Last week, the Honolulu Weekly publicly took Ed Case to task for basing his entire campaign on the assumption that Senator Akaka might not live through another term in office. Labeling Case's "Change" message as the worst single issue to base an entire campaign on, the Weekly concluded as follows, "Since [Case] can't fall back on his support of the Iraq War and the Patriot Act v.2.0 to win the hearts and minds of Hawaii voters, Case's entire platform consists of nothing more than a very public display of ageism."
http://honoluluweekly.com/...
As if to make this point even more clear, Case told USA Today, "We have two 82-year old senators...They're coming to end of their careers...What makes complete sense is to bring in the next senator now to build up seniority while Inouye is still serving."
Case's reasoning brought this sharp response from Senator Inouye, "It sounds almost as if Mr. Case is playing God, suggesting that Sen. Akaka or I could soon be making our maker. Yes, Sen. Akaka and I could be hit by a car or by lightning, but so, too, could Mr. Case."
It is time to call out Case and put an end to his blatant age discrimination in this campaign. If a candidate made the argument that a physically disabled individual could not perform in office as well as somebody without a disability, there would be howling from coast to coast. The same analysis should apply to somebody who makes a blanket statement about a candidate's ability based simply on age.
It is especially shameful that somebody running as a Democrat should be making arguments based on nothing but stereotpyes regarding age. The Weekly clearly and correctly made this point by condemning Case's campaign message.