"Life doesn't have to be this unfair. It can be better!" - Patsy Mink
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Patsy Mink was the first woman of color elected to Congress in 1964, led Congressional opposition to the Vietnam War throughout the rest of the '60s and early '70s, co-authored the Women's Educational Equity Act (Title IX) in 1972 and co-founded the Congressional Progressive Caucus in 1991.
It's an amazing record. Yet she wanted to do even more. She sought ascendancy to the U.S. Senate, once ran for governor and also ran for mayor of one of America's largest municipalities, the City and County of Honolulu. She lost those races; more conservative men won.
Through her bold efforts - both successful and unsuccessful - she inspired numerous young progressives in Hawai'i, who would one day reach heights she couldn't attain.
She would've done a lot more - especially on the Afghanistan and Iraq wars - had she not died in the late stages of her 2002 campaign for re-election as the Representative for Hawai'i's 2nd Congressional District. She won posthumously. But her death quickly forced successive special elections, first to fill her remaining term and then to fill the new term she'd just been elected for.
The Mink family asked Democrats to clear the field for Patsy's husband, John. Many who'd be obvious candidates for the seat, including Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono (a longtime Mink ally) and up-and-coming State Rep. Brian Schatz, respected the request.
But State Rep. Ed Case, coming off a tenure in the state legislature highlighted by his successful advocacy for reducing benefits for unionized workers, did not. He won both elections and was re-elected in 2004, despite supporting the Iraq War and joining the right-leaning Blue Dog Coalition.
Those were strange times for the progressive 2nd Congressional District - which still has never elected a Republican and where Patsy Mink was born and for so long served as a fiery liberal.
There was collective relief among progressives in the district when Case left the seat open in 2006, as he pursued an ill-fated attempt to oust Democratic U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka by running on a pro-war platform. This was an opportunity to return Patsy's seat to a rightful successor.
Nine current or former Democratic elected officials entered the 2006 primary for the 2nd Congressional District, notably including Hirono, Schatz and State Sen. Colleen Hanabusa, who had been Case's partner in the anti-union "reforms" of Hawai'i's legislature in the late '90s and early '00s.
Hanabusa had been elected in 1998 on a platform that included opposition to same-sex marriage and, strangely for someone seeking state office, increased military spending.
The hotly contested '06 Congressional primary featured numerous debates and forums, many of them following a speed-dating format.
As anyone who attended any of those events can attest, Hirono and Schatz both consistently acknowledged they were running for "Patsy's seat" and wanted to advance her causes.
Schatz noted he'd led progressive non-governmental organizations, such as Youth for Environmental Service, just as Mink had run organizations like the Americans for Democratic Action. Schatz said he found much common ground with Mink on issues ranging from peace to reproductive freedom to social justice. "The next Patsy Mink just might be a skinny Jewish kid," he said, implying that ideas and principles are more important than gender, race or background.
Hirono frankly had a better case to make that she was Mink's natural successor, considering they'd fought many battles together (dating back to Vietnam) and she was endorsed by Patsy's daughter, feminist scholar Wendy Mink. Hirono won that battle and the race.
But it's telling that Schatz wanted to be known as the next Patsy Mink, whatever the merits of his case at that time.
Schatz and Hirono at a Patsy Mink PAC fundraiser:
Photo credit: Cara Mazzei
In contrast, when Hanabusa was asked about Mink at the forums or interviews, she always pointed out she was more conservative than the late Congresswoman (as noted, for example, in Honolulu's MidWeek magazine on Feb. 22, 2006).
She was one leading candidate who expressly was not running to further the Mink legacy.
Whereas Mink was a foe of excessive defense spending, Hanabusa talked throughout the '06 campaign about the importance of sustaining and expanding military programs.
Colleen Hanabusa was a political foe of Patsy Mink.
Indeed, Hanabusa had considered trying to oust Mink from Congress in the '02 election.
Her potential candidacy was so serious the Honolulu Advertiser wrote about possible successors for her seat in the state senate as early as 2001.
On March 10, 2002, conservative Advertiser columnist Bob Dye was still urging Hanabusa to challenge Mink.
In addition to attacking Mink on defense, Hanabusa was clearly going to assert Mink was too pro-union.
As reported in a Pacific Business News article entitled "Union influence wanes as major reforms pass" on May 6, 2001, Hanabusa was said to have "steamrolled" anti-labor bills through the legislature and was so emboldened that she was thinking about challenging Mink from the right with corporate support.
Ultimately, Hanabusa instead returned to the state legislature, where she became senate president.
In that role, she refused to fight for civil unions or emergency contraception, despite that both were part of the Democratic Party platform and the Democrats had a massive majority.
Civil unions and emergency contraception did not become law in Hawai'i until after Hanabusa had left the legislature in 2011.
Her much-ballyhooed steamrolling abilities were, for some reason, not employed to those issues.
Today, Hanabusa represents Hawai'i's 1st Congressional District. Meanwhile, Schatz serves in the U.S. Senate alongside Hirono - the first Asian-American and the second woman of color elected to the Senate.
In an embarrassment of riches, Hawai'i has two U.S. Senators who are proud to consider themselves protégés of Patsy Mink.
EMILY's List, because they only endorse women - even if those women are somewhat weak on Choice compared to their male opponent, and the military-industrial complex are trying to help Colleen Hanabusa break up the team by defeating Sen. Schatz in next summer's primary.
Mink was one of the first candidates endorsed by EMILY's List, in 1990.
How sadly ironic is it that the organization now wants to defeat an expressly pro-Mink U.S. Senator on behalf of an expressly anti-Mink candidate, solely on the basis of gender.
Patsy Mink was one of America's strongest supporter of women's advancement. But she never hesitated to support a man over a woman, if he was the more progressive candidate.
Some big issues illustrate the Hanabusa-Schatz ideological divide.
Whereas Schatz has always supported marriage equality, Hanabusa publicly opposed same-sex marriage for 15 years (all the way up to a few weeks ago).
Hanabusa supports CISPA and FISA; Schatz opposes.
Hanabusa proudly voted to prohibit the EPA from enforcing clean-air rules; Schatz has made climate change his top concern.
Hawai'i voters face a clear choice.
WWPS: Who would Patsy support?
http://brianschatz.com/