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Gubernatorial Candidate David Ige Cancels Forum Appearance at Last Minute

HPI Op-Ed

David Ige (D), Hawaii gubernatorial candidate, canceled his scheduled appearance in Friday's Pacific Club gubernatorial forum at the last minute. The possible future governor gave no reason to Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, the sponsor of the event, for canceling, giving them no chance to accommodate him. Sometime after canceling, Ige sent a letter that he withdrew because he learned the event would be filmed and recorded — he objected because he feared anything he said could later be taken out of context, he wrote.

Grassroot Institute stated, "Although concerns of the Ige campaign were raised only after Mr. Ige’s withdrawal and well after plans had been made and agreed to by Ige staff, Grassroot Institute was willing to make any necessary accommodations.

"Justin Martin, Communications Director for Grassroot Institute, said, 'The Institute had made clear what the terms of the forum were, including the intended audio broadcasting and video recording, and these were agreed to by the Ige campaign. The last minute withdrawal was a surprise. It is disappointing that the Ige campaign made a unilateral decision to withdraw without even stating its concerns or giving us the opportunity to accommodate them, which we would have.'"

Ige's 11th-hour letter canceling his appearance at Friday's forum can be seen here.

The letter from the Grassroot Institute responding to the bombshell letter from Ige can be read in its entirety here.

Although Ige continued to refuse to attend the forum that he had already committed to at least a week prior, when the invitations went out, it was held as scheduled yesterday, August 22, at 12 pm at The Pacific Club. The remaining gubernatorial candidates graciously agreed to be present despite Ige's cancellation. A live audio stream of the event can be heard here.

Why did mild-mannered Ige engage in such rude, irresponsible behavior? Probably because Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, which doesn't affiliate itself with any party, doesn't lean Democrat. According to Grassroot's website, it "supports free market solutions that will strengthen and grow the economy, encourage entrepreneurship, and support local business. ...acts as a watchdog for government waste and overreach, demanding greater transparency at all levels and opposing any attempts to limit the access of citizens to the political process. ...Supporting liberty also means embracing policies that will improve our state from the ground up." Doesn't sound like Democratic values at all, and further, some members of the public who lean Republican seem to like Grassroot just fine, so the Democrats figuratively kicked sand in Grassroot's face without thinking twice and walked away.

We just saw Democrat Ige do publicly what Democrats do privately to Republicans in the state legislature.

Link:

Standing Room Only at Grassroot Gubernatorial Forum [Hawaii Free Press] Aug 22, 2014