Hawaii Governor David Ige has faced criticism for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some have called for his impeachment or resignation, but removing him from office is difficult. While lawmakers have acknowledged issues with the state government's culture, changing it will be challenging given its toxicity. Governor Ige maintains that leading during this crisis has been complex with no easy answers, and decisions have been made to protect public health.

1. STATE OF HAWAII
GOVERNOR DAVID Y. IGE
COVID-19 RESPONSE
POINT, COUNTERPOINT
POINT
THE HONOLULU CIVIL BEAT
Impeachment – Resignation1, 1A
Hawaii's Toxic Culture – Change2
COUNTERPOINT
THE BRAVE NEW WORLD – THE NEW NORMAL
STATESMANSHIP
PERSONAL GROWTH – THE TURN AROUND
HAWAII GOVERNOR DAVID Y. IGE3
______________________________
When the world is storm-driven and bad things happen,
then we need to know all the strong fortresses
of the spirit which men have built through the ages.
Edith Hamilton
A great human revolution in just a single individual
will help achieve a change in the destiny of a nation and, further,
will enable a change in the destiny of all humankind.
Daisaku Ikeda
______________________________
STATESMANSHIP
Professor J. Rufus Fears, Ph.D., sets a high standard in articulating the yardstick by which we
should measure leaders of either gender. As a noted scholar specializing in the history of freedom
(Tinyurl.com/TrueStatesman), he emphasizes that the role of a politician and a statesman are not the
same. A statesman, Fears attests, is a free leader of a free people and must possess four essential
qualities.
A Bedrock of Principles The statesman builds a platform on a foundation of firm,
unchanging, fundamental truths that he believes at his very core comprises his overarching
philosophy. In the face of changing times, opposition and challenges, this foundation will
remain intact. A statesman may change the details of his policies and his methods, but only
inasmuch as expedient tactics serve to further his bedrock principles in the long run.

2. A Moral Compass A statesman does not govern by public opinion polls, but instead makes
decisions by following his own moral compass that is rooted in a sense of absolute right and
absolute wrong. He is not a relativist. When he believes something is wrong, he plainly says it
is so and does everything in his power to fight against it. When something is right, he is
willing to overcome any opposition to preserve and spread it.
The statesman is ambitious—he must be to obtain a position of power— but there are things
he simply will and will not do to get to the top. He is a man of integrity; he speaks the truth.
He leads by moral authority and represents all that is best in his countrymen.
A Vision A statesman has a clear vision of what his country and his people can become. He
knows where he wants to take them and what it will take to get there. Foresight is one of his
most important qualities, because he must be able to recognize problems on the horizon and
find solutions good for both the short term and long term. The statesman keeps in mind not
only the here and now, but the world that future generations will inherit.
The Ability to Build a Consensus to Achieve that Vision A politician may have a bedrock
of principles, a moral compass and vision, but if he lacks the ability to build a consensus
around them, his efforts to change policies, laws and the course of history will largely be in
vain.
In enlisting others in government that serve with him to support his initiatives, he knows that
their willingness to do so is based on the pressure they feel from their constituents to align
themselves with the statesman’s vision. Thus, success ultimately hinges on his ability to
convince his country’s citizens of the soundness of his philosophy.
To win their hearts, the statesman shuns media campaigns and instead harnesses the power of
the written, and especially the spoken, word; he is a master orator. His lifelong study Patriotic
Stars of great books and the lessons of history allow him to speak to the people with
intelligent, potent, well-reasoned arguments.
Instead of tailoring his rhetoric to the public mood, he speaks to the very best that exists
within people, understanding that powerful rhetoric can articulate, bring forth and activate
sometimes deeply buried ideals. His authority derives from his belief in what he says. He does
not make emotions soar and burn with empty promises, but instead keeps his word and does
what he says he will do.
Based on a professional lifetime of research, Fears believes that the three greatest statesmen in
history are Pericles, of Athens, Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill. Their bedrock
principles rested on the ideals of freedom: democratic liberty, equality under the law and
individual freedom—the freedom to live as we choose. Each embraced a vision of expanding
liberty for citizens, yet all courted controversy in some of the measures they deemed necessary
to achieve their vision.
In Fears' estimation, the ultimate measuring rod of any true statesman and what matters most
is that their leadership ultimately led to more freedom for more people in the long run.

3. Source: “The Four Qualities Of A True Statesman” By Brett and Kate McKay, Natural
Awakenings, September 28, 2012. “Authors Brett and Kate McKay of Tulsa, Oklahoma,
founded TheArtOfManliness.com blog in 2008 to help men become better citizens, fathers,
husbands and friends. Its educational messages attract 8 million page views a month”.
______________________________
It's very difficult to make a 100% turnaround.
It's tough when you actually do exhibit patterns of bad behavior.
You need to have a very strong support system of people
who are willing to keep you in your place if you're going to overcome these things.
Daniel Cormier
__________
VEILED DARKNESS AT THE HAWAII STATE CAPITOL
Hawaii State Senator and Representatives
Quick to Lay Blame on Governor David Ige
Quick to Distance Themselves from Responsibility and Accountability
Quick to Run for Cover
Betrayal of Trust
Feeble Gove
Feeble Gubernatorial Support, Lilliputian Offertory of Achievable, Realistic Solutions
HAWAII GOVERNOR DAVID Y. IGE3
These are unprecedented times that have challenged communities and
government leaders across the nation and the world. The response to the COVID-
19 pandemic is complex with no easy answers. Leaders are having to make
unpopular decisions to protect public health, because that is the foundation for
healthy communities and a healthy economy. We know that any decision and
action will be criticized. During this critical time, we must work together to fight
the virus. And while we welcome constructive criticism, we will continue to
make decisions in the best interests of Hawaii.

4. Footnotes:
1. “Chad Blair: Can David Ige Be Impeached? - Many folks are angry at Hawaii's governor over his
handling of the coronavirus pandemic. But booting him from office is not that easy” By Chad Blair,
The Honolulu Civil Beat, September 3, 2020 <https://www.civilbeat.org/2020/09/chad-blair-can-david-ige-be-
impeached/>
I wrote in this very space just three months ago that a number of the state's top leaders lamented
that Hawaii lacked “strong, decisive leadership” when it is needed most. And that's when the
number of COVID-19 cases hovered around 620 and the death count was 17. On Wednesday the
daily new case load was 339 — there have now been 8,991 cases in all — with another death
raising that tally to 75.
But is it even possible that the governor — who has more than two years remaining in his second
and final term — could be removed from office? Yes, it is possible. Ige could resign, of course.
That seems unlikely.
Asked for comment about calls for his resignation or impeachment, the governor said this in an
emailed statement Wednesday: “These are unprecedented times that have challenged
communities and government leaders across the nation and the world. The response to the
COVID-19 pandemic is complex with no easy answers. Leaders are having to make unpopular
decisions to protect public health, because that is the foundation for healthy communities and a
healthy economy.” He added, “We know that any decision and action will be criticized. During
this critical time, we must work together to fight the virus. And while we welcome constructive
criticism, we will continue to make decisions in the best interests of Hawaii.”
I talked to one akamai leader at the Legislature who said it seemed unlikely that Ige would be
impeached. In order for that to happen, this person said, legislators would need to see strong
support from the public.
The efforts in that regard seem minor, at least as of right now.
__________
1A. “Chad Blair: David Ige, The Governor Who Cannot Govern - Critics assail the shortcomings of
Hawaii's chief executive at a time when strong leadership is needed most By Chad Blair, The Honolulu
Civil Beat, May 19, 2020 <https://www.civilbeat.org/2020/05/chad-blair-david-ige-the-governor-who-cannot-
govern/>
The words and phrases used to describe Hawaii Gov. David Ige. They come from some of the
most powerful people in the state who work directly with the governor on a regular basis. The
frank consensus among them is that Hawaii is stuck with the wrong person in the state's most
important job at a time when strong, decisive leadership is needed most. Ige “may underneath be
a pretty smart guy with solid ideas, but he can't express them.” His inability to project authority
leads those around him to run over him. “I believe the governor is a well-meaning and basically
an honest person, but another characteristic of a good leader is the ability to personally self
reflect and to acknowledge mistakes or flaws and then to improve on them. I am not sure if he
has that.”
__________

5. 2. “Neal Milner: Lawmakers Are Calling Out The State's Toxic Culture. But Will Anything Change?
New leadership at state agencies isn't enough to turn around Hawaii's COVID-19 response” By Neal
Milner, The Honolulu Civil Beat, September 3, 2020 <https://www.civilbeat.org/2020/09/neal-milner-
lawmakers-are-calling-out-the-states-toxic-culture-but-will-anything-change/> [Excerpt]
When it comes to governing in Hawaii, fresh air is a two-touchdown underdog because the state
government's organizational culture is Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers. Keep in mind that
this committee is an anomaly. It has no formal power. It can only make recommendations. Yet
the group is very different from the umpteen study committees and blue-ribbon commissions
whose work typically gets buried in Section ZZZ in the stacks of the Legislative Reference
Bureau.
So, what was most fascinating and in fact most important about the Monday COVID-19 meeting
was the way its members have come to understand just what they are up against and how much
that could mean for the rest of us both long and short term. The committee's biggest step was to
reframe the problem so that it focuses on state government's toxic organizational culture as the
enemy.
[G]iven the toxicity of the state’s organizational culture, the COVID-19 committee may very
well decide to make that move.
And maybe someday soon if not soon enough, Speaker Saiki's final report can really be more like
Beethoven's “Ode to Joy” whose stanza is: “O friends, no more these sounds/Let us sing more
cheerful songs/More full of joy!”
3. Governor David Y. Ige
“These are unprecedented times that have challenged communities and government leaders
across the nation and the world. The response to the COVID-19 pandemic is complex with no
easy answers. Leaders are having to make unpopular decisions to protect public health, because
that is the foundation for healthy communities and a healthy economy. We know that any
decision and action will be criticized. During this critical time, we must work together to fight the
virus. And while we welcome constructive criticism, we will continue to make decisions in the
best interests of Hawaii.”
Source: “Chad Blair: Can David Ige Be Impeached? - Many folks are angry at Hawaii's governor
over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. But booting him from office is not that easy” By
Chad Blair, The Honolulu Civil Beat, September 3, 2020 <https://www.civilbeat.org/2020/09/chad-
blair-can-david-ige-be-impeached/> See also, Footnote 1, above
] ] ]