There are two teams in this game — one is the state of Hawaii and the other is the Obama administration. Pitifully, though, they’re both on the same side pushing one agenda: federal recognition for Hawaiians whether we want it or not.
Na‘i Aupuni, a newly formed nonprofit organization contracted and funded by the state, via the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, received millions of dollars to run an election of 40 delegates from a list of 196 volunteer candidates.
The voter registry used for this purpose was pieced together like Frankenstein from multiple lists. Kanaiolowalu, a state-mandated registry that cost millions, was intended to gather 200,000 names, but only managed to get 19,000.
After another state law was passed to fix that failure, Hawaiian names from other registries were poured into a new list.
An estimated 95,000 ballots were mailed out for the delegates’ election.
The process moved quickly, most likely in an attempt to outrun blowback from Hawaiians opposed to federal recog-
nition. In the haste, even the ballot itself was worthy of a few lawsuits for voter fraud. One example is the duplicate names appearing on the continent’s ballot, allowing some candidates to receive two votes from one ballot.
But Na‘i Aupuni trudged on, insisting that at the end of November, 40 delegates would be empowered to create a constitution and form a Hawaiian nation.
Near the end of its election period, Na‘i Aupuni extended the voting deadline, moving the goalpost and adding another month after a temporary stay from the U.S. Supreme Court barred counting the votes or certifying winners.
Then, Na‘i Aupuni’s side of the game fell apart when the court made the injunction permanent.
It seemed as if it was officially over. But like the zombie apocalypse, Na‘i Aupuni would not go
gently. On Tuesday, it arose from the judicial ashes, brushed itself off and declared that all 196 candidates are now invited to be delegates. That’s right, 196 unelected, (mostly) unvetted, inexperienced wannabes with no legal or professional experience will sit down and chisel their profound thoughts about the lahui into a constitution.
What a circus.
Truly, that’s what it is, a circus with sideshows and freaks.
How can such an outrageously corrupt process be taken seriously? Even if they manage to create the illusion of legitimacy with their mockery of a constitutional convention, any outcome will likely be rebuked by the public and invalidated in the courts. Who stands to benefit from this mass distraction?
Simultaneous to the Na‘i Aupuni fiasco, the other team, President Barack Obama’s Department of Interior (DOI), is planning a rule change that will allow him by executive order to confer federal recognition on any Hawaiian entity (or circus).
Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell claimed in her Sept. 29 statement that the proposed new rules “come on the heels of a robust and transparent public comment period,” referring to the two weeks of public hearings held in Hawaii in June and July of 2014.
However, she and the rest of the Obama administration turned a deaf ear to the Hawaiians who lined up and testified during those weeks, with 99 percent of them opposing federal recognition.
Instead, Obama’s team sided with mail-in postcards supposedly from pro-federal recognition Hawaiians. The federal version of transparency means we can’t confirm who mailed those postcards. (We have until Dec. 30 to testify against the DOI rule change at ainalahui.com.)
After 125 years of being lied to, undermined, cheated, manipulated, forcibly assimilated and shamed for even uttering the words “illegal occupation” or “independence” or “the kingdom survives” or “ku‘e,” Hawaiians are supposed to accept the absence of justice.
We are expected to stay quiet as a handful of our people try to surrender our sovereignty to Uncle Sam.