Duke, Jonah, Mufi and God
Lieutenant Governor Duke Aiona held a press conference Tuesday to introduce a new campaign initiative, but reporters were more interested in asking him about his religion.
The media wanted to follow up on a that came in response to a that was sent by Hawaii Republican Party Chairman Jonah Kaauwai to “Pastors and Brothers/Sisters in Jesus Christ.”
Kaauwai’s letter, which is posted on the website of the , accuses the campaign of Democrat Mufi Hannemann of trying to persuade Christian voters to cross over and vote for Hannemann rather that Aiona in the Sept. 18 primary.
Hannemann is in a closely fought contest with opponent Neil Abercrombie, but Hawaii primary voters can only select one party’s ballot.
“For the Body of Christ to think Duke Aiona will lose to either Neil Abercrombie or Mufi Hannemann in the general election is not a church operating in FAITH but operating in FEAR,” wrote Kaauwai. “This is a strategy that is preparing to fail rather than prevail. And only a faithful Church will elect Duke in the general election…”
Aiona sought to tamp down the letter’s impact Tuesday, saying, “This was a personal letter from Jonah to pastor friends and Christian friends. It got out, people got offended, so I sent a message. It speaks for itself.”
Asked if the letter was inappropriate, Aiona said reporters should ask Kaauwai because it’s his letter, not Aiona’s. The lieutenant governor added that he has not spoken to the party chairman about the letter.
Kaauwai’s letter is lengthy, detailed and righteous.
“Politics is a game of perception, BE NOT DECIEVED!” (sic) he writes. “Mufi appearing and speaking at your church is and will be used as an endorsement for Mufi in the primary election.”
Kaauwai, who quotes Ephesians 5:11, Galatians 5:19-23, Luke 6:13 and Exodus 18:21 in the letter, makes one exception to the edict against Republicans crossing over to vote for a Democrat: They can vote for Gary Okino in the House District 33 race, where the Honolulu City Councilman is vying to unseat Rep. Blake Oshiro, the author of the Hawaii civil unions bill that the local GOP opposes.
Kaauwai closes his letter on this note: “The Primary Election is the first step to bringing back a righteous leader to the highest office in this State which has not been seen since Queen Liliuokalani. Over 100 years ago! With more than 400,000 Christians in the State of Hawaii, WE are responsible no matter what the outcome of Duke’s race because we have been given the POWER and the AUTHORITY in the NAME OF JESUS!!!!”
Here’s Aiona’s formal response to Kaauwai in a press release Monday: “While faith is a central part of my life, I’m running for Governor to serve all the people of Hawaii — regardless of their religion. The goal of our grassroots campaign is to connect with every citizen in every community of this great state, and Chairman Kaauwai’s personal comments are seen by many as divisive.”
Asked again Tuesday about his faith and government, Aiona said faith “is always a central part of my life” but that it was “personal.”
Aiona was then asked about the multiple copies in his headquarters of the “Survey of Candidates” just released by the Hawaii Family Forum and the Hawaii Catholic Conference. The survey asks primary candidates to indicate their views on civil unions, abortion, gambling, doctor-assisted suicide and other hot-button social issues.
Aiona replied that many groups compile candidate surveys, including the Hawaii State Teachers Association and Life of the Land.
(The HFF-HCC survey, by the way, reveals that Aiona and Hannemann gave identical response.)
Aiona did get a chance to talk about his new initiative today, by the way.
The initiative, called , involves 20 talk story sessions across the state in 20 communities, beginning Wednesday on Lanai and ending Oct. 26 on Kauai.
“I want to listen to their concerns and share my thoughts,” said Aiona, whose campaign will attempt to live stream the meetings.
