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Abercrombie v. Tanonaka

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  • Abercrombie v. Tanonaka

    I really didn't think this contest warranted a thread, but then I picked up the phone tonight and found myself ensnared in a push poll! I haven't gotten a call like that since, sheesh, some mayoral race where Fasi was running (he was the target of the negative push poll, but he won that particular year anyway).

    It went something like this: "Who are you voting for in this race?"

    "If you knew that Dalton Tanonaka is a really smart guy who's done lots of cool things and has a journalism degree and is really good looking too, would that make you more likely to vote for him?"

    "If you knew that Neil Abercrombie was a rude, smelly, Satan-worshiping, puppy-kicking, butt-ugly troll, would that make you less likely to vote for him?"

    It was so transparent, and I was bored, so I gave her the exact opposite response she was trained to expect. She was all, "Are you sure? Him? After you learned the truth about Abercrombie's evil ways?" Of course, the pollster wouldn't identify who was sponsoring the poll (not unusual) or even the name of their company (which was a red flag - it sure as hell wasn't Ward Research or SMS!).

    A pretty piss poor strategy, in my opinion. Whether or not you like Abercrombie, there's more than enough actual substance with which to draw an adequate contrast without getting sneaky. If the race was between two unknowns, that's one thing, but there's actual stuff out there (Abercrombie's vote on the Iraq defense appropriation the most divisive) to work with, to compare records.

    Unless, of course, you don't have a record.

  • #2
    Re: Abercrombie v. Tanonaka

    I can't imagine what Tanonaka has to run on, other than "Not Neil," which might be enough for some, but I doubt if it's enough for most.

    I remember a conversation at a Super Bowl party about 10 years ago when Neil's name came up, and one of the UH folks there said Abercrombie might be a twit, but he's our twit. (Note: this is a family board, so that's expurgated).
    http://www.linkmeister.com/wordpress/

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    • #3
      Re: Abercrombie v. Tanonaka

      I know this is SLIGHTLY off-topic, but I have kept my political ranting to a minimum lately, so I think I'll take this moment to point out to anyone reading this that the congressional race is not just Abercrombie and Tanonaka. There's a Libertarian candidate this year named Elyssa Young (who bills herself as an "adult entertainer," but a Google of the other name she lists on the ballot, Erin O'Bryn, will elaborate sufficiently), and while the general impression of so-called "third-party" candidates is that they are fringe-dwellers, Libertarians are not necessarily, contrary to recent evidence, wackos.

      So I humbly ask HawaiiThreaders to at least CONSIDER the candidate who gets ignored. Hawaii is a pretty "live and let live" state, and that's what Libertarians are about.
      But I'm disturbed! I'm depressed! I'm inadequate! I GOT IT ALL! (George Costanza)
      GrouchyTeacher.com

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      • #4
        Re: Abercrombie v. Tanonaka

        Scrivener, I have a reliable record of voting for third-party candidates, even if they are wackos, so I hear you!

        For the purposes of general discussion, I think it's was just practical to frame this thread as primarily between the two "mainstream" candidates, though... at least, those were the only two names in the push poll call, which is what prompted me to post.

        But thanks for pointing out Elyssa Young's alias. My wife reads this board, so I figured I shouldn't be the one to mention it.

        "Adult entertainers" in politics are hardly new, though. At least a couple were gunning for the free-for-all governor's race in California, IIRC. Elections are probably better for their business than anything else.

        And Link, I wouldn't discount the strengths of a "not Neil" campaign. After all, while more nuanced political awareness would be a good thing for everyone, there are certainly going to be millions of "not Bush" default votes this November... for better or worse.

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        • #5
          Re: Abercrombie v. Tanonaka

          Originally posted by pzarquon
          And Link, I wouldn't discount the strengths of a "not Neil" campaign. After all, while more nuanced political awareness would be a good thing for everyone, there are certainly going to be millions of "not Bush" default votes this November... for better or worse.
          And don't forget the ABC vote in the 2002 Hawai'i election: Anyone But Cayetano.

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          • #6
            Re: Abercrombie v. Tanonaka

            There was an amusing item on KHPR yesterday about Tanonaka, how he is going from door-to-door to meet voters. I liked very much what he had to say. If I weren't deliberately abstaining from the election this year, I'd vote for him.

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            • #7
              Re: Abercrombie v. Tanonaka

              Primary Election update! U.S. Representative, District 1 results...

              Democratic Primary:
              1. Neil Abercrombie - 72,279 (79.8%)
              2. Blank Votes - 18,279 (20.2%)

              Republican Primary:
              1. Dalton Tanonaka - 25,665 (84.7%)
              2. Blank Votes - 4,621 (15.3%)

              Libertarian Primary:
              1. Elyssa Young (Erin O'Bryn) - 441 (89.6%)
              2. Blank Votes - 51 (10.4%)

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              • #8
                Re: Abercrombie v. Tanonaka

                I always wonder about blank votes. Does that denote apathy, misunderstanding of the instructions, desire for another choice, or what? I mean, 20% in the Democratic primary? How does that happen?
                http://www.linkmeister.com/wordpress/

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                • #9
                  Re: Abercrombie v. Tanonaka

                  Because of the party breakdown, you might pick a ballot because of your interest in one race, but have a disinterest (or an actual aversion) to another. I might've grabbed a Democratic ballot to vote for someone I'm following for my state representative race, but that means I have only one choice in the U.S. Representative box.

                  I might not care to vote, or might not care for that one choice.

                  Abercrombie did get an exorbitantly high number of blank votes, more than I'd immediately attribute to apathy, disinterest or confusion. If you combine those blank votes with Tanonaka's votes, you'd still come up short, but I hope Abercrombie doesn't get too cocky.

                  Then again, it's Abercrombie.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Abercrombie v. Tanonaka

                    At this point in time I may give "Blank Vote" my vote in the mayor's race. My mind on the Congressional race is already made up.... long ago.
                    I'm still here. Are you?

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                    • #11
                      Re: Abercrombie v. Tanonaka

                      Originally posted by Albert
                      There was an amusing item on KHPR yesterday about Tanonaka, how he is going from door-to-door to meet voters. I liked very much what he had to say. If I weren't deliberately abstaining from the election this year, I'd vote for him.
                      If you believe in the guy then vote for him. You are not required to vote in the races that you are abstaining from.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Abercrombie v. Tanonaka

                        Originally posted by Linkmeister
                        I always wonder about blank votes. Does that denote apathy, misunderstanding of the instructions, desire for another choice, or what? I mean, 20% in the Democratic primary? How does that happen?
                        It could be a lot of reasons. One might be is the voter is voting Democrat for some other race where there are lot of choices and since the 1st Congressional District only had one person it didn't matter if you voted or not.

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                        • #13
                          Re: Abercrombie v. Tanonaka

                          You like hear one good joke: Neil Abercrombie supporting bringing back the military draft! Dat suckin braddah was so anti war back in the 70's I wen vote that buggah in office to shake up dat old fogey congress, Auwe dat buggah went cut his ponytail and became part of the walking dead, now he like bring back da draft?
                          Last edited by admin; September 22, 2004, 06:13 PM. Reason: Moved from "Local Jokes" thread.
                          Life is what you make of it...so please read the instructions carefully.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Abercrombie v. Tanonaka

                            starbulletin.com/2004/09/22/news/story9.html
                            Check out my blog on Kona issues :
                            The Kona Blog

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                            • #15
                              Re: Abercrombie v. Tanonaka

                              This is the same draft bill Adri1456 caught wind of and posted about in May. Note that it surfaced last year, and never even got a hearing, in either the House or Senate. While the Dems were keeping a straight face, it did smell like an ill-advised gambit to see if the White House and Republican lawmakers had the guts to put America's young men and women where their mouth was (recall the supposedly purely procedural draft board notices).

                              "If you're going to make worrisome rumblings about bringing back the draft, then let's put it on the table and talk about it." Once it was put on paper and sent to congress, obviously, no one wanted to play.

                              That said, from the Republican standpoint, Abercrombie is definitely weak on the war. I give the guy credit, voting his principles, even when faced with the post-9/11 haze of drum-beating "unity." His minority view isn't quite as minor as it was, but he definitely still sticks out.

                              It's his primary weakness, so without a doubt, that's where Tanonaka's going to keep picking.

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