It's been at least a month since Linda Lingle's time as Hawaii's governor has ended!
Linda Lingle was a Republican governor in a state that usually votes Democrat. So just her election alone was a major change for Hawaii.
Since the 1950's, the Republicans had a hard time winning major elections in Hawaii. Sure, some of the candidates won a few elections (ie. Pat Saiki, Frank Fasi) but Democrats won way more often. In the late 1990's, when Hawaii was trailing the other US states economically, people were willing to give the Republicans a 2nd look. Linda Lingle, a moderate Republican, was able to get the votes of many of those who usually vote Democrat! While Lingle lost a close one in 1998, she got elected governor in 2002 & 2006!
However, towards the end of Lingle's term, her popularity had dramatically declined. The economy was going down, and the state government had to cut the budget. The most unpopular move to reduce the budget was Furlough Fridays. This will be discussed later in the editorial
1) Lingle's electoral campaigns
I still remember when Lingle was running for governor back in 1998. It was the first year I was eligible to vote.
Lingle was running against the Democrat incumbent Ben Cayetano.
I have to laugh when people claimed "negative advertising doesn't work in Hawaii" because Cayetano won that year due to negative advertising. He had ads stating "the people are not stupid" in response to what Lingle was saying. There were ads featuring disgruntled Maui residents who weren't satisfied with Lingle's time as Mayor of Maui County. Inouye stated he supports Cayetano because "he knows what it's like to raise a family" which was an indirect attack on Lingle being childless. (which was why I found it ironic that Inouye claimed to be against negative campaigning last year)
Had Lingle ran more hard-hitting ads against Cayetano, she might've embarrassed Cayetano and defeated him.
But it wasn't meant to be. While many people in Hawaii were getting tired of Hawaii stagnating under Ben Cayetano (and Democrats in general), it wasn't enough. That election was more competitive than recent governor elections, but still the Democrat won.
However, Lingle didn't give up. There was an increase of Republicans in the state legislature. There was new energy among Republicans. There was also increasing diversity among Hawaii Republicans. While the party still had its strongest support among the European-Americans here, there were more Asians and Polynesians joining the party too.
Cayetano and his LT Gov. Mazie Hirono continued to embarass themselves. The UH professors and public school teachers went on strike in the Spring 2001. Hawaii was still seen as economically stagnating compared to the rest of the US.
So in 2002, Lingle defeated Hirono, and became the first Republican governor in decades.
In 2006, her popularity was so over-whelming that few Democrats even dared run against her. Lingle easily defeated previously lesser-known candidate Randall Iwase.
2) Economy
One of my friends who doesn't follow political news as closely as I do, has blamed Hawaii's economic problems all on Lingle, and claimed that Ben Cayetano's time was better.
I had to laugh at that one, because apparently, that guy has selective memory.
Things were actually going well under the first 6 years of Lingle's administration. They were a major improvement from how it was under Cayetano.
The economic problems last 2 years under Lingle were basically a by-product of the economic meltdown on the mainland. And other states had it worse than Hawaii!
But Cayetano's administration was worse for Hawaii economically, because Hawaii was going down economically when the rest of the USA was going through one of its greatest economic booms in history!
Under Cayetano, Hawaii was known for its excessive bureaucratic red tape that discouraged entrepreneurs from investing in Hawaii. The attitude from the government was "what, you don't like our regulations, our red tape, our tax policy? Too bad". The problem with attitude is that entrepreneurs will invest (and create jobs) somewhere else. Which is exactly what they did!
Under Lingle, Hawaii had a more welcoming environment for investors and entrepreneurs. Times were very good economically, to the point where Hawaii's unemployment rate was lower than other states. IT was at a point where employers could afford to hire more than what was available.
And things were so good economically, that Lingle was able to get re-elected overwhelmingly in 2006.
But Hawaii wasn't immune from the worldwide increase in oil prices, nor was it immune from the slowing economy on the continent, which made potential tourists not being able to come here!
3) Furloughs
With the declining economy came declining tax revenues. Not enough money to pay state workers. Though there were some layoffs, the government could only lay off so many workers. So there was furloughs. For 2-4 Fridays a month, many state offices were closed. This was done so the state didn't have to spend so much on payroll and energy costs.
However, the people of Hawaii were extremely offended by furloughs happening to the government-run school systems.
Because of Furlough Fridays, Hawaii was known nationwide as the state with the least amount of time kids are at school. There were major concerns of students falling behind in their studies. Teachers didn't have as much time as they used to have in going over their lessons.
There were also concerns over who was going to supervise the younger children on Furlough Fridays, especially if both parents were working that day. Obviously, most parents wouldn't want to leave their elementary school aged students at home by themselves. And even with teens, while most parents are OK will leaving them at home by themselves, there were concerns that teens with nothing to do are more likely to engage in sexual or criminal activities.
While Lingle approved the Furlough Friday plan, she was not alone in that part. The Department of Education and the Hawaii State Teacher's Association also went along with that plan. Teachers went along with it, fearing that if they didn't, they would be laid off.
After the First Furlough Friday hit October 2009 , there were months of negotiations of how to end the need for furloughs in the public schools. Some suggested tax raises. That would've made the state's economic situation worse, since that would mean entrepreneurs (job-creators) will start to look elsewhere. Credit to Lingle for not going along with that idea.
It wasn't until it was too late for the 2009-2010 school year that Lingle, the legislature, DOE and the HSTA agreed on a plan to reduce furloughs within the government school system. Furlough Fridays were finally over, though there were a few furlough days scattered through the school year.
It was also too late for Lingle's reputation. Ever since the Furlough Fridays had started, the people of Hawaii turned against Lingle. Though Lingle was no longer up for re-election, her Lt. Gov Duke Aiona was running for governor in 2010. So the voters took their frustration out on Duke Aiona, causing him to lose the governor's election to Neil Abercrombie.
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2010_11_01_archive.html#1592160011337005645
4) Linlge on "Moral Issues"
Linda Lingle usually had distanced herself from the extreme religious rhetoric that is popular among Republicans on the continental US. The kind of rhetoric coming from folks like Jesse Helms, Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell is a big turnoff to many of Hawaii's people.
Sure, many people in Hawaii might conduct themselves in a "conservative" manner, but they are turned off by this "Christians are better than others" attitude. Especially since many of Hawaii's Asian people are Buddhists. And many others claim no religious affiliation, more so than most states in the USA.
Also, Hawaii was among the first few states to legalize abortion. Again, while I'm sure most parents here prefer their kids not engage in pre-marital sex, they are also realistic enough to realize people are going to do so anyways. And many would rather get an abortion than to take care of kids they either not emotionally or financially ready to take care of!
Lingle was pro-choice on abortion, which is opposite of what most Republicans believe.
So because Lingle was able to position herself as a "moderate Republican", she didn't seem as scary to Hawaii's voters as other Republicans like Jesse Helms, Newt Gingrich, Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell.
However, many people in Hawaii are still uncomfortable with gay marriage. In 1998, ( the same year Lingle lost her 1st attempt at the governor's office), the people of Hawaii voted against legalizing same-sex marriage. And at the same year, there were rumors of Linda Lingle being a "lesbian" which she denied. But since she claimed to be a "moderate Republican", people were wondering which way she would go.
Well, in 2010, there was a bill in the state legislature to legalize same-sex civil unions. It had a majority approval in the state legislature. However, Lingle vetoed that bill!
Lingle claimed that the people should vote on that issue. I'm thinking she vetoed that bill in order to protect Duke Aiona's chance of getting elected.
While 68% of the Hawaii's people voted against same-sex marriage in 1998, let's not forget that those born between 1981 and 1994 were not eligible to vote that year but will be eligible in the next election in 2012. The younger generation is more liberal on gay issues. They will not look kindly on Lingle's veto!
5) Conclusion
Lingle's time as governor is done. While it was seen as a promising new direction for Hawaii, it ended up being affected by economic ills at the end.
While the start of Lingle's administration was seen as a time for a Republican revival in Hawaii, it now seems that the party needs to start over again. There is only 1 Republican in the state Senate. Republicans are still severely outnumbered in the State House 42-8!
Republicans nationwide are increasingly identified with "Obama-hatred" which offends many people in Hawaii. Local Republicans can still be critical of Obama's shortcomings, but would have to work extra hard to distance themselves from people like Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin.
While I think Aiona gave it his best shot last year, I do think Charles Djou and Lynne Finnegan might be the better leaders for the party's future.
It'll all depend on Neil Abercrombie handles things. If things go well, the Democrats keep control. If not, the Republicans might rise again.
