EXPOSING THE AKAKA BILL RUSE
The Sky Is Not Falling
Hawai`i Reporter - By Leon Siu - June 15, 2006
One of the reasons the failed Native Hawaiian Recognition Act also known as the "Akaka Bill" was such a mess is because it was written as a frantic, knee-jerk reaction to the court challenges to Native Hawaiian entitlement programs.
Anything done in a panic not only gets sloppy, it can get downright ridiculous.
Then, to get the Native Hawaiians behind the federal legislation, Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawai`i, for whom the bill is named, used another liberal ploy: Fear and Panic.
When reason is scarce, use the Chicken Little strategy, “The sky is falling, the sky is falling!” Call for huge rallies and stampede the herd.
These are acts of desperation not sensible political strategy.
Of course, the ruse did not work for Chicken Little, and it didn’t work for Akaka.
Knowing the majority of Hawaiians (native and non-native) would see right through this lame legislation, would not panic, would apply sensible principles in evaluating the bill, Sen. Akaka kept any congressional hearings far away from home.
In order to dupe Congress, hearings in Washington were carefully manipulated, allowing testimonies by invitation only, to give the impression that all Hawai`i was solidly united in support of this bill.
Fortunately there were a few Senators who actually attempted to understand the bill and became alarmed by its recklessly illegal composition.
Add to that a few citizens from Hawai`i, on their own dime, made it to Washington and exposed the Akaka bill for what it was: racial discrimination dressed up as an Indian.
With the defeat of the Akaka bill, we find that the sky is not falling.
None of the entitlement programs are in any real danger of being shut down.
The Supreme Court just vacated the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling of Arakaki v. Lingle.
The Akaka bill was intended to be history-making. Now it’s just history.
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