I'm still comparing how these two candidates vote on issues that are important. On the website Issues2000.org the following was listed.

Daniel Akaka is a Hard-Core Liberal. According to the website Issues2000.org

Voted NO on allowing more foreign workers into the US for farm work. (Jul 1998)
Voted NO on visas for skilled workers. (May 1998)
Voted NO on limit welfare for immigrants. (Jun 1997)
Voted NO on reauthorizing the PATRIOT Act. (Dec 2005)
Strongly Favors Abortion is a woman's right



Ed Case’s votes on the issues
Voted YES on making the PATRIOT Act permanent
Strongly Favors Abortion is a woman's right
Strongly Favors topic Illegal immigrants earn citizenship
YES on continuing military recruitment on college campuses

Ed Case is a Moderate Liberal Populist. According to the Website Issues2000.org


Commentary by pat;
Well there you have it. They both favor abortion, but Ed Case is in favor of the Patriot Act and Senator Akata is not.Depending on how you feel about your civil rights or those of immigrants you can see they have differing opnions. Senator Akata is not very favorable towards immigrants is he? So, depending on how you feel about the above issues you can make your decsion on who you would vote for on September 23 in Hawaii. I urge anyone reading this to please look at the candidate you are voting for and how they will represent the country to the world. Also how will they vote on bills that will effect your quality of life in the US.

I recently found two letters to the editor of the Honolulu Star Bulletin
they are from voters and show support of Ed Case. They were from a previous campaign but show clearly how some voters see him as a honest, hardworking, a candidate for the people not for himself.

A few weeks ago I sent a contribution to Ed Case's campaign because I am really impressed with this haole local boy who was born and raised in Hilo. He now lives in Honolulu and has served four terms in the state House of Representatives. Believe me, his experience in the Legislature will be extremely valuable to him as governor. The Legislature and the governor need each other. I recognized this when I worked as a legislative staffer for several sessions.
Pearl Richardson NishimuraKailua

I speak of candidate Ed Case, an honorable -- not opportunistic -- man of action who remains accessible to the people. As a state representative, Case seeks genuine input from the people of his district for the benefit of his legislative successor in his 2002 Legislative Report and Request for Guidance.
Moreover, he offers to meet with anybody in his district on any terms. He also gives out all his phone numbers: legislative office, work office and even his home number. This is in stark contrast to Republican candidate Linda Lingle's absence from gubernatorial candidate forums.
Case -- most honestly of all the candidates -- realizes the imperative need to balance the state budget. If the next governor were to give all government union workers all the money they want without drastically cutting services someone must eventually pay a bloated bill. Our society must either cut costs or raise taxes. Case understands the danger of deficit spending.
As for his legislative errors, Case admits he made a mistake when he addressed the Hawaiian entitlements issue without consulting these people. I assert that was an honorable sin of omission (of consulting Hawaiians for their opinions). I think Ed's heart was, and is, in the right place.
Stuart N. Taba

Commentary by Pat
I don't know of how more accessible you can get than giving out your HOME phone number and cell phone. Ed Case gets out and talks to the people, he listens to the people and he acts in the best interests of the people. Why would you vote for someone who was't willing to do any less for your state? Ed Case runs "talks "with the people who are thinking of voting for him to express his opnions and to ask them what they want done in congress and now the senate. His style of reaching out to the people and his track record of voting should help him over come the political power of Senator Akata in September. It still seems like a David and Goliath race but if Ed Case can gedt more of the little people to see his virtues he can win.

When choosing a candidate for senate one of the main considerations I would take into account right now would be how they stand on the War in Iraq. What their postion on the withdrawl of troops would be would be something I would want to know before I voted.

In an article byBy Derrick DePledgeAdvertiser Government Writer
Iraq may be pivotal for Akaka and Case
Nearly three years after the United States invaded Iraq, U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka, who opposed the war, and U.S. Rep. Ed Case, a cautious supporter, still see the conflict through different lenses
Case does not want to change course and believes troops can be withdrawn only after the new Iraqi government and security forces have contained the violence that threatens the country's stability.
"I think we are collectively doing what we must be doing at this point given the reality of Iraq today," the congressman said. "Not what has been. Not what we wish might have been, but what is. That's what it's always been about for me, is reality. Not some fanciful wish list."
But what might otherwise be an interesting policy disagreement between two friendly Democrats could turn into something more now that Akaka and Case are facing each other in the September primary for the U.S. Senate. The liberal Akaka and the more moderate Case mostly agree on Hawai'i issues, so voters likely will have to look to national or foreign policy to find differences, and Iraq could be the most substantial.

Commentry by Pat
Well, if you have a son or daughter there, they will not be coming home anytime soon if Case has any say in the matter. If Senator Akata is more vocal about his stance against the war he might win some more votes. This could cost Case the election, if more troops from Hawaii come home in body bags. Or voters see this as a long, costly ,drawn out poor decsion.

The new hot issue in the news, with demonstrations all over the US is..... Immigration.
Hmm, I wonder how Ed Case feels about it?
Voted NO on reporting illegal aliens who receive hospital treatment.
Vote to pass the bill that would require hospitals to gather and report information on possible illegal aliens before hospitals can be reimbursed for treating them. The bill would also make employers liable for the reimbursements if an undocumented employee seeks medical attention, unless the employer meets particular conditions for exemption. The bill would specify that hospitals aren't required to provide care to undocumented aliens if they can be transported to their home country without a significant chance of worsening their condition. Reference: Undocumented Alien Emergency Medical Assistance Amendments; Bill HR 3722 ; vote number 2004-182 on May 20, 2004

Rated 0% by FAIR, indicating a voting record loosening immigration.
Case scores 0% by FAIR on immigration issues
The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is a national, non-profit, public interest membership organization of concerned citizens united by their belief in the need for immigration reform. Founded in 1979, FAIR believes that the U.S. can and must have an immigration policy that is non-discriminatory and designed to serve the environmental, economic, and social needs of our country.
FAIR seeks to improve border security, to stop illegal immigration, and to promote immigration levels consistent with the national interest—more traditional rates of about 300,000 a year.
With more than 70,000 members nationwide, FAIR is a non-partisan group whose membership runs the gamut from liberal to conservative.
The ratings are based on the votes the organization considered most important; the numbers reflect the percentage of time the representative voted the organization's preferred position.
Source: FAIR website 03n-FAIR on Dec 31, 2003
Commentary by Pat
We live in a country where people are willing to risk their lives by floating on homemade rafts, cross boarders patroled by armed guards and be transported in railroad cars in inhumane conditions, all to come to get a piece of the American Apple Pie. They are coming ,not to steal our healthcare, jobs, free public education and political security, they coming because its BETTER than where they are living. They want a better life for themselves and their famlies!!!Just because your ancestors came over on a boat a hundred years ago, dosent give you or the government the right to say"Go back to where you came and MAYBE we will let you in. IF you can surcumvent the red tape. Sometimes we should be ashamed of how we use our "power" over other human beings.

The Voters say.........

In a recent letter to the editor

In A Letter to the Editor
The Honolulu Advertiser
The heart says that Daniel Akaka has served Hawai'i loyally and competently for the past 30 years, therefore he deserves to choose when to retire. Many also want to give him the opportunity to see his namesake legislation, as the only congressional member of Hawaiian ancestry, passed as the final chapter in his valuable legacy.
The head, however, says that it is highly unlikely that Sen. Akaka, if he wins this year, would run for re-election in 2012 at the age of 87. By that time, Linda Lingle will be primed to step into the Senate seat after finishing her second term as governor in 2010 and then will have had two years to campaign and fundraise.


Commentary by Pat
If you know what's best for your state I'd follow my head any day. Sen. Akaka has served his time to his people well but now its time to retire. There is no way to be nice about it when younger people are ready to step in and take over and your not ready to step aside.

Posted on: Thursday, March 30, 2006
3 in Hawai'i delegation won't divulge earmarks
By Dennis CamireAdvertiser Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON :Even while supporting more transparency in the controversial process known as "earmarking," three members of Hawai'i's congressional delegation declined to reveal their requests this year for such funding
Only Rep. Ed Case, D-Hawai'i, shared his requests, which, if granted, would cost taxpayers more than $1 billion. They range from a $600 million plan to clean up World War II-era military ordnance to $2 million for controlling Caribbean tree frogs.
Case said he doesn't expect to get all the earmarks but believes he has the responsibility to seek money for his district's specific concerns.
Akaka declined to reveal his earmark requests to protect them from possible attacks from others, said Donalyn Dela Cruz, spokesman for the senator


CASE'S WISH LIST
Rep. Ed Case's funding requests for Hawai'i include:
$36.8 million for a six-lane North-South Road in 'Ewa.
$24.9 million for the Maui Veterans Rehabilitation Complex.
$24 million for the Hawai'i County Police Department.
$24 million for the Honolulu Police Department to upgrade its communications systems.
$20 million for acquiring 800 acres to expand the James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge.
$14.5 million for improving Kïkïaola Harbor on Kaua'i.
$19.5 million for operating the East-West Center and expanding its Muslim initiative.
$10 million for a program to fight the distribution and abuse of crystal methamphetamine in Hawai'i.

Commentary by Pat
Sounds like Ed Case is willing to back up his ideas with facts and figures.He is not affraid of critism unlike his opponent.

According to the website www.issues2000.org Congressmen Ed Case
has voted on the following issues
Ed Case votes
Voted YES on allowing human embryonic stem cell research. (May 2005)
Voted NO on restricting interstate transport of minors to get abortions. (Apr 2005)
Voted NO on making it a crime to harm a fetus during another crime. (Feb 2004)
Voted NO on banning partial-birth abortion except to save mother’s life. (Oct 2003)
Voted NO on forbidding human cloning for reproduction & medical research. (Feb 2003)
Rated 100% by NARAL, indicating a pro-choice voting record. (Dec 2003)

Voted YES on making the PATRIOT Act permanent. (Dec 2005)
Voted NO on Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriage. (Sep 2004)
Voted NO on protecting the Pledge of Allegiance. (Sep 2004)
Voted NO on constitutional amendment prohibiting flag desecration. (Jun 2003)

Voted NO on authorizing construction of new oil refineries. (Oct 2005)
Voted NO on passage of the Bush Administration national energy policy. (Jun 2004)
Voted NO on implementing Bush-Cheney national energy policy. (Nov 2003)

Voted NO on prohibiting lawsuits about obesity against food providers.
Voted YES on limiting attorney's fees in class action lawsuits. (Feb 2005)
Voted YES on restricting frivolous lawsuits. (Sep 2004)

Rated 100% by SANE, indicating a pro-peace voting record. (Dec 2003)

Voted YES on increasing fines for indecent broadcasting. (Feb 2005)
Voted YES on banning Internet gambling by credit card. (Jun 2003)

According to this website:
Ed Case is a Moderate Liberal Populist

Summary by Pat:
I was thrilled to find this website and I will refer to it when I am deciding which candidate to vote for in the future.When choosing which candidate to vote for you obviously want the candidate that will vote for laws that will influence government in the way you want your country to be run. You may differ on some issues by you want the candidate that best fits your political ideology.
I find it interesting that being a attorney himself Ed Case would vote in favor of limiting attorneys fees in class action law suits and restricting frivolous law suits.
He is pro-choice and I like his stance on environmental issues. He will not vote in favor of oil drilling in the Alaskan wild life refuge
He seems to me to be riding the fence on his patriotism when he will vote in favor of the patriot act but not vote in favor of an amendment prohibiting flag desecration. Perhaps he feels this is a free speech issue?
All in all I like the way he voted on these major issues and if I lived in Hawaii I would be voting for him.

Preserving Beauty Sunday, February 26, 2006 9:14 AM HST
Forum addresses officials' hopes for future
by Carolyn LucasStephens Media Group

Last May, Case introduced the "Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Marine Refuge Act." If passed, he said, the bill would "provide the maximum level of permanent protection for a magnificent marine system and international treasure, larger even than Australia Great Barrier Reef Marine Protected Area."Case has studied the National Marine Sanctuaries Acts and says it doesn't give enough protection to the NWHI."Shouldn't there be some special places in our marine world, which are in fact true reserves -- truly off-limits, where our marine species can live and thrive in their natural state, without the extractive hand of humankind?" Case asks.For him, there is only one answer: Yes.
*The Hawaiian monk seal is an endangered species with fewer than 1,500 existing in the world today. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands provide foraging and breeding areas for them. - James Watt/Noaa

Comments by Pat

I know there is a war in Iraq, the country is nervous about gas prices and we live in a guarded state of fear of if and when the next terrorism attack may take place. But I am glad there are congressmen who will care about the environment and the monk seal. This is an environmental issue that congressmen case has chosen to focus on and I think it is an important one to the people of Hawaii and the world. Think globally, act locally. The issue here is also local fishermen would be restricted so he is once again willing to go against popular opinion to do what is right.