nwasianweekly.com
Apr. 29, 2006
Akaka: worst senator?
Time magazine calls Daniel Akaka, of Hawaii, one of the five worst senators
in America. Is that true?
The current issue accuses him of being the “master of the minor,” saying
he specializes in sponsoring bills and resolutions that never make it out
of committee. Those that do pass are “innocuous” and “unambitious,” according
to the article. Of the 29 bills the Hawaiian senator sponsored during
the 2003-04 session, only three passed: one that renamed a post office,
another that changed the border of a national park and a third that concerned
improving programs and policies for postmasters.
Supporters
of the Asian American senator have been quick to challenge Time’s
judgment of Akaka. Hawaii’s senior senator, Daniel Inouye, for example,
penned a lengthy defense of his friend in last Sunday’s Honolulu Advertiser. “Time
is either very naïve or misguided” for implying that the number
of bills and resolutions a senator passes is a measure of his effectiveness,
Inouye wrote.
More often than not, he explained, bills are incorporated into larger,
more comprehensive legislation that is expected to pass. Akaka was instrumental
in creating medical centers nationwide that treat Iraq war veterans with
serious combat injuries, but didn’t get credit because he wasn’t
the sponsor of the larger bill it became part of.
There are many similar cases in which Akaka did not get the credit he deserved. Akaka’s work has resulted in improved protection and management of Hawaii’s tropical forests, increased hydrogen and fuel cell research, a Federal Emergency Management Agency office in Hawaii and much more, according to Inouye.
Voters who have supported Akaka for the past 16 years believe he is a good representative of Hawaii and has generally been successful at getting what Hawaii needs. Pleasant, honest and congenial, Akaka is well regarded in his home state, even though he’s not destined for national prominence.
The Time article may not have done justice to Akaka’s record, but it did point to an interesting fact: that at age 81, this man continues to run for re-election term after term. How much longer will he be in office? It’s a question he has to ask his conscience: Is he maximizing the power of his position and doing as much as he can for the people of Hawaii and the United States?
Holding such a prominent office for decades at a time is, we believe, selfish. We are not criticizing only Akaka here; no politician has a right to any seat, no matter how long he or she has held it.
What we’re most concerned about is the grooming of new leaders, especially among young people and women. How are they to know what it’s like to hold a prestigious office if they don’t have the opportunity to pursue it? It’s in Hawaii’s best interest that a continuous flow of leaders be identified and cultivated, generation after generation, so that Hawaiians always have people advocating for them.
Give young people and women the opportunity to serve in the Senate, House
and other political offices. Not having that chance denies them access
to power.
Good leaders know that their responsibilities include preparing others
to take over for them when they are gone. It is about putting the community
ahead of your own needs and making sure future generations are taken care
of.
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