Political

Hope for all of Us

Saturday, November 15th, 2008

The voters—on Maui, Moloka‘i and Lana‘i, as well as across our state and our nation—have had their say.  I am humbled to return to the Hawaiian Senate as your voice in the legislature. My thanks to you for your votes of confidence; we have a decisive victory and clear mandate for the next four years. Through our partnership we have created a solid momentum to turn our economy around, protect our lifestyle and become more food & energy self-reliant.

And because I realize that some of you did not vote for me, I will recommit myself to listening to everyone who takes the time to express themselves. I represent our district, not just the people who vote for me, so please feel free to bring me your concerns or comments.

We prepare fearlessly for the change that confronts us, personally, locally and nationally. We draw strength for the days ahead from our renewed national wellspring of hope.

Our country is jubilant as Barack Obama prepares to assume the role of America’s 44^th President, and it seems that most of the world shares our sense of renewal. Yet, we must keep our focus on the days ahead. Nationally and internationally, one of our greatest challenges will be healing the divisions that have hung between us the past few years. Some days it feels as if our nation’s economy will crumble around our ears. Our sons, daughters, brothers and sisters continue to fight and die in the Middle East. Our greatest hope may lie in the fact that we now have a new, unifying figure to join us together in doing what we must as a nation.

Here at home, we face similar challenges as our economy slows, threatening jobs and our primary economic engine, tourism. Having enjoyed so many years of economic prosperity, we must now take on the challenge of guiding our state through rocky times.

I stand ready to lead our beloved district on our journey into the future. We have already organized the Senate, and I will assume the Chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Transportation, Intergovernmental and International Affairs, as well as the Vice Chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Energy & the Environment. Additionally, I will sit as a member of the Senate Ways & Means Committee and the Senate Public Safety and Military Affairs Committee.

With my heartfelt thanks for your continued confidence, and my commitment to do what is best for the people of our state and our district, I invite all of you to play a part in helping to build the future we want for ourselves and our next generation. And even as we look toward our new president as a figure of hope, we should remind ourselves that the real source of hope is right here. We are the hope, together.

Long Division

Saturday, November 8th, 2008

Yet at the end of a nearly-two-year campaign, American voters responded to one aspect of his personal approach that all of us feel came from his spending his formative years in the most culturally-diverse state in the nation: he knows how to bring people together. The contrast between the Republican campaign and the Democratic campaign was stark. One side talked about fear, and distrust, and domestic terrorists. The other spoke of uniting our country, respecting diversity, and caring for those who need our help. The latter view won out. And I think that view is the Hawai‘i view.

Local people learn early on that living on an island in a sea of cultural cross-currents takes certain skills, foremost of which is knowing how to get along. There are small gestures and demonstrations of sensitivity, respectful rituals by which we show each other that we care about everyone’s comfort.

When Barack Obama talks about inclusiveness, when he tells those who voted for his opponent that he will be their President too, he is displaying that same skill of getting along. And when the country responded by building a new coalition of winning states, with a broader and deeper reach than we have seen for decades, they validated our local spirit of cooperation.

Our nation has been divided a long time. Somewhere along the line, those on the national stage developed an affinity for the politics of polarization. Winning by the barest of margins while maintaining the deepest of divisions, they cast the national debate in terms so stark and acrimonious that the public developed a distaste for government. Somewhere in the victory of politics over principle, civility was lost.

Now, just a few days after the Presidential election, I can’t help but feel that we are in a moment of—you’ve heard the word before—change. I can’t shake the impression that the country could be different, that we may find a way to include more people, more concerns, and more avenues of success.

We can’t say for sure that Barack Obama gained his approach or his perspective growing up among the diversity of Hawai‘i. But we can be sure that the spirit that drives him is very familiar to anyone who has truly made Hawai‘i home. And we can feel the core of that spirit, a spirit that could well become the theme and hope of a better America, beating in the heart of our own community.