Thursday, November 14, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Monday, June 13, 2011
Pro-Bowl: Collateral damage in Abercrombie’s war on Mufi?
By Andrew Walden @ 12:02 AM :: 7313 Views :: Energy, Environment

by Andrew Walden

“Neil is in a death spiral.”

“Tourette’s syndrome.”

“You don’t think Florida is making phone calls right now to the NFL?”

“This could be one of those defining moments that forever colors the way we will look at the Gov.  It’s gonna take a strong set of prescription beer goggles to make Neil look like anything other than an anti-business, economically confused codger.  As the young’uns say: ‘awkward.’”

“You must be wondering WTF he’s smoking.”

“Leading by emotion is for the inexperienced.”

The comments come hot and heavy on Volcanic Ash and other comment boards as Hawaii voters—and the State’s elite--come to terms with the reality of who they elected Governor.  Shorn of the handlers who kept him on the straight and narrow, Neil Abercrombie has reverted to the arrogant haole hippie know-it-all that he always has been.  The difference is that now he is shouting and waving his arms in Hawaii, not Washington.  And more and more news outlets are actually quoting Abercrombie verbatim after 30 years of covering for his blithering incoherence by paraphrasing his remarks.

But there is more to this.  Abercrombie’s bizarre attack on the Pro-Bowl is part of Progressive Democrats’ ongoing war against Mufi Hannemann, Dan Inouye, and the “old-boy” Democrats.   And this is not Abercrombie’s first attack on Mufi’s new base in the Hawaii tourism industry.  As the Star-Advertiser explained:

The state paid $4 million to hold the Pro Bowl this year, and will pay another $4 million to host it next year. Abercrombie first suggested diverting some of the money the Hawaii Tourism Authority spends on marketing to infrastructure needs in his first State of the State address in January.

Former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, who has been one of the state’s strongest supporters of the Pro Bowl and who is now head of the Hawaii Hotel Association, said the Pro Bowl is an economic generator for Hawaii.  “Studies show it was $31 million last year. It you give the $4 million and get $31 million, it means bringing money into the state,” Hannemann said.

The Progressives are also at war against Hannemann’s signature old boy project, Honolulu Rail.  With Abercrombie quietly smiling in the background, his mentor Ben Cayetano and several progressive Democrat environmental groups have joined with conservative-libertarian anti-rail activists in a lawsuit which will probably spell doom for the $5 billion project.  Abercrombie’s comment when Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle broke ground for the project:

“This is all abstract right now. It’s all photos and photo-ops right now. I’ve seen those before.”

Tourism and Rail are not the only economic foundations being undermined by Abercrombie’s faction fight.  He is also taking aim at military spending.

As a Congressman, Abercrombie in 2009 made an abortive effort to lard a bill authorizing relocation of Marines from Okinawa to Guam with $10B in pork for his contributor, Hunt Building Corp.  But today, with Inouye fighting off Senate efforts to downsize the project, Abercrombie has suddenly switched sides.  Pacific Business News June 10 reports: 

Sens. Carl Levin, D-Michigan; John McCain, R-Arizona; and Virginia Democrat Jim Webb said in May that the current Department of Defense realignment plans (for Guam) are “unrealistic, unworkable and unaffordable.”  The senators proposed a stripped-down presence on Guam that would be bolstered by deployed, rotating combat units based elsewhere, including Hawaii.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie agreed with that assessment, and said the U.S. territory doesn’t have the infrastructure to support the move. At a recent speech to the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, Abercrombie said Guam also doesn’t have the facilities to provide training for the 8,000-plus Marines.  “They’re going to have to fly off to Saipan or some other place to do training. It’s not going to work,” Abercrombie said.

Abercrombie has spent an entire lifetime worming his way into the system and now that he is on top and at the end of his years, he is going all-out to cement the Progressives’ total control over the Democratic Party.   In this battle, jobs, the economy, public welfare, and national defense are just cannon fodder.  And the Pro-Bowl is just the beginning.

As Abercrombie explained last December: “I’m going to be on offense. I’m not about to apologize to anybody.”

---30---

REALITY:

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii Military History

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Together

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

July 4 in Hawaii

Land and Power in Hawaii

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii