The Maui News Editorial: Inouye is Invaluable

From the The Maui News  July 16, 2010

It is of more than passing interest that with the death of Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, Hawaii’s Sen. Daniel Inouye now becomes the longest serving member of the U.S. Senate.

He also is now the president pro tempore of the Senate - third in line in succession to the presidency if something happens to the president, vice president and speaker of the House.

Sen. Inouye is in his 48th year serving in the Senate. Like Byrd, he has enormous respect for the history and traditions of the Senate and realizes that what some view as arcane parliamentary procedures are protections for the rights of minority views.

While no person is irreplaceable, Sen. Inouye is as close as it comes in political circles. He is first and foremost a patriot of the first order. He is a Medal of Honor winner who suffered a devastating wound in World War II.

His championship of the military in the Pacific is not merely bringing home the largesse for his home state - it is a realization that by dint of our geography, we are the first line of defense from some would-be enemies in the Far East.

Yes, he is also Hawaii’s champion. While many criticize his use of earmarks, the senator has carefully used them to improve Hawaii’s infrastructure, diversify our economy, and bring the latest in technological advances to our state. That technology - perhaps best exemplified on Maui by the supercomputer - lights the imagination of our young people and provides opportunities that were unthinkable a generation ago.

As Sen. Inouye runs for his ninth term in the U.S. Senate, he appears as sharp as he ever was. His status - the regard with which he is held by members of both parties - is an asset that no challenger can match.

Sen. Inouye deserves the opportunity to continue his long service to Hawaii and his country. We’d urge his re-election.