SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 2004
SOURCE: JUAN WILSON juanwilson@mac.com
POSTED: 24 OCTOBER 2004 - 8:30am HST
Fight for Hawaii's Soul!
Senator
John Kerry was being pulverized by 40 knot winds. His windsurfing
buddy cringed at the sight of a United States Senator being tossed
around like a rag doll and splattered time and time again onto
the forgiving waters of his beloved state of Massachusetts. For
three hours, Kerry felt the rage of the wind and struggled to
leverage his body against the gale force-finding balance briefly,
only to lose it in spectacular crashes. Nevin Sayre, the windsurfer
whose equipment the Senator was borrowing, was amazed at the warrior's
perseverance and was worried about the Senator's safety. He could
see the New York Times headline blaming him for the loss of a
luminary. For even he, a former professional windsurfer, had difficulties
in these overpowering conditions. "Finally," recounts
Sayre, the 54-year old Senator dragged himself out of the water
and, grinning from ear to ear, proclaimed the experience as..."OUTSTANDING!" |
Presidential
Race in Hawaii is Tied How did we come to this state of affairs? One thin is clear; Democrats in Hawaii cannot take getting out the vote for granted. It may very well be that Hawaii, like much of the US western states, is becoming more conservative and responsive to money-interests. For Hawaii this is might represent a "sea change" in the popular view that will have profound implications on local issues related to the environment and militarism. Normally, I don't advocate voting according to party lines. If you are a discerning voter, I think you should examine every individual candidate on a case by case basis. However, the national Republican agenda is so corrossive to our interests here in Hawaii, and for Americans throughout the world, that I suggest voting against all Republicans until George Bush and his Neocon associates are out of power. |
| Neglected
Hawaii emerges as swing state By David Briscoe - Associated Press on 22 OCtober 2004 Often dismissed as too small, too isolated and too Democratic to worry about in presidential contests, Hawaii suddenly has a close race. Democrats say Sen. John Kerry still has an edge over President Bush in the contest for Hawaii's four electoral votes, but the race has become awfully tight for their comfort. With late poll closings - 11 p.m. EST on Nov. 2 - and a slow count, Hawaii politicians are talking about offering a dramatic conclusion to what could be an ultra-close national election. "We may make the difference," said Linda Chu Takayama, campaign manager for Democratic Sen. Daniel Inouye, who is all but assured of victory in his own race for an eighth term. "Surprise, surprise. The polls I've seen show it up and down but always within the margin of error." The only statewide media poll, more than two months ago, showed Kerry leading Bush, 48-41. Private polling reviewed by strategists for both Kerry and Bush more recently suggests the race is still that close. Hawaii may not be a big-vote, difference-making tossup state like Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania, but the race is remarkable in a state Democrat Al Gore won by 20 percentage points in 2000 - and one that has been solid blue on most election maps. Democratic strategists in Washington privately admit they have neglected Hawaii, but no more. They have dispatched political operatives to shore up Kerry's support and believe the race is now about as close as Washington state and Oregon, two long-standing battlegrounds that both parties think are leaning toward Kerry. Open campaigning for the presidency is just getting started in the islands. The first major rally for Kerry and Sen. John Edwards was Friday near the state Capitol. Campaign signs for Bush and vice presidential candidate Dick Cheney are just now popping up along roadsides. Local candidates in leis line major thoroughfares and freeway entrances with their own signs in Hawaii's colorful honk-and-wave style of campaigning. But during the campaign no major national political figure, much less Bush or Kerry, has set foot in the state, 4,800 miles from Washington. "They're going to rely on us to carry the election here," said Republican Gov. Linda Lingle. Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon are the only GOP presidential candidates ever to win Hawaii's vote. They, like Bush, were running for second terms. Republicans say Bush has been helped by cable television ads running in the islands, where cable viewership is high. Bush and his party have outspent Kerry $17 million to $5 million on national cable TV ads that include Hawaii. Also, with the tourism industry recovering from the Sept. 11 attacks, Hawaii's unemployment rate is 3.1 percent, lowest in the nation. And Republicans say they're doing better than expected among the state's large number of veterans. On the other hand, Democratic Sen. Inouye told The Associated Press while campaigning on Oahu this week that anger over the deployment of a disproportionate number of National Guard troops from Hawaii, the state's highest-in-the-nation gasoline prices and Bush's support for gun legislation are factors that help Kerry. Also, Ralph Nader failed to submit enough valid signatures to be included on the ballot this year as an independent after winning 6 percent in 2000 running on the Green Party ticket. Lingle, elected in 2002 as the state's first Republican governor in four decades, has campaigned with Bush on the mainland and has traveled to Iraq to boost state support for the war and the 10,000 Hawaii-based troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. At home, Lingle has played Bush surrogate for weeks as she campaigns for Republicans to wrest control of the Hawaii House. On the Democratic side, Inouye said, "Every day I'm talking about Kerry. It's going to be close but not as close as people think." Former Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono, who lost the 2002 gubernatorial race to Lingle, said the Democrats weren't assuming anything this time. Hirono, head of Hawaii Women for Kerry-Edwards, said, "I've heard the Republicans say they're going to deliver Hawaii for Bush. Well, maybe they're taking Hawaii for granted, but we're not." Said Republican Party Chairman Brennon Morioka: "Every indication that we have is that it's almost a dead heat right now." |
| Vote for Hooser & against Kusak for Hawaii Senate votehooser@hooser.org 808-652-4279 (direct) 808-822-9132 (home) 808-586-6030 (senate office) http://www.hooser.org |
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 2004
SOURCE: LINDA PASCATORE lindapascatore@me.com
POSTED: 3 APRIL 2004 - 12:30pm HST
Fight for America’s Soul!
John Kerry on the stump in 2004
| Bush
Shall Not Stand! It is time to take a stand and fight for the soul of the United States. We cannot in good conscience allow Bush to be reelected. Imperialism: Bush has transformed the United States from a democracy and member of the world community to a rouge nation which is threatening the world and taking civil liberties from its own people. We have thumbed our nose at international law and the United Nations, and made an unprecedented preemptive strike on a sovereign nation. Bush has the audacity to claim that the policy of our nation is now to engage in preemptive strikes on a growing list of nations in an “axis of evil”. The list is composed of countries that are strategic or have resources we want, and is not based on the presence of either democracy or human rights. We just deposed the democratically elected Aristide from power in Haiti. Civil Liberties: Bush and Rumsfeld have also attacked the very basis of democracy in this country. They have taken away countless constitutionally guaranteed civil rights in the name of the war on terrorism. Privacy is becoming a fuzzy memory, as surveillance becomes an insidious part of our daily lives. We are losing our freedom of speech and expression, and people speaking out against the war on terrorism are being prosecuted through provisions in the Patriot Act. Bush has also attacked separation of church and state, women’s rights...the list goes on. Environment: Ignoring the consensus of the international scientific community and his own EPA, Bush is propelling us at an ever increasing rate towards the nightmare of global warming. He has rolled back a tremendous number of domestic environmental protections, including the protections for clean air and water in effect since the 70’s. Bush has opened public park lands to plunder by greedy private corporate interests. Take Action: Work to Elect John Kerry! I confess that I voted for Ralph Nader during the last election. I am philosophically much more in line with the policies of Dennis Kucinich than those of John Kerry. However, we can not allow Bush to be reelected. We may lose the very soul of our country if we do. It is time to suck it up and fight like hell to elect John Kerry. I have never been actively involved in working on a campaign, but I have decided that this is the year that in good conscience I must do it. Check out the John Kerry for President website (http://johnkerry.com/). There is a wealth of information on the issues, Kerry’s positions, articles, recordings and videos about the candidate, and a Debunking Room to counter Bush’s latest negative campaign points. The website offers dozens of ways to get involved and help with the election. If you like to work online, you can participate in blogs, online forums, and web rings. They can set you up to do fund raising on line, or just inform your friends about Kerry. They will send you daily updates about the campaign. If you take a more hands-on approach, you can attend a Meet Up with other supporters. Meet Ups are scheduled all over the country on the 4th Thursday of each month. There is one planned for a location in Lihue here on Kauai April 22nd--sign up for notification on the website and maybe I’ll see you there! I was also able to order T-shirts, hats, buttons, bumper stickers, and a yard sign on line. There are resources for organizers to get the word out locally to vote for Kerry. You can make a monetary contribution, or volunteer your time to work on line, go door to door, make phone calls, or work at a local headquarters. Get involved to save our Democracy and make the United States a country to be proud of once again! |
Pau