurd for what his real course of action will be.
Aloha Ian,
FWIW – I too raised a fair amount of campaign contributions over the years from corporations, unions, and wealthy individuals. And, I too have come to believe that campaign finance reform and publicly-funded elections are critically important to a healthy democracy. When I was first elected I also held fundraisers sometimes during the session. It was historical practice and it was only after some time that I realized the negative side of the equation. Now I fully support banning all solicitation and receipt of campaign contributions during the session. Does this mean I’m a hypocrite? Or that I have evolved my thinking over time…or perhaps something else? Why question the intentions of the guy who is trying to do the right thing? Why not question the intention of candidates who have gone all-in with the money guys? Why not talk about PRP and the millions they have spent on past Gov and LG races…and will no doubt spend on this race? Just sayin… 😉
Kahele wants to run before he walks. Points for ambition, I guess? But, there’s something to be said for doing the job he was elected to (or appointed in the case of the State Senate) well before reaching higher.
I’m pretty disappointed in the general lack of executive experience in the candidates this coming election. The state government is an unwieldy beast even if someone has large organization experience, and I am not filled with confidence that any of the people vying for the job has what it takes to do it well.
Our news always always always focuses on who has the most $$$ . We never hold candidates accountable for putting together a vision and plan for Hawaii?s future. We deserve what we get.