Posted on 12/23/2012 4:02:08 AM PST by Libloather
Reid urges Hawaii governor to quickly name Inouye successor
By Meghashyam Mali - 12/23/12 05:53 AM ET
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Saturday pressed Hawaii’s governor to quickly appoint a successor to Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), who passed away last week.
In a statement, Reid said he has asked Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D) to tap a replacement by year’s end.
“I have asked the governor of Hawaii to appoint Senator Inouye's successor with due haste. It is critically important to ensure that the people of Hawaii are fully represented in the pivotal decisions the Senate will be making before the end of the year,” read the statement from Reid.
Inouye, whom Reid called a “dear friend,” died on Monday at the age of 88. The nine-term senator, who had helmed the Appropriations Committee, had been hospitalized earlier this month at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after experiencing respiratory complications.
Before he passed away, Inouye sent a letter to Abercrombie urging him to appoint Rep. Colleen Hanabusa (D-Hawaii) as his successor, a spokesman for the senator confirmed last week. The two lawmakers were close friends, and Inouye had indicated to others in the past that he would like her to succeed him in the Senate.
While Abercrombie will make the final decision, Hanabusa is widely seen as the front-runner for the post.
Last week, the chairman of the Hawaii Democratic Party Dante Carpenter said a number of Democrats had already contacted him and expressed interest in Inouye’s seat.
Other possible appointees include former Rep. Ed Case (D), and Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz (D), who lost his 2006 bid for Congress.
Inouye had served Hawaii in Congress since 1959, when he entered the House. He won election to the Senate in 1962, going on to become the second-longest serving member in Senate history.
President Obama attended a memorial service for Inouye at Washington National Cathedral and called the decorated World War II veteran an “inspiration.”
Many of Inouye’s Senate colleagues, as well as Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, will attend his funeral in Hawaii on Sunday.
What’s the hurry? The senate has done nothing for years, and he has made it clear that they aren’t going to do anything soon.
Well, we know that Inouye preferred Hanabusa. Let’s see who zero and Abercrombie preferred now. What fascinating timing.
What a fortunate opportunity — all of Hawaii’s elite in one place with the pres!
Little Harry’s power is more important than letting the body cool off.
The nation is in disarray while Jr. takes a costly vacation.
“The nation is in disarray while Jr. takes a costly vacation.”
Actually vacations and gridlock are our best hope to survive the next 20 years.
The guy looks sickly.
Is he posing to be the next cover photo in the “Advocate Magazine”
That hypocritical POS has the audacity to tell a sitting govenor what to do and to do it quickly, yet his @ss refuses to deal with a budget for the last 3 or 4 years.
I”m sure he made no similar comment to Nikki Haley.
I live in Florida, but do not get out in the sun as much...and I am darker than our black President
Bronco appears to have a member even stranger than that possessed by Billy Goat Clinton.
It apparently has multiple uses.
It’ll be a chore to find a candidate as far left as Innoway.
It will be interesting to see if Brian Schatz gets the nod. I’ve read he was quite a key figure behind the scenes for the past five years in suppressing Hussein’s eligibility issues.
WTH? His head is brown. His arms, from the elbows down are brown. The rest of his body is pink/white?
Just replacing one liberal puppet democRAT with another.
That’s his *ahem* snorkel.
Is Michelle Obama on the short list?
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