Hanabusa and Djou accuse each other of having 'gone Washington'

By HERBERT A. SAMPLE
Associated Press

POSTED: 07:43 p.m. HST, Jul 23, 2010

Both leading candidates in Hawaii's hotly contested congressional election or their surrogates accuse the other of having "gone Washington."

And both Republican U.S. Rep. Charles Djou and Democratic state Senate President Colleen Hanabusa will be vying in the November general election to do just that -- go to Washington.

There's a time-honored tradition in elections for the U.S. House and Senate for candidates -- even sitting members of Congress -- to rail against the very institution of which they strive to be a part, said University of Hawaii political scientist Neal Milner.

"That's always one of the messages, especially if its someone who's coming into office -- you're not like those guys there ... You're from the heartland. You don't compromise. You know, all that stuff," Milner said.

"But at same time, you run to show that you have some kind of influence, especially if you're an incumbent. The big advantage is still incumbency," he added.

Djou, for example, has played up what he claims is newfound standing in Washington while admonishing Hanabusa for traveling to the same city to raise money and plot strategy.

"Despite having served for less than two months, Hawaii Congressman Charles K. Djou is influencing national policy in Washington," stated an e-mail Djou's campaign sent supporters last Sunday. "He has rapidly become one of the most active and outspoken representatives in the U.S. today."

Today, another Djou e-mail lit into Hanabusa, without naming her, for being "feted in Washington DC by the insider establishment," an event "led by both of Hawaii's senators and DC's liberal elite."

Yet Djou has raised more than $309,000 from political action committees -- much of it from influential Washington-based interest groups and GOP members of Congress, including some conservative ones. The PAC donations comprised almost 20 percent of all his contributions the last 18 months.

In her pronouncements, Hanabusa has not directly accused Djou of becoming beholden to Washington, though she frequently lambastes his votes for "saying no to Hawaii."

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which spent $314,000 against Djou and $24,000 for Hanabusa this year, has been more critical. In May, DCCC spokesman Andy Stone called Djou a "tool" of House GOP leaders. And twice this week, Stone has chided the incumbent for his Washington ties.

"It's pretty clear that after just a couple months, Djou's already gone Washington and forgotten about who he was elected to represent," Stone contended in an e-mail Friday.

In an interview, Stone contended the "gone Washington" epithet fits Djou because his opposition to legislation restoring jobless benefits and reforming Wall Street served his own interests, not his constituents.

Further, Djou has decried the participation of mainland groups in Hawaii's 1st Congressional District contest but "had no problem traveling to Washington D.C., meeting with lobbyists and other special interests and collecting big checks," Stone said. "That's hypocrisy."

Yet Hanabusa spent the last week in Washington attending fundraisers, news interviews, and meetings with House Democratic leaders and U.S. Sens. Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka of Hawaii. The influential Inouye, who gave the DCCC $150,000 earlier this year, is one of her primary sponsors.

Hanabusa has raised $344,000 from PACs run by influential Democrats and interest groups, about a quarter of her donations since early last year.

Aides said neither Hanabusa nor Djou were available for comment.