Associated Press
When legendary Sen. Daniel Inouye (D) of Hawaii died last week, it was a great loss to the nation, but it was also a loss for the Senate Democratic caucus -- with key votes coming up, Dems found their majority shrinking from 53 seats to 52. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) reached out to Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie with a simple message: hurry up and pick a successor "with due haste."
Yesterday, he did.
Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie named his lieutenant governor, Brian Schatz, to fill the Senate seat left vacant following the death of the late Sen. Daniel Inouye (D).
Abercrombie, a Democrat, chose Schatz from a list of three finalists forwarded to him by the state Democratic party. Inouye, who served almost 50 full years in the Senate, died on Dec. 17.
"No one can fill Sen. Daniel K. Inouye's shoes, but together, we can all try to follow in his footsteps," Schatz said in a press conference in Hawaii.
As Ezra noted on the show last night, the choice is not without controversy. When his health deteriorated, Inouye specifically asked Abercrombie to appoint Rep. Colleen Hanabusa (D) to fill his seat in the event of his death. That the governor ignored a dying hero's wish is likely to cause political troubles for Abercrombie back home.
Indeed, to appreciate the larger context, it's also worth noting that while the governor respected Inouye, the two "weren't exactly best friends." Inouye actually urged a different candidate to run for governor in 2010, even when Abercrombie was the frontrunner.
Regardless, Schatz will serve until 2014, at which point there will be a special election to fill out the remainder of Inouye's term. If the incumbent wins, he'll have to run once again in 2016 for his own full term.
The next question, of course, is what kind of senator Schatz is likely to be.
Not well known outside of Hawaii, the senator-designate arrives in Washington as something of a blank slate, but some key details on his resume nevertheless jump out. Schatz was, for example, the chair of the Hawaii Democratic Party and a top official in the 2008 Obama campaign in Hawaii. In fact, Schatz appears likely to be a very loyal ally to the president going forward -- he specifically emphasized last night that he's "looking forward to supporting his agenda in the Senate."
Also note that Schatz, 40, is extremely young for the chamber. That detail likely mattered a great deal to Abercrombie -- Hawaii benefited from the seniority of its Senate delegation, which quickly vanished over the last two months. By appointing a young senator, who'll serve alongside Senator-elect Mazie Hirono (D) who was just elected last month, the governor may have been motivated by a long-term strategy for the state.
As for Schatz's policy priorities, it's also worth noting that he's described the climate crisis as "the most urgent challenge of our generation," which is an encouraging sentiment.
Schatz is headed to DC today, hitching a ride on Air Force One, and will be sworn into office later today.
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How unfortunate that he looks like Eric Cantor.
still it's better than Eddie Munster
An Apple is an Apple until you bite into a Granny Smith Versus a Fuji.
I worked with Schatz on the 2008 campaign and have had multiple conversations with him. He is a fine and good person and I think he will be a great leader in our state, but I am behind Hanabusa because of her equally outstanding character and due to her proven wisdom about progressive legislation.
The interesting story here is not so much about personalities, though the maneuverings and conjecture about the governor's possible Machiavellian motives in this decision are interesting (third paragraph of my earlier note warning about Schatz).
There is a process issue here. In a state that is solidly blue or red, tenure is everything. If you get a Senate seat, you basically have it for life in Hawaii. I am for Hanabusa, but it is fair to ask if it is fair of Inouye to annoint a successor who once in office is guaranteed a win for the Seat in subsequent primary elections? Is the democratic process within the democratic party of Hawaii actually democratic? Or is it some sort of perverse secret back room dance of internal party politics? Is this he end game for US politics? A duopoly of power between the resurgent DEMs and the faltering GOP, each with their solid blue and solid red states where the votes of the electorate in the minority party don't count, and the votes of the electorate in the majority have a single choice on the ballot? Everything is decided in the primaries- and the dynamics can be easily swung with comparatively small amounts of money.
What kind of democracy is it if the next special election in Hawaii is decided by the candidates who can raise the largest amount of campaign cash for their primary? The local military contractors, the unions, the bankers and the rest of them are all going to be having intense interviews with the key contenders in the next primary. If my state slips over to blue dogs like Hanneman or Case, this will be a fricking disaster.
On one hand the Governor has made it possible for there to be a more level playing field for challengers for the Senate seat. If I had greater confidence that competition would be won based on what coincides most with the will of the people, I would be happy. The little knowledge I have of state party politics informs me there is great danger that the process will be subverted by dark forces. I suspect this is not all that unusual a sentiment in other deep blue or deep red states.
The state law gives the governor the discretion to appoint a person to the seat and he is not obligated to follow the dictates of the deceased senator. When these type of appointments are made, they can be for a wide variety of reasons some of which are political and some which are not relevant to performance of the job. There will be a special election which is the check against these types of reasons. The procedure for appointments and special elections vary from state to state.
What is missed is that in the highly oriental subcultures of Hawaii, reversing the opinion of a wise and respected elder is a deep offence. Schatz can probably shake the haole coup undertones because his family is biracial. Abercrombie on the other hand substantially increased the likelihood he will be a one term governor.
It appears that the Hawaii Democratic Party wanted Governor Abercrombie to choose Brian Schatz. Why else would they give him a list of three potential successors that he was required to choose from that included Abercrombie's very own Lt. Gov.?
Colleen Hanabusa is my congresswoman, and she is a solid Democrat. But she has somewhat of a reputation of not playing well with others. And there has been bad blood between her and newly elected Senator Mazie Hirono. Above all else, the Hawaii Democratic Party seeks a solid team in Washington representing Hawaii.
Recall that the special election for Hanabusa's replacement is primary-less so there would be a split vote among the Dems and Djou (GOP) could very easily take Colleen's seat as he did in 2010. On the civil beat story posted on this subject, Bart Dame commented that this factor was central to the thinking that went in to the preference of Brian, and I trust his account, so I withdraw my earlier comments about possible Machiavellian motives of the governor.
Still, Hanabusa is getting a raw deal- it seems to me that this is going to happen over and over as long as we are deep blue or until the legislature eliminates the split vote effect by making special elections decided by a ranked choice vote similar to that used in Australian elections (technically known as single transferable vote).
I prefer we stay deep blue and institute STV voting to deal with the process problem.
I hope both men use the long hours aboard Air Force One wisely.
And, since the office is most often "Senator For Life," his youth is an advantage.
I'm really sorry that Sen. Inouye's wishes weren't respected.
With all due respect, and may he rest in peace, I think the point we are missing here is the fact that a Senator literally must die before he leaves his or her post and is replaced with someone more in touch and can work towards the real contemporary needs of their constituents.
No wonder we have the problems we do in Congress.
The Tea Party humbly disagrees as they force a twisted change in their chosen Republican Party.(sometimes change can go wrong, very,very wrong.
....Senator literally must die before he leaves his or her post and is replaced with someone more in touch and can work towards the real contemporary needs of their constituents
Actually, a quick google will reveal that Senators dying in office is a relatively rare occurence - Only about 6 since 2000, and one of those was Wellstone, who died in a place crash.
Elected officials who are not "in touch" will usually get voted out in those election-thingies we have here in the USA.
Surely you jest? Do you seriously think that the "lifers" (note the use of parentheses to indicate that it's metaphorical) give a rats rear end about the people they have sworn to represent? With the national opinion of Congress at an all-time low, precisely two Senate seats changed hands in November.
With the national opinion of Congress at an all-time low, precisely two Senate seats changed hands in November.
Because it is never your own Senators that you have a low opinion of - It's the Senators in all those other states.
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The key vote is the Fiscal Cliff vote -- we should all encourage Schatz (and every other progressive) to vote to jump over the cliff (i.e. do nothing). It's clear that Obama and Boehner, if they work out "a deal", will NOT cut defense spending. All of the "deal" discussion is about trading tax increases for social service cuts. Obama and Boehner each want one of those and are willing to pay the price with the other. But both of those, from the progressive perspective, are the COST of getting defense cuts. Obama and Boehner both support high defense spending -- but the Fiscal Cliff will cut the defense budget by $500 billion per year. It is apparent that the ONLY way we will EVER get defense cuts is by jumping over the fiscal cliff. So let's jump!
The lights are on, but . . . . The Senate majority fell from three to two, not 53 to 52!
Wow, MSNBC... Leave it to Ezra Klein to give [Hebrew] National Public Radio a run for its money last night in terms of Jewish content. I eagerly look forward to Rachel's return.
If anyone reading this is skeptical of my comments, please re-watch the show. :)
That said, may Jack Klugman rest in peace. I watched Quincy with my mom way back when...
I think you have confused the Maddowblog with VirginiaDare.com
Shorter Katapaltes: Hi, I'm going to make a bigoted comment but an emoticon makes it all better. :)
I object to 'the governor ignored a dying hero's wish'. Oh BS. Abercromie looked at three candidates and picked Schatz. It is his 'right' as governor. Why does there ALWAYS have to be 'contention' or controversy. C'mon.
I have been represented by Brian Schatz in the past, and Colleen Hanabusa is currently my congresswoman. Both are solid Democrats, but he is far more progressive. And he is twenty years younger, which means he has time to build seniority.
Brian first became active in the community when he became involved in the Save Sandy Beach grassroots movement. The movement was ultimately successfull in preventing the expansion of a private golf course and building of townhouses on land surrounding one of Hawaii's most popular public beaches.
He later served as CEO of Helping Hands Hawaii, a non-profit community clearinghouse providing individuals and families in need with basic necessities, such as food, clothing, furniture, basic household items, and school supplies for children.
While in the House, he served as Chair of the Economic Development and Business Committee, Vice-Chair of Consumer Protection and Commerce, Vice-Chair of Water, Land and Ocean Resources, and as a member of the Hawaiian Affairs, Higher Education, Energy and Environmental Protection, and Agriculture Committees.
In 2010, he ran for the office of Lieutenant Governor on a platform of creating clean-energy jobs and improving public education.
He has won the Hawaii Audubon Society President's Award, the Bank of Hawaii Community Leader of the Year in 2004, and the NOAA's Environmental Hero Award.
Not a bad resume for a 40 year old junior senator from Hawaii.