a debate and still he whines….
last night, at long last, senator akaka agreed to a televised debate with congressman case.
i was told this morning of the agreement, but was a bit surprised, so i had to check it out for myself. its true! my first thought was that case would no longer be able to complain about not getting a debate; maybe he’d actually start focusing on issues (then i remembered that his positions pretty much suck, and he knows it). now he’s complaining that the debate comes too late and that some voters will have already completed and mailed absentee ballots.
instead of being pleased that his single-minded campaign actually got what it wanted (in ed’s head i’m sure he thinks he’s the reason there’s going to be a debate), he started complaining again. immediately. what’s more, for a man that regularly speaks on HPR, he seems not to think much of PBS hawaii as the television venue for his cherished debate. i find this slightly amusing. in his statements during the HPA forum, he more than hinted at the fact that senator akaka was part of the old-boy, big-money network, while he presented himself as a new fighter for the average hawaii resident.
one might think he could use this as an opportunity to further that message, but instead, he continues to spew banalities and whine incessantly about debates and how he’s treated unfairly. i could list ways in which the senator has been treated unfairly by the hawaii media, but instead let the senator speak to hawaii’s residents and show them why “the right man for the job is the man ON the job.”
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Good post, Josh!
I wrote a fairly long post about this on Jerry Burris’s Advertiser blog, Akamai Politics. If folks want to respond, they can either do it here, so the conversation can be more “in-house” or they can do it on the Advertiser blog.
Here is the link:
BurrisBlog, Hon-Ad
Aloha,
Bart
Comment by bartman — August 18, 2006 @ 11:48 am
Okay, you are missing the point of Ed Case’s argument. He isn’t complaining about not getting a debate or not getting a debate in the style he wanted. He is saying that as a Senator, Dan Akaka needs to be open and transparent to the people of Hawaii in his affairs as a Senator. That means debating in an open format on widely viewed media about a wide variety of topics. That doesn’t mean avoiding direct question formats, avoiding multiple debates, avoiding a high viewership or avoiding public discussions. If Akaka doesn’t feel comfortable publicly debating a member of his own party and a member of the Hawaii congressional delegation then how can we expect him to be effective at debating the other 99 Senators who have different constituencies in mind? It is time for Akaka to go. Progressive means moving forward and Akaka is stuck in the past.
Comment by Trojanraider — August 23, 2006 @ 11:49 am
Trojanraider — I completely disagree with your assessment. By constantly whining about not getting a debate, or enough of a debate, Case is completely avoiding outlining his stance on ISSUES. Supposedly the whole point of a debate is to provide an opportunity for viewers to get a feel for where the candidates stand on issues. Sadly, debates have become more about posturing and soundbites and rarely teach us very much about the candidates other than their speaking style (and how good they look on TV). Since Senator Akaka has an extensive voting record, most of his constituents already know where he stands and how he votes. Furthermore, Sen Akaka has outlined his stance on many issues on his website (http://akaka2006.org/issues). In contrast on Ed Case’s website (http://edcase.com/senate/campaign_central.php) there are links to newspaper articles containing short soundbites rather than detailed positions on issues. Why is Ed Case so afraid to be nailed down about what he believes? I think it is because he doesn’t want Hawaii voters to realize how conservative he really is. I would rather stick with the Akaka I know than take a chance on a self-described “moderate” who would likely hold the seat for the next few decades. I don’t want my senator to be cozy with republicans. I don’t want that kind of “progress.”
Comment by rachel — August 23, 2006 @ 12:18 pm
Debates have become about posturing and soundbites because of candidates like Akaka who refuse to participate in an open and honest debate. Why should Hawaii voters care about a scripted debate where each candidate cannot ask each other questions? Like you said, thats just as good as reading Akaka’s website. Whenever I hear Akaka speak, I feel like he is reading from that website. Akaka is just contributing the the deterioration of debate in this country and frankly im glad that Ed Case is insisting on open negotiations. Also, I don’t think AARP is going to be able to shield Akaka from public debate on the floor of the US Senate. Akaka may be able to dodge talking about the issues with his constituents now but if he goes back to Washington I am not sure that he will be able to hold his own.
Some other bloggers were writing about a video of Akaka answering a question about transition. You should take a look at it. It is really scary to see how Dan Akaka’s extemporaneous speaking abilities have diminished over the years. It might change your mind . . . The video is about half way down the screen and in a turquoise box.
http://edcase.com/senate/campaign_central.php
Also, why do you think that Ed Case is “afraid to be nailed down about what he believes”? I’ve been able to talk with him one on one about issues such as the war in Iraq and taxes and stem cell research and he was very willing to open up and talk to me about his beliefs. Maybe a a Senator is less accessible but Akaka has never made himself available to discuss with me about any of the issues.
Lastly, being a liberal and a Democrat myself, don’t you think that you are mischaracterizing Ed Case as a “conservative”? There is a big difference between that and being a liberal independent thinker. I don’t want my Senator being too old to really be able to fully understand an issue or the contemporary context of a piece of legislation. From what I see, Dan Akaka has just been voting the party line as long as the DSCC and Dan Inoyue keep sending him political contribution checks.
Comment by Trojanraider — August 23, 2006 @ 1:10 pm
trojanrider - you’re correct; there is a difference between being a ‘conservative’ and a ‘liberal independent thinker. however, ‘liberal independent thinker’ doesn’t even come close to describing case, though that seems to be how you think of him. being a liberal, are you in favor of the patriot act, or against it (i believe case voted for renewing it)? are you in favor of a bankruptcy bill that favors banks and credit card companines, while huring average americans, or against it (case voted in ‘yes’ for this bill)? how about a tax cut that CLEARLY favors the richest upper-crust of americans (while doing little or nothing to help the poor and middle classes)? case voted in favor of this bill as well. then of course, there’s his position on iraq. i don’t know a single person who calls themselves ‘liberal’ who is in favor of anything other than withdrawal. the war in iraq was started ILLEGALLY BY AMERICA and continued support says what we did was ok….
based on this, i’m curious how you define ‘liberal’?
then, of course, there’s the fact that case is an opportunist. i will conceed that there may be some need for transition, but case is NOT the guy for that. what about abercrombie? case has been in the house for 4 years. how long has abercrombie been there? if case wants to keep the hawaii delegation strong AND transition for the next generation, why not stay in congress and wait his turn? why not spend a little more time learning from annoye, akaka, and abercrombie before throwing his hat into a senate race? besides, what has he done that makes him honeslty think he’s the delegation member who should replace akaka?
Comment by frosty — August 23, 2006 @ 2:00 pm
Why I, a liberal democrat, CANNOT support Ed Case:
1. He said that if he had the chance he would have voted to go into the war in Iraq.
2. While he has backed down from his war position a little, he still insists that we have to “stay the course.” I am not sure how much worse they think it can get if we pull out as there seems to be a full-on civil war NOW with our troops there.
3. He supported tax breaks for the rich.
4. He supports the Patriot Act.
5. He supported the “bankruptcy bill” that will make it much harder for the average american to file for bankruptcy. About half of the bankruptcies in 2001 were caused by medical expenses. http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0415-09.htm
Basically, whenever Ed Case demonstrates his “independence” it is to vote with Republicans. I prefer Danny Akaka’s independence as demonstrated when he was one of the few politicians to vote against going into Iraq and to vote against the Patriot Act.
Comment by rachel — August 23, 2006 @ 2:33 pm
Once again you are misconstruing the facts and you are far off from the topic of this blog which is debate. I am so disappointed Hawaii has what TIME Magazine calls one of the 5 worst Senators in the nation. Maybe if Senator Akaka were able to debate effectively, he wouldn’t be in that unfortunate category.
Comment by Trojanraider — August 23, 2006 @ 9:05 pm
it is also telling that some of time’s best rated and the nation’s most recognized senators support senator akaka and look forward to his return to the senate. much like the congressman, you seem to think the only thing that makes a senator effective is his ability to debate. what matters more to me than a person’s ability to debate effectively is their integrity, their willingness to stand up for what’s right, and to work for all people, not just some. the senator is a wise, thoughtful, and eloquent speaker and if his only weakness is his skill in a debate, then i’ll take him any day over a man who seems to have little integrity and is willing to tow the line of the status quo….
yes, case is an effective debator, but that’s about it.
Comment by frosty — August 23, 2006 @ 10:47 pm
I wish that Dan Akaka would get up and speak for himself instead of letting every other Senator do his work. We do not need Barak Obama or Ted Kennedy telling us who is best for Hawaii. Dan Akaka should be physically and mentally able to communicate his ideas and reasons to the people of Hawaii. Anything less than that disqualifies Akaka from being a Senator.
And lets look at the Akaka bill . . . Dan Akaka tried to push an important piece of legislation for Hawaii but got torpedoed in the end. His only major proposed legislation keeps getting shot down year after year. That is evidence of his inability to lead and to build a consensus around his ideas. Isn’t that what a Senator is supposed to do?
Comment by Trojanraider — August 24, 2006 @ 11:20 am
There’s a heated race for one of Hawaii’s Senate seats. On one side we have Daniel Akaka, who voted against authorization for the war in 2002, and is calling for the withdrawal of troops by July 2007. Akaka voted against the reauthorization of the Patriot Act, and still fights to get the Hawaiian recognition bill through Congress. Case on the other hand pledged support for the war in Iraq and rejected a timetable for withdrawal. He also voted yes in November 2005 to make the Patriot Act permanent.
With the Democratic party supporting Akaka, and Ed Case’s comments about Lieberman having a right to do what he’s doing in the Connecticut race I present my latest cartoon on this most important tug of war.
http://www.whatnowtoons.com//#057
Comment by what now toons — September 6, 2006 @ 6:26 pm