Kris Schultz

For the last week of the Hawaii Democratic Senate primary, I promised a dairy a day to help Akaka, and raise awareness about this race, but that's getting hard! Since we only have two days to go until primary day, I can't stop now, can I?

Hope this doesn't seem lazy, but the email from the campaign listserv today is really good. So I am just going to cut and paste their comparison here. Ironic, because I criticised an Ed Case blogger for doing that... This is different, because rather than cutting and pasting here without attribution, I'm properly giving credit where it's due.

"The two candidates have vastly different records on the Iraq war,
as well as several other issues where Case stood with the Bush administration
while Akaka strongly opposed Bush."

- The Council For a Livable World,
a national arms-control and anti-Iraq War group,
announcing their endorsement of Senator Daniel Akaka over Ed Case

Oh! And if you want my original writings, please see my diary listing. I've written quite a bit about this race already... back to the cut & paste...

On Authorization For War
Akaka Votes Against Giving Bush Authorization To Invade Iraq. Akaka was one of only 23 senators who opposed giving President Bush the authority to invade Iraq. [Vote 237, 10/11/02]

Case Would Have Voted With Bush. Until his sudden flip-flop last month, Case had insisted for nearly three and a half years that he would have voted to give Bush the authority to invade Iraq. [Honolulu Star Bulletin, 6/27/06; AP, 12/17/03; Honolulu Advertiser, 1/28/03]

On Faith In Bush
Akaka A “Top Skeptic” From Beginning. Even before the invasion, the Honolulu Advertiser called Akaka a “top skeptic” of Bush’s drive to invade, noting that Akaka had said Bush “has not made a persuasive argument for war or explained the long-term role for the United States in a post-war Iraq.” [Honolulu Advertiser, 1/28/03]

Case Decided To Put Faith In Bush. Case said he supported the war because "I decided to believe my government.” [AP, 12/17/03]

On The Invasion
Akaka Condemns Decision, Presciently Predicts Difficulty With Occupation. Upon the invasion of Iraq in March of 2003, Akaka expressed confidence in the ability of the U.S. military to defeat the Iraqi army, but worried that such action would lead to an occupation for which President Bush had not prepared the country. The U.S. is not, Akaka said, "sufficiently prepared either materially or psychologically for a protracted occupation of that country…. We are not as prepared as we should be for the consequences of a war with Iraq." Akaka added that he did not understand why the President "has chosen to fight Iraq at this time or what his objective is in so doing." Moreover, while Saddam Hussein was a terrible dictator, his “actions do not justify going to war now if we are unprepared for the consequences of war and if we do not have a clear exit strategy for getting out of Iraq.” [Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 3/18/03]

Case Praises Invasion Of Iraq. Upon the invasion in March of 2003, Case released a statement praising the decisive action. “Democracy depends on both debate and decision, and with Iraq we have now had both.” [Case Statement, 3/19/03]

On Progress In Iraq
Akaka Calls for Exit Strategy. In November 2005, Akaka publicly questioned Bush’s Iraq policy, “We need an exit strategy from Iraq. The Administration should have had one before the war.” [Akaka Statement, 11/18/05] As the situation deteriorated in Iraq, Akaka urged that “…a reassessment would be really needed at this point in time.” [Honolulu Advertiser, 3/6/06] After Bush suggested that troop withdrawal would be decided by future Presidents, Akaka expressed his strong disapproval, “President Bush says withdrawal from Iraq will be up to future Presidents. This is completely unacceptable. While we must not abandon the Iraqi people until we have provided them with the tools necessary to stand on their own, I am outraged that the Administration has no exit strategy to complete our mission and return our soldiers home safely…I insist that the Administration provide a more comprehensive plan that includes specific criteria to determine if our goals in Iraq are being met and to develop a timetable for bringing our soldiers back to their families.” [Akaka Statement, 4/24/06]

Case Echoes Bush’s Rosy View of Iraq. Throughout the end of 2005 and the beginning of 2006, Case continued to parrot the Bush line on Iraq. In September of 2005 Case insisted that things were improving in Iraq and that the media was exaggerating the problems. When Bush defended his strategy in Iraq in a December speech to the nation, Rep. Neil Abercrombie hammered Bush’s speech, saying “it isn’t a plan; it is a prayer” while Case insisted that Bush was “articulating a set of goals that are pretty much what I have been articulating for three years." He also called the speech realistic and said, "I think [Bush] is trying to do the right thing." Finally, earlier this year Case again endorsed the Bush approach saying, “I think we are collectively doing what we must be doing at this point given the reality of Iraq today.” [Hawaii Tribune Herald, 9/8/05; Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 12/1/05; Honolulu Advertiser, 3/6/06]

Staying The Course
Akaka Calls For New Direction. Akaka called for a “new vision to strengthen the war on terror” and voted to begin a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. Akaka explained his vote by saying, “I believe our country and our military need a clear and decisive exit strategy for Iraq. Tragically, the Bush Administration’s open-ended no plan, no end Iraq policy has failed and it is time to begin redeploying our U.S. forces out of Iraq.” Akaka voted for the Levin-Reed amendment calling for a phased withdrawal beginning this year. He was also one of only 13 Senators to vote for the Kerry-Feingold amendment to redeploy US forces from Iraq by July 1, 2007. [Akaka Release, 6/22/06; Vote 182, 6/22/06; Vote 183, 6/22/06]

Case Endorses Bush’s “Stay The Course” Position. Last month, the House passed a resolution endorsing President Bush’s “stay the course” Iraq policy. The resolution also takes a stand against setting withdrawal dates. The resolution was written entirely by the GOP and Democrats were barred from proposing an alternative. Many Democrats felt the resolution was unfair because it conjoined non-controversial measures, such as declaring support for the ongoing Global War on Terror, with controversial measures, such as joining the War in Iraq to the War on Terror. Ed Case abandoned his party, voted for the resolution and joined Republicans in endorsing George Bush’s “stay the course” policy in Iraq. [House Vote 288, 6/16/06]

OH! One last thing - can you please help Akaka with his GOTV fund?

Crossposted to dailykos.com