Posted on: Friday, May 31, 2002

LEE CATALUNA
Democrats search for real leader

By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Staff Columnist

Well, at least no one is using Sept. 11 as an excuse. At the least there's a little more sincerity than that. A little. But not much.

Last November, when Mazie Hirono made the surprise announcement that she was switching from running for governor to running for mayor of Honolulu, she actually tried to sell that as a logical move, saying, "After a time of general cynicism, when people largely wanted government to get out of their lives, Sept. 11 changed attitudes and expectations, and made people turn to government for help." Thus, she said, more and more people asked her to consider running for mayor because her style of leadership is needed at the city level.

She flat-out refused to admit she wasn't running for governor because she thought she couldn't win. She denied that the Democratic Party had anything to do with her decision. She still denies it.

Meanwhile, in saying that HE wouldn't run for governor because he couldn't win, Harris just about "outed" Hirono by saying, "Last year, Mazie was behind 13 points, and the Democrats told Mazie to step aside." Then, he quickly tried to cover up the puka he had just dug by saying no one from the party was asking him to step aside. Instead, he tried to make it sound like he was voluntarily falling on his sword for the good of the party: "This is an important election and I believe the Democratic Party needs a standard bearer who can win in November."

What the Democratic Party needs is a candidate who stands for something. The trouble is, the party IS looking for a standard bearer, just someone to carry the flag, and not a true leader. The party that used to fight for the little guy in Hawai'i is now so caught up in maintaining its hold on bureaucracy that it has become everything it used to stand against.

Harris, who suddenly wants to be mayor again, is so completely unable to be candid about the real story that he's willing to use the excuse Hirono (who suddenly wants to be governor again) has avoided like the plague; he's willing to label himself a loser. Of course, in true Harris style, he has spun the loser line into a kind of martyrdom:

"I can't, in good conscience, ask my supporters to give their heart and soul for a race I don't believe we can win."

Since when is that an honorable choice? When you stand for something, don't you fight for what you believe, no matter the odds? What does Jeremy Harris stand for besides Jeremy Harris? What does Mazie Hirono stand for besides Mazie Hirono?

So now we have a mayor who really wants to be governor, and a candidate for governor who, six months ago, said she really wanted to be mayor. And both would have us believe they're not political opportunists.

Well, at least no one tried to use Sept. 11 as an excuse — this time.