Inouye on Case: “My thinking has not really changed … I don’t want to deal with a person like that”

Political Radar: “My thinking has not really changed. But, after all, I’m just like anyone else. I’m actively involved in government affairs. I’m a voter. And I have my likes and dislikes. And for me to continually say, ‘I have nothing to add. I have nothing to add,’ makes me look ridiculous and foolish,” Inouye said today by telephone from Washington.

“And so when people ask me, I say, ‘Well, I’ve been Mazie’s friend for a long time and I’ve watched her work and I like the way she does things.’”

Asked whether he considers that an endorsement, he said: “Well, if you want to consider that, that’s fine, because obviously if I’m going to say those things about her when I go to the polls I’m going to vote for her.”

…The senator says he has not received a satisfactory explanation from Case.

“What I am going to do? Am I going to just sit around and do nothing? I was hurt,” he said of his reaction to Case’s challenge to Akaka.

“He hasn’t given me any explanation, and if that’s the way he’s going to deal with me, I don’t want to deal with a person like that.”

read … Hirono is Inouye's

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Inouye: “Case knows why I’m not too happy with him”

Civil Beat: "This sounds silly to some but I have not used the word 'endorse,' so I can say with a straight face that I have not endorsed anyone, but I'm friendly to Mazie," Inouye said in an interview in his U.S. Capitol office. "I've been to her fundraisers."

Asked if it would be fair to say that he hopes Hirono wins, the senator replied: 
"I think so. I'm being honest with you."

"He knows why I'm not too happy with him," Inouye said of Case.

read … Down With Case

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Inouye Makes the Case for … Lingle?

Inouye: Lack of Bipartisanship Hurting Hawaii

Roll Call: The Hawaii Democrat, who also serves as President Pro Tem, said the panel remains as powerful as ever, but he contended that a lack of cooperation across the aisle has hampered his committee's ability to get individual spending bills enacted in recent years….

He said panel spots remain desirable because "you can actively involve yourself in the development of your nation or state" in a way that you can't on other committees….

After more than 50 years in Congress, Inouye believes that among the greatest lessons he has learned is that friendship leads to bipartisanship.

Legislating is "a bit more challenging today than it used to be 30 or 40 years ago," the Senator said during recent interviews in his office.

"For one thing, we socialized more before. We'd have time, we'd have lunches together. Today, very seldom do you see Members having lunch together," Inouye said.

"Somebody might say that's not a big thing. But if you develop warm relations, friendly relations by these activities, it may follow to the conference table," Inouye said. "Today, you don't have it."

read … The Case for Lingle

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FLASHBACK: Inouye: Ed Case will not be allowed to Crucify Me (April 19, 2011)

Sen. Inouye has harsh words for Ed Case

by Emily Goodin – The Hill 04/19/11

Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) said he won't endorse in his state's Democratic Senate primary next year, but he had some harsh words for one candidate — former Rep. Ed Case.

Inouye, in a wide-ranging interview Monday with the Civil Beat, showed he's still unhappy that Case challenged Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) in the 2006 primary.

"Akaka was the incumbent. I had a good working relationship with him, and it was no secret. Mr. Case came to me, and I asked him, I said, ‘Are you running for the Senate?’ He says, ‘No.’ Forty-eight hours later, he announced, and in his headquarters were all [these] posters. And these posters are not made in 24 hours. It takes a little while to do this. I don’t mind people disagreeing with me. But on something like this, straight to my face," Inouye said.

The nine-term lawmaker endorsed Akaka in that race, but now that Akaka is retiring, Inouye said he won't be involved in the race for the Democratic nomination.

"I’m not going to be involved in the primary. That’s been my rule all along, with exceptions. … Obviously, I’ve got my own choice. I may not share it with you," he told the paper.

Case has declared his candidacy. Democratic Reps. Colleen Hanabusa and Mazie Hirono said they are considering running. Former Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz and former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann are also thought to be mulling bids.

Hanabusa echoed Inouye's remarks about the lingering resentment against Case from his 2006 Senate bid in an interview with The Ballot Box earlier this month.

"When you look at the multi-cultural base of the community that we have there, it's something that probably does linger with a good portion of the Democratic base," she said.

Inouye was asked if he and Case had made amends.

"Well he came to see me and, you know, I let bygones be bygones. But I said something like, ‘When I get agitated and irritated, I might act up.' After all, I’m human, right? I can take a few blows. I’ll turn the other cheek. But I always remind myself there was only person qualified to be strung up on the cross. And I’m not the one."

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Study in Contrast: Daniel Inouye's 1959 Guide To Getting Elected

The Hill: Inouye all but endorses Hirono in Hawaii