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Inouye's Last Wish Is Abercrombie's Biggest Burden
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| Contributor | karin1492 |
| Last Edited | karin1492 Dec 24, 2012 05:06pm |
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| Category | News |
| News Date | Monday, December 24, 2012 11:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Let’s talk about "the letter."
The day Daniel K. Inouye died, the U.S. senator sent a note to Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie.
Appoint U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa to my seat, Inouye wrote. “I hope you will grant me my last wish.”
While this immediately shot Hanabusa to the top of the succession list, it also put Abercrombie in a tough spot.
How could the governor not grant the dying wish of Hawaii’s most revered statesman? And if he doesn’t, what would be the political consequences?
Hawaii has sent only five people to the U.S. Senate. Mazie Hirono will be the sixth, and Hawaii Democrats will send recommendations to Abercrombie for the seventh.
A special meeting — moved up from Friday — is scheduled for Wednesday at party headquarters, and we may have a new senator even before Hirono is sworn in Jan. 3. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who spoke at Inouye's Punchbowl Cemetery service Sunday, has urged Abercrombie to decide quickly so Reid has all the votes he can get on any "fiscal cliff" legislation.
"It's a matter of national importance," Party Chairman Dante Carpenter told Civil Beat Saturday at Inouye's Capitol Rotunda service.
That it is, but Inouye's letter is politically charged. The fact that he wrote it suggests he worried Abercrombie isn’t keen on Hanabusa.
It also speaks to the gravitas of the situation. There’s a strong likelihood that whomever Abercrombie picks will be in that seat for a long time.
Inouye wanted continuity and made sure everyone knew where he stood.
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