Ever since Mazie Hirono's race for the U.S. Senate was featured on The Colbert Report last Thursday night, she's been on a major roll. Perhaps it's a coincidence. But others might say it just goes to show the Colbert Bump apparently even reaches all the way to Hawai`i. Have you seen the clip yet? If not, please take a few minutes to check out Stephen at his best:
http://action.mazieforhawaii.com/...
Reviews are coming in for Hirono's performance in four recent debates with her primary opponent, and she's receiving high marks, especially for the live-televised debate on PBS Hawai`i that happened later on Thursday night.
And now even some members of Hawai`i's all-male pundit corps - most of whom have usually underestimated or even denigrated her - are starting to notice that her campaign has become a powerful movement supported by a diverse coalition. Please follow me below for some excerpts of recent coverage.
This morning from Hawai`i's most prominent political blogger, Ian Lind, in a review of the PBS debate:
learning more has sent me back to support for Mazie Hirono
Also this morning from political reporter
Chad Blair of Civil Beat, Hawai`i's innovative online newspaper:
Hirono is still on track to win both the primary and general.
From
Blair, in his review of the PBS debate, discussing the topic of Iraq:
(Ed) Case explained that, like many people including top Democrats, he believed a brutal dictator possessed weapons of mass destruction and had a history that showed he would use them.
. . .
Hirono pounced.
She said the other three members of Hawaii's congressional delegation at the time had the same information as Case yet voted against the war. Points for Mazie.
With Hirono's momentum growing, her primary opponent has become increasingly desperate. He's labeled progressives as "radical," "fringe," and "extreme" (i.e., people such as Hirono, Rep. Judy Chu, Rep. Raul Grijalva, and President Obama - who of course
calls himself "a strong progressive"), and he's called her endorsers "special interests" (i.e., people such as
Ocean Champions, the
AFL-CIO,
Council for a Livable World, and
Planned Parenthood). It's a disappointing tact, but goes to show that she's running strong.
Hirono is drawing clear distinctions with her opponent, without resorting to name calling, by focusing on policy differences, such as her support for President Obama's efforts to stimulate the economy. While her opponent adopted the Boehner-Romney plan of austerity during the PBS debate, Hirono said common-sense investment in jobs was her top issue:
Rep. Mazie Hirono stated, "in a time like this when people are struggling people are worrying about keeping their homes we need to get the economy going and right now believe me the private sector is not doing it and of course it's a collaboration between government and the private sector."
You can help keep the momentum going by following the Hirono campaign on Twitter (
@mazieforhawaii). Mahalo!