PDHblog
This is a place for members of Progressive Democrats of Hawai‘i to express their thoughts
and exasperations about political happenings. The opinions and views are not necessarily
those of PDH's steering committee or membership as a whole.

I received this email from William Aila Jr, former candidate for governor, the other day:

Aloha Rachel! I write to request that the progressive democrats support all democratic candidates in the general election. I also urge the support of Randall Iwase and Malama Solomon because they provide a clear choice between a future where local culture continues to exist and a Hawaii where local culture gives way to a globalized culture, rendering the aloha spirit mute. They represent our best choice for affordable housing and rentals versus a PR create the illusion approach. Please kokua via your e-mail list and ask everyone to take a friend to the polls. Mahalo!

I have passed on the note to our email list. Furthermore, I was forwarded this note from the Iwase campaign:

From: “The Friends of Randy Iwase”
Lingle Misrepresents the Precentage of National Gaurd Deployed

“Linda Lingle has allowed a higher percentage of National Guard troops to be committed than most other states,” said Democratic gubernatorial candidate Randy Iwase. “The facts are indisputable: The Governor did not fight to limit the number of guard troops committed.

“Just look at the numbers from across the nation and it is clear that Hawaii has been asked to shoulder a disproportionate share of this unjust war. We are a small state, some say like Rhode Island. Yet Rhode Island only committed 19%. We are a state prone to hurricanes and earthquakes, so shouldn’t we be treated like Florida, which has only sent 17%. Or like South Carolina (29%), North Carolina (37%), Mississippi (36%), Louisiana (37%), Alabama (19%), Georgia (21%), or California (32%). And we have a Republican governor like New York which has only sent 31%. Why was Hawaii, small Hawaii, isolated Hawaii been asked to send 50% of its National Guard to war in Iraq?

I saw a rebuttal to this statement by Robert G.F. Lee yesterday on Hawaii Reporter, no surprise. In that article, it seems the main point of rebuttal is that Hawaii does not have a higher percentage than “most” other states, apparently we rank “38th out of the 54 states and territories.” Interestingly, South Carolina is mentioned both in Iwase’s statement and in the rebuttal with different figures.

Lee says:

However, 37 other states and territories have higher percentages, including South Carolina, which has had virtually all of its National Guard troops mobilized, as well as Kentucky, Massachusetts and Puerto Rico, which have had more than 80 percent of their soldiers and airmen mobilized for active duty.

Whereas, Iwase puts them on the low end: “South Carolina (27%)”

Which is right? It is possible that they both are… all depends on how you define the total used to calculated the percentage. Of course, it also depends on the point or period in time that you cite from. In a quick google search to see if I could find independent numbers, I found this snippet in a Kansas newspaper:

Hawaii had the highest mobilization rates, with 26 soldiers called to duty for every 10,000 residents; Florida was the lowest-ranked state, with 1.4 call-ups per 10,000 residents.

Here they report number of national guard troops mobilized as a function of population size, which is different that percentage of total troops in the state that Lee refers to. I wasn’t able to find an independent listing of mobilization rates… I would be interested in looking at one if anyone knows where to find it. Either way, I think Hawaii’s geographic isolation puts us in a unique situation. On the mainland, national guard troops can be mobilized from neighboring states if need be during a disaster, while in Hawaii there aren’t any “neighboring states.”

The national guard statement, and others put out by the Iwase campaign, paint him as a potentially “progressive” politician whom I would love to help put in the Governor’s seat. Yet, I personally, have been very hesitant in promoting him publicly. While I was not politically active when Iwase & Solomon were in the State Senate… the people that I talk to who were, note that neither were particularly progressive. On the other hand, I have been told by several people who “crunched the numbers” that Iwase has a very real chance of winning IF all Dem’s vote D. I think that is a big IF… but, would really kick myself if he came really close and I didn’t vote for him. I do tend to believe that overall a Democrat administration would offer more progressive opportunities than the current Republican one.