While presumably insisting on its impartiality, the Hawaii Democratic Party has obviously thrown its support to state Sen. David Ige in his challenge of Gov. Neil Abercrombie.

There can be no other reason why the Democrats would hand Ige such a slowly pitched softball of an issue for the Pearl City Democrat to hit out of the ballpark.

The party of the "little guy," the party that speaks for the common man and the party of the big tent encompassing millionaires and the homeless, the disposed and the despised, has decided to not let Ige give a speech at the upcoming state convention May 24-25.

Abercrombie will speak. Other state leaders will speak, but not the chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

Four years ago, the Democrats gathered in convention and the two candidates for governor, former Mayor Mufi Hannemann and former Congressman Abercrombie, addressed the delegates.

If the race between the bellicose Abercrombie and the humble, soft-spoken Ige was not already enough of a "David vs. Goliath" matchup, the Democrats’ leaders must have decided the pair needed a campaign issue anyone can understand.

For his part, Ige addressed the issue last week at a Moiliili campaign rally.

"The governor is trying to shaft me at the Democratic convention," Ige told his supporters.

"I’m not worried about that because I do know that each and every time I get out and talk with people, they want to join our campaign," Ige said.

Ige might be a little sensitive about this because Reena Rabago is the convention’s co-chairwoman, and she is an aide to Abercrombie’s deputy chief of staff, Blake Oshiro.

But Rabago in earlier stories about the issue said the governor didn’t influence the convention planning, and there is no Ige-stifling going on. So that’s a relief.

Dante Carpenter, party chairman, says that while "nothing in the party is inscribed in stone," he doesn’t see a need to change the ruling because all candidates will have an opportunity to speak during a candidate forum on the convention’s Sunday afternoon. Of course, if that time holds firm, the chance to hear a political speech will be while everyone is trying to leave the convention.

Hannemann and Abercrombie were allowed to address the convention as candidates for governor four years ago, Carpenter said, because "at that time, we didn’t have a Democratic governor."

This "just say no to Ige" is not the first time the Democrats have decided that democracy and the right to speak at their convention have gone their separate ways.

Two years ago, the party took the "free speech isn’t free" cliché to another level by charging candidates $500 a minute to address the assembled delegates.

The only person who wanted to pony up the money was then-U.S. Rep., Mazie Hirono, who was running for the U.S. Senate against former U.S. Rep. Ed Case.

Once word got out, party leaders changed their minds.

"The original concept was to raise needed funds to help cover the cost of the state convention. Important as that may be, it pales in comparison to giving these great candidates a chance to address our delegates," Carpenter said at the time.

Torturing the underdog is something the Democrats do almost by reflex.

In 2006, the party staged what was described as a "pre-election coronation ceremony for U.S. Sen. Dan Akaka, who is battling a primary challenge from Ed Case."

At that convention, Case was allowed to speak, but much of his speech was drowned out by boos from the Akaka loyalists.

Although some might say that speaking at the convention is not that much of a benefit, remember that a certain Chicago law professor and one-time Honolulu resident gave such an inspirational speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention that he would go on to become a 2008 candidate for president and 44th president of the United States: Barack Obama.

Richard Borreca writes on politics on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at rborreca@staradvertiser.com.