Heh heh.
As others have noted on thread, she's pro-choice on abortion. While she's not as bad as a liberal nut like Mark Kirk on the issue, it's far from the only issue she's wrong on. She wants to make the EPA a cabinet level position and she believes the death penalty should be abolished nationwide because it's "racist" and because "innocent" people have been convicted (never understood how someone can justify killing the unborn but not convicted murderers). Not surprisingly, she's also a very "gay friendly" Governor, though she's been noncommittal and mute on whether she'll sign a bill that would legalize gay marriage. (The Log Cabin RINO did note "In Hawaii, Linda Lingle made history in the Aloha state by being both the first Republican and the first female governor in Hawaii history. Lingle's victory came after she made strong public overtures to gay voters as Hawaii state GOP chair, including inviting Log Cabin Hawaii leader Jeff Bingham Mead to address the Hawaii Republican Party convention." ) And John Fund reported to Club for Growth that she's been a total RINO on fiscal issues:
Hawaii's RINO Governor
From John Fund, writing in the WSJ Political Diary: bq.
Hawaii Republicans were thrilled when they took control of the governorship for the first time in 40 years with the victory of Linda Lingle in 2002. Now as Ms. Lingle prepares to run for re-election, the good news is that no prominent Democrat has stepped forward to challenge her, she has raised a formidable $2.2 million in contributions and is a solid favorite. The bad news is that she is increasingly governing as a RINO, or Republican in Name Only. bq. Conservatives are so disillusioned with Ms. Lingle that several told me they now despair that Hawaii will ever overcome its high-tax and oppressive regulatory environment. Last month, Governor Lingle allowed a bill raising the minimum wage by $1 an hour over two years to become law without her signature. She has pandered to politically correct thinking by embracing a disastrous attempt to treat Native Hawaiians like an Indian tribe and create a separate, race-based government for them. And she signed a bill that gives local counties the right to raise the state's general excise tax by 12.5%. Yesterday, the Honolulu City Council voted to hike the tax to finance an as-yet undefined multibillion-dollar mass-transit monorail for a city with only 800,000 people. bq. "She's been such a disappointment that if I had to vote today, I'd leave my ballot blank," one leading conservative told me. "When the governor's staff is approached by conservatives, they are waved away and told, 'Where else do you have to go?'" Governor Lingle may well be headed for a second term, but she also is bidding to become an Aloha State version of Christine Todd Whitman, who made history by becoming New Jersey's first female governor but was so reluctant to challenge the status quo in office that her two terms are largely remembered for their mediocrity.
Sounds to me like she'd be a non-starter with any sane conservative.Quite frankly I'm surprised this thread hasn't been pulled yet. We clearly have a case of someone who signed up today for the sole purpose of posting a vanity promoting a candidate who is hostile to conservative issues. Looks like another hit-and-run job to me, and I'm pretty sure that goes against FR posting rules.
As for Lingle being a candidate to take out one of Hawaii's ancient senators (I call them Daniel K. & Daniel K. 2 because both have the same first name and middle initial) , she'd be tolerable but is far from ideal. I think she'd be another Lisa Murkowski in the Senate. That would be an improvement over what we currently get from Hawaii, but still very disappointing. I'd hold my nose for her but it's a shame we don't have someone better who would be a viable Senate candidate (and much of the blame can to go Lingle herself for failing to grow the Hawaii GOP and groom better candidates). However she's term limited in 2010 so I suppose she's going nothing better to do than to run for legislative office.
Hopefully Lt. Governor Duke Aiona succeeds her as Governor in 2010 and is an improvement. I heard he is more conservative and considered part of the "Christian right" since he is a devout Roman Catholic and had a strong pro-family track record as judge.