11/2/05
Democratic Party
Needs Strong Leader
Ira Rohter
When Republican Linda Lingle decisively defeated ex-Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono in 2002, for the first time in 40 years the Democrats no longer controlled the Governorship. Although former Gov. John Waihee said the state was merely entering "an interlude" where the Democrats were not in power for awhile, others recognized that the Party needed to remake itself after years of corruption, cronyism, and stagnant leadership. The public definitely agreed with Lingle's call, "It's time for a change."
However, with the 2006 elections fast approaching, the Democrats are still desperately searching for a viable candidate to challenge Lingle. That Congressman Neil Abercrombie was considering leaving Washington to run for Governor seemed surprising. Abercrombie has patiently been waiting to move up into the U.S. Senate when either Senator Inouye or Akaka (who are in their eighties) retires. At 67, and a long time veteran of Hawai`i politics — having been in the State House and Senate for 12 years during the `70s and `80, before going off to D.C in 1986 — Abercrombie is hardly the fresh face that represents "change." And Abercrombie's high-amp oratorical style turns off many voters.
But the fact that Abercrombie was even considering this new role shows how desperately the Democrats need a strong leader. As Honolulu Advertiser columnist David Shapiro bluntly called it (10/19/05):
Barren of promotable talent from within the party after years of political inbreeding and eating their most promising young, Democrats are left to forage for a candidate among retired bankers, generals, police chiefs and even a Republican mayor....Democrats are sorely in need of capable leaders. The Democratic Party, once a cohesive entity, has broken down into parochial fiefdoms with small-minded concerns. Most of the party's power resides in the Legislature, where weak leadership annually produces disappointing half-measures that leave unresolved persistent problems such as education, drug abuse, poverty and affordable housing. [Hawai`i politics sliding into mediocrity.]
Even if he couldn't have beaten Lingle in her run for a second term, Abercrombie is probably the only Democrat capable of rebuilding the Party's fumbling campaign apparatus and unorganized legislative agenda. The job is to protect the Democratic majority in the Legislature, and strengthen their capacity to defeat Lingle if, as is often mentioned, she decides to run for U.S. Senate a few years out.
For years Democratic campaigns remind one of the "Tortoise and Hare" Aesop Fable: for a long time only fairly low key activities occur, and then, just weeks before election day, they run a frantic sprint. While this strategy may have worked in the past, today's voters are far less loyal and automatically willing to check-off the Democrat ballot column. And a revived and well-funded Republican Party, employing sophisticated turn-out-the-vote techniques, understands that not flashy, but slow and steady, wins the race ultimately.
Although Hawai`i's Dems have taken a few good initial steps in setting up a professional campaign organization, they are still floundering. Like at the national level, the same old party insiders remain in control. Connected to Sen. Inouye's patronage machine, the insiders who poorly managed Mazie Hirono's muddled campaign, and Kerry's in 2004, still control money and positions. The unions, with their own private agendas, also play a Kingmaker role. As Shapiro frankly reported: "the official party apparatus now headed by entertainer Brickwood Galuteria has long bordered on irrelevance, and even respected elders such as U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye can no longer bring the factions to heel."
Only Abercrombie with his multiple connections has the muscle to knock heads, and access to resources, that it takes to put together a modern campaign machine.
The public and disaffected Democratic activists are looking for tangible results from their leaders, not more flowery talk and generic promises. Given the most recent national test results showing Hawai`i's public school students still ranking near the bottom in reading and math, it's hard to take serious the Dem's claims they are truly "educational reformers." The Dem's failure to pro-actively explain the Gas Cap bill to the public — which has a logical rationale — has allowed the Republicans and conservatives free rein to attack the Majority party as devoid of common sense. The implementation of the Bottle Recycling bill is so flawed that even boosters have to be apologetic. Repeated wrangling over budgets seem more evidence of a body endlessly stuck in special-interest turf battles and political timidity. The public is looking for legislators capable of solving commonly recognized problems, not more excuses and half-steps.
The Establishment Democrats need to build credibility on issues which moderates of both parties, and liberal Dem activists, care about. They must enact flagship programs effectively dealing with health care, affordable housing, the environment, transportation, and genuine campaign spending reform. They must show they are innovators, not just captive agents of powerful special interests.
Had Abercrombie decided to take control of the party, he could have emulated the legislative strategy of Hawai`i's first Dem governor, John Burns, who in the run-up to the 1970 election pushed a package of standout bills through the Democratic-controlled Legislature. Burn's affordable housing program included tax break for renters, restrictions on resale of state-sponsored housing projects, funds for mortgage assistance, provisions for innovative building code and zoning, and a variety of financial incentives for developers. Burns, his skilled lobbyists, and Legislative allies established an Office Of Environmental Quality Control and tackled pesticide control, auto emissions, prevention of beachfront construction, and funding of a statewide master open-space plan. As a stimulus to diversification, the package created an Office of Marine Affairs, and a series of marine laboratories, research centers, and marine parks.
Strong-arming the various factions to pass these bills, and mounting a impressive PR campaign, Burns entered the 1970 campaign looking like a real leader. And he won.
Part of the reason Mazie Hirono lost in 2002 was the defection of the Democratic traditional base. Old timers did not cast their votes, and many liberal reformers disaffected from a party dominated by an Old Boy Network, either sat on their hands or voted for Lingle, who seemed destined to at least shake up the status-quo.
These base voters need to be drawn back into a truly reformed party with a solid track record. The Republicans are likely to run attractive candidates similar to new GOP House leader Lynn Berbano Finnegan, current House members Kymberly Marcos Pine and Corinne Ching, or Charles Kong Djou, Honolulu City Council member and former state representative.
Though not the idea candidate, only Abercrombie would have had the ability to draw together old time Democrats, labor leaders, and Dean / Kucinich type liberals. With his extensive knowledge of the legislative process, the backing of Senator Inouye, access to Mainland funding sources, and a cooperative Majority in the Legislature, Abercrombie could have been a formidable force in reviving the fortunes of Hawai`i's Democratic Party again. Since none of the other potential candidates mentioned in the press come anywhere near possessing these political qualifications, it looks like the Democrats will continue to muddle through once again.
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Ira Rohter is Professor of Political Science at the University of Hawaii — Manoa.