HI-Sen: Ed Case Gets In

I had really hoped we were done with this guy:

Former Democratic Rep. Ed Case, who finished third in last year’s special House election, announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate in Hawaii Sunday, releasing a video to supporters.

“I’m running for the Senate because I believe we can and must do better, and that our Hawaii offers a better way forward for our country,” he says in his announcement video. …

Case becomes the first official entrant into the state’s first open seat Senate contest since 1990.

Case is in fact coming off two straight losses, plus an embarrassing yank on the rip-cord. In 2006, he united the Hawaii political establishment against him when he challenged now-retiring Sen. Dan Akaka in the Democratic primary, losing 54-45. He then tried to stage a comeback last year, as Dave Catanese notes, splitting the vote with Colleen Hanabusa in a 1st CD special election prompted by now-Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s resignation. This allowed Republican Charles Djou to win with just 39% – despite an arrogant attempt by the DCCC to intervene on Case’s behalf. (The D-Trip insisted, without evidence, that Hanabusa was unelectable – even though the entire establishment was once again united against Case.) After the special, Case said he’d challenge Hanabusa in the Dem primary for the regular election last November, but dropped out just days later, probably realizing he’d get smoked in the primary. As a final coda, Hanabusa beat Djou in the general, showing just how misguided the DCCC’s interference was.

As I say, I would have thought this track record would have been enough to put an end to Case’s political ambitions, but ambition is what defines Ed Case – ambition, and douchiness. Case is truly a Dem in the DLC mold. Most notoriously, when he was running for Congress in 2002, he said he would have voted for the Iraq war resolution – and as late as 2006, he voted (and spoke) in favor of an open-ended military commitment in that country. He’s also been a regular supporter of anti-progressive legislation like the bankruptcy bill and the PATRIOT Act. In short, Hawaii can – and should – do a lot better than Ed Case. Indeed, his recent track record at the polls shows that Hawaiians already know this.

But I’m a bit concerned, because Case has been making amends with the other Dan – Sen. Dan Inouye, the dean of Hawaii politics. Case says he called Inouye last month to “apologize,” though exactly what he was apologizing for wasn’t clear. (Inouye took Case’s run against his buddy Akaka quite personally, it seemed.) And after Case dropped out of the HI-01 race last year, Inouye termed him a “real Democrat,” though I remain convinced Case bailed in order to avoid a third straight defeat, not because he was being a team player. So Case might no longer be the outcase he once was. Fortunately, Dems have quite a strong progressive bench in the state, so I’m hopeful someone like 2nd CD Rep. Mazie Hirono will step in and mop the floor with Case – soon.

201 thoughts on “HI-Sen: Ed Case Gets In”

  2. An open seat in Hawaii is just not going to be given to case without a fight, given that you can have the seat for life, I can’t imagine someone running for the seat this time.

    1. Case doesn’t fit progressive at all.

      I’m all for seeing more Hispanics/Asians/African Americans in the legislative bodies of the US, but voting for them under the cover of diversity if they are corrupt is not good.

    1. As of now I am not sure that I will be making the trek over to DKos as a regular poster. The amount of comments on DKos Elections has been increasing dramatically, and about 90% of the comments are unintelligible garbage. I’m not sure I’ll feel comfortable.

    2. …just see it as an easy opportunity to get another non-whtie Senator elected, and yes a non-white woman in particular would be nice (and I’m a man).

      I take pride in being part of a party that elects black Muslims (Ellison and Carson) to represent a district of majority white Christians, a white Jew (Cohen) to represent a district of majority black Christians, and an Chinese-descended woman (Chu) to represent a majority Hispanic district.

      Hawaii electing a white person to the Senate would fit with the above examples.

      Problem is, there are just sooooooo few non-white Senators, and the opportunities today remain so limited, that I don’t like to see them wasted.

  7. I don’t think either congresswoman will give up a safe House seat for a 50/50 shot in a primary. If either of them were going to get in they have had plenty of time to jump in and probably clear the field. I don’t  think Case is as bad as many here make him out to be, then again I am probably more conservative than 90% of the Dems who post here.

  8. I’ve seen some chatter about interest in her running. Given that she’s lived in Illinois and D.C. more recently than Hawaii, is there anything strong behind it?

    1. That is EXACTLY why I made this comment. I was just over there now and was reading the comments and… wow. It was awful.

  10. Is it opportunism or narcissism that drives Case to keep running for office? I generally don’t like to impugn the motives of others, especially politicians. When we think every politician not on our side is evil, we end up with the political system we have now.

    But still, Case has to know he’s too polarizing a figure to represent Hawaii properly.

    2. Has suffered greatly since the rise of the manorial system under Seigneur Brown.

      Seriously, though, what was the context? “Ignorant serfs?!?”

  11. but what’s so bad about Case? I’ve heard him referred to as Lieberman-esque but I’m unfamiliar with any specifics. Was he especially conservative in Congress or more bombastic?

    1. Baltimore has been the traditional power… but I think in the future the D.C. Suburbs are likely going to have the most power. I remember in 2006, O’Malley (BAL) was leading Doug Duncan (Montgomery) in the primary before Duncan dropped out, but Franchot (Montgomery) beat Schaefer (BAL) and Janet Owens (AACo.) for Comptroller), and Doug Gansler (Montgomery) beat Stu Simms (BAL) for Attorney General, so I take that as a sign it is moving D.C.’s way.

      1. Ed Case’s big point in 2006 was to get independents and Republicans to vote for him in the Democratic primary. Which they did; it’s partially why he came so close to Akaka.  

  15. Even though I am more conservative than most Democrats, I value intellectual and ideological diversity within our government.

    Case (excuse the pun) in point: Case is too conservative for Hawaii.

    Apparently I’m racist since I would prefer that Hawaii elect someone who represents them physically and adds to the ethnic diversity of the senate.  

  16. And this is one of the few places where the opportunity is open. There are many states that I think would elect minority Senators, the only problem is minority politicians haven’t built up crossover support, which is one of the pitfalls of the VRA, it boxes many in.

    1. My mom: I didn’t get a chance to go to mass earlier today. Can I watch it on TV now?

      Me: Sure.

      My mom: It’s Lent, and I’ve been meaning to go every week, but I didn’t go this morning because I was in too much pain. I just don’t want to go to Hell.

      My sister: I’ll probably be there. I’ll save you a seat.

      My mom: THERE’S NO SEAT IF YOU ARE BURNING IN HELL. YOU WILL BE BURNING.

      My mom, by the way, is a Catholic woman who was going to become a nun before she went in the opposite direction and had five kids. I used to think that was a lot, until I met my freshman year roommate in college, who was one of nine. Unsurprisingly, he was Catholic, too.  

  17. Ed Case’s nasty, slash and burn primary against Mazie Hirono in the 2002 Democratic primary for Governor, (he just happened to get an opportunity to run in the Congressional election after that, when Patsy Mink died). His primary attempt was one of the main reasons Hirono lost to Linda Lingle in a narrow 2002 election campaign. So yeah, Ed Case is actually 1-3 in his attempts for higher office.

    The guy’s simply not been interested in working with the Hawaii Democratic party, indeed his entire career has been based on using the State Apparatus as his punching bag to score vague political points about the necessity of destroying the “Old Boys” network. I can’t imagine any compelling reason why the Party Establishment would not go all out on him, and I feel he won’t have the centrist field all to himself, as I feel Mufi Hanneman will also take this opportunity to move up, (it seems like he’s been trying to for decades now), and he definitely takes votes from a more centrist group, (though he’s also more socially conservative). I’m not sure that Mazie Hirono is the best path for Democrats or even the most likely one; she would be 65 years old on Election Day 2012, so she’d reasonably be, at most, a 3 term Senator. Which is not to say that is no an exceptionally long period of time. Just to say that she is quite old by the standards of freshman Senators.

  18. away Ed Case please! To quote former Aussie PM Paul Keating, Case will nothing but lead weight in the saddle bags, more weight for Obama and Reid to drag along.

  20. When i went to school at UH (2004-2008) I saw up close how terrible Case was (and still is). He is a true Blue Dog, and refused at the time to say he made a mistake supporting the Iraq War (said so in my political science class after the ’06 election).

    Here is an article I wrote about Case when he announced he was running against Senator Akaka: http://www.kaleo.org/2.13219/c…

    Let’s hope Mazie Hirono runs (State Senate Vice President Donna Mercado Kim would also be a disaster — albeit for different reasons).

  22. both aiona and schatz are shown with a lei around their neck.  this doesn’t add much (anything) but it’s fun.

  23. http://www.khon2.com/news/loca…

    Asked whether because of a retirement, a primary challenge or eventual succession who would be strong contenders, Inouye listed in this order: Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz, Rep. Mazie Hirono, Gov. Neil Abercrombie and Mufi Hannemann. Asked about former Congressman Ed Case, Inouye said him, too, and added Veterans Affairs Department Assistant Secretary Tammy Duckworth.

  24. I’d nomiate this thread for the following categories:

    “Thread to go off the rails fastest” – it took all of 3 comments

    “Most off topic thread” – Massachusetts serfs, the “unmentionable” accustaions, and this thread is barely 12 hours old

  25. I didn’t notice any comments on this, so sorry if it is repetitive and I just missed it.

    Is this another “jungle primary” like the one that let Djou slip by in HI-01?  Or is it an open, semi-open, or closed Dem primary (is there even party registration in the state)?

    If its any of the latter, Machiavellian side of me is picturing perhaps some Hawaii Republicans crossing over (in an open or semi-open) to vote for Case if the field is split between Case and two or more noteworthy liberal/progressive candidates.  I’d figure they’d think that the chances of electing a Republican in the general are slim, with even Lingle not looking good should she choose to get in, so instead they try to get the most conservative choice they can.

    Obviously, that’s a lot of ‘ifs.’  I don’t even know if there would be enough Republicans or conservative-leaning independents in the state to really monkey with the numbers anyhow.  I’ll just keep my fingers crossed that Hirono gets in and clears the field.

  26. A four-person race without Hannemann and he’s probably the front-runner. I just can’t fathom him defeating Hirono in a one-on-one. At this point, he’s ceiling probably in the low-40s, with a floor in the high-20s. My hunch, actually, is that Hirono and Hannemann both run, with Hanabusa a real possibility, too.

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