Posted on: Wednesday, July 6, 2005
Debate swirls around results of poll on Akaka bill
By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer
Twice as many Hawai'i residents oppose the Akaka bill than support it, according to a survey released yesterday by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii. However, the bill's proponents say the survey is flawed and misleading.
The institute said it conducted a telephone survey of 10,000 Hawai'i residents from June 29 to July 1, and that 980 people answered this question:
"The Akaka Bill, now pending in Congress, would allow Native Hawaiians to create their own government not subject to all the same laws, regulations and taxes that apply to other citizens of Hawai'i. Do you want Congress to approve the Akaka Bill?"
Of the 980 respondents, 198 (20 percent) said they support the Akaka bill, 404 (41 percent) said they do not and 378 (39 percent) gave no response.
According to its Web site, the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, public-policy think tank founded in 2001. It is a partner with Small Business Hawaii and HawaiiReporter.com, the Web site says.
The group has about 350 members, said Grassroot Institute president Richard "Dick" Rowland.
"You can get any result you want out of a poll depending upon how you ask the question," said U.S. Rep. Ed Case. "I have nothing against the Grassroot Institute but it is very clear they have a position they are trying to develop the evidence for, and that is what they have done."
The Grassroot Institute's leaders said the bill's proponents, who include Case, both of Hawai'i's U.S. senators, Gov. Linda Lingle and most of the rest of the state's political leaders, are the ones who are misleading the public.
"The governor, Sen. (Daniel) Akaka, Rep. Case, OHA (Office of Hawaiian Affairs): they've all said the people of Hawai'i overwhelmingly favor the Akaka bill," Rowland said. "This shows that two-thirds of the people don't support it.
"This whole debate has been one-sided because all we've been getting is political correctness," he said.
He called for an amendment to the bill that would allow for a direct vote.
The Akaka bill, which would pave the way for the U.S. government to recognize the nation's 400,000 Native Hawaiians the way it recognizes American Indians and Native Alaskans, is expected to get a vote in the Senate as early as the week of July 18.
Hawai'i's political leaders say it is a critical step toward righting the injuries suffered as a result of the overthrow of the monarchy and a means of helping to stave off challenges to Hawaiian-only programs.
Opponents include groups at either end of the spectrum: those who think Hawaiians should re-establish a separate Hawaiian state and those who are opposed to Hawaiians-only programs.
U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye has said the Akaka bill has the votes to pass the senate.
The Grassroot Institute released the results of its telephone survey yesterday. In addition to Rowland, other members at the news conference included John Corboy, an eye surgeon on Moloka'i; H. William Burgess, an attorney who has opposed Hawaiian-only entitlements; Burgess's wife, Hawaiian descendant Sandra Puanani Burgess; and Don Newman, the group's policy analyst.
Rowland said the survey was conducted by a Mainland organization, ccAdvertising.
Donalyn Dela Cruz, spokeswoman for Akaka, said the wording of the question misrepresented the bill and played on people's fears.
"We know there are people who oppose this bill and we respect their opinions," Dela Cruz said. "But we find it unfortunate they continually misrepresent what this bill does."
Corboy, the eye surgeon, said he sees the Akaka bill creating two classes of citizens in Hawai'i. Burgess said it would create "a crazy quilt of sovereign enclaves."
Reach Karen Blakeman at 535-2430 or kblakeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.
