Hawaii Senate Race-- Hanabusa vs Schatz-- Let Their Records Do The Talking

Colleen Hanabusa, a New Dem whose career has been synonymous with sleaze and corruption and the kind of conservatism associated with the Republican wing of the Democratic Party, basically has one argument for tossing out sterling progressive incumbent Brian Schatz and replacing him with herself. She's a woman. This is from an e-mail EMILY's List had her campaign send out yesterday:

As President of the Hawaii Senate, Colleen became the first woman to lead a chamber of the state legislature and she understands the unique pressures women face.

"I think what the difference is, is that women realize more than anything else the sacrifices that goes into getting to where you are," she told Civil Beat last year.

Hawaii and our nation need more women at the highest levels of government.

Please, join us, and support Colleen Hanabusa for the U.S. Senate.

Aloha

Problem for that argument is that Brian Schatz has a much better record on women's equality and on women's reproductive health than the conservative Hanabusa ever had on her best day. Comparing their lifetime voting records on ProgressivePunch shows Hanabusa with a crucial vote score of 80.37 and Schatz with a 95.16. His score is the 5th most progressive in the Senate, overall. Hers is a shabby 109th most "progressve." His voting record is tied for first place in 9 crucial areas: Aid to Less Advantaged People, at Home & Abroad, Education, Humanities, & the Arts, Environment, (including Global Warming issues), Family Planning, Government Checks on Corporate Power, Health Care, Human Rights and Civil Liberties, Justice For All, Labor Rights, and War and Peace. That's first place in every one of those categories and the dozens of subcategories associated with each-- scores of 100%.

Compare that to Hanabusa, whose record is… meh, at best. Her lifetime score on War and Peace for example is a horrifying 44.44, at the 191st in Congress, one of the worst Democrats in Washington. The two records just don't compare if you're looking to back a progressive champion instead of a wretched corporate shill who votes for special interests who pay her-- or his husband-- off.

Take a look below at where the two of them stand on issues crucial to Hawai'i Democrats and to progressives nationwide. Please, compare and contrast-- and then think about chipping in here to help make sure Brian keeps the Senate seat blue:

• Schatz co-sponsored the Medicare Drug Savings Act to make drug companies pay a rebate to the federal government (supported by AARP and NCPSSM), while Hanabusa is on the record opposing rebates to the federal government.

• Schatz has pledged not to raise the retirement age or cut benefits for Social Security or Medicare and co-sponsored the Harkin-Schatz Social Security Enhancement Act, while Hanabusa vted in support of the Simpson Bowles Commission’s recommendations that raised the retirement age and cut benefits for Social Security.

• Schatz supported the public option. Hanabusa said had “concerns” about the public option in the 2009 proposed House version of healthcare reform. She was one of the bought-off corporate shills consistently pushing the Affordable Care Act in a more conservative, more Republican direction.

• Schatz voted against the FISA extension in December 2012 and called for an investigation into domestic wiretapping this past June. Hanabusa, of course, voted for the FISA extension. It's right up her alley.

• And on net neutrality, Schatz said he would not support CISPA due to its “insufficient privacy protections” while Hanabusa voted for CISPA, calling it an “effective compromise” and had “strong use limitations for any shared data."

Early this morning, Schatz, who chairs the Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Water, issued the following statement regarding the State Department’s final supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Keystone XL pipeline permit application:  

"I am certain that encouraging the production of Canadian tar sands-- some of the dirtiest oil in the world-- is not in America’s national interest. As other agencies, Secretary Kerry, and ultimately President Obama review the environmental analysis, I would urge that they conclude that the environmental impacts of this pipeline are simply too high and reject the proposal. Climate change is the challenge of our generation and we need to be moving forward with policies to support clean energy, not backwards with dirty energy like the Keystone pipeline supports."

Don't look for that kind of independent leadership from Colleen Hanabusa... not on this, not on anything. Most unions have endorsed Schatz, one of the few exceptions being the Laborers, who support the Keystone XL Pipeline. In their endorsement process, they wanted Schatz and Hanabusa to bend on the issue. Schatz adamantly refused. Hanabusa, as with everything, equivocated-- and got the endorsement. Yesterday LIUNA President Terry O’Sullivan released a statement to remind everyone that his union "is a strong supporter of the pipeline. We hope that the President and Secretary Kerry will soon approve it."

"The final environmental analysis of the impact of the Keystone XL pipeline underscores what experts have said for five years: there is no environmental justification to block the construction or operation of the pipeline.

"Following the upcoming public comment period, there are no reasons for further delay. It is time to unlock the good jobs the pipeline will create, which are a lifeline to thousands of working men and women. And it is time to harness the energy that a trusted neighbor can provide and lessen our dependence on oil from unfriendly and often tyrannical regimes.

"There will continue to be extremists in the environmental movement who will try to block safe, job-creating projects to boost their fund-raising efforts, but they do nothing to address the real issue of climate change. They must not deny science. Rather than continuing to wage war on safe projects, we urge them to return to the fight for comprehensive climate change legislation, which is the only way our country and our world will make inroads in the battle against global warming."