STATEMENT FROM LINDA LINGLE SENATE COMMITTEE

HONOLULU - Bob Lee, campaign manager for the Linda Lingle Senate Committee, released the following statement today.

"Today's email statement from the Hirono campaign is the kind of partisan rhetoric that turns off voters because it fails to address the important issues being faced by Hawaii's families and small businesses.

"Mazie Hirono constantly uses this kind of personal attack against Governor Linda Lingle even though the Governor is not her opponent at this stage of the campaign. Perhaps this is Hirono's way of trying to distract the public and the media from the fact that she refuses to debate the person who is her opponent - former Congressman Ed Case.

"Whatever the purpose of the Hirono campaign's personal attacks today against Governor Lingle and U.S. Senator Roy Blunt, they make one thing crystal clear: Mazie Hirono does not have the demeanor or temperament to be a United States Senator.

"If the Hirono camp had done its homework, it would have known that Governor Lingle and Mazie Hirono share the same position on the Blunt Amendment - neither supports the broadly crafted language of the amendment.

"But this is where the comparison stops. Governor Lingle knows it hurts the state of Hawaii to make the kind of personal attacks Hirono has made against United States Senator Roy Blunt. I think Senator Inouye would agree with me since throughout his career he has been a calm and steady voice who always represented our state with class.

"Governor Lingle knows that she will not agree with her Republican or Democratic colleagues on every issue. When she disagrees with a colleague it will be in a respectful manner that does not embarrass the people of Hawaii as Mazie has done today with her hyper-partisan rhetoric. If Governor Lingle is elected to the U.S. Senate, she will work with each and every colleague to find common ground that leads to thoughtful policy decisions that benefit all of the people of her state and the nation.

"Conversely, Hirono's statement shows that she will take a hard-nosed, partisan position against any colleague whose personal beliefs differ from hers. Besides being inappropriate and misleading, a statement like the one she validated today shows Mazie Hirono is ill-equipped to be a U.S. Senator. Instead of showing a willingness to work with others to find real solutions to problems, she will simply contribute to the hyper-partisan bickering that has stifled our country in the last few years.

"Personal attacks have no place in the United States Senate. Mazie Hirono's attitude and actions are inappropriate for a sitting Congresswoman and are certainly not befitting a U.S. Senator."

Bob Lee

Campaign Manager

Linda Lingle Senate Committee

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