The best line of this campaign season is Democratic Senate hopeful Ed Case's simple statement, "We must stop fighting and start fixing."
As we've mentioned here before, we think a general election matchup between Case and former Gov. Linda Lingle would give Hawaii an excellent choice to succeed retiring Sen. Daniel Akaka.
Both Case and Lingle have pledged to work on a bipartisan basis to end the gridlock in Washington. Case has said repeatedly he wants to join the "Gang of Six," the group of senators from both parties who are devoted to finding long-term solutions to our fiscal problems. Lingle consistently talks about working across the aisle to find solutions and create jobs.
Whether a Case vs. Lingle matchup in the general election occurs, of course, will depend upon the results of the Democratic primary where Case faces tough competition from Rep. Mazie Hirono.
Our problem with Hirono is that as one of the most liberal members of Congress it is hard for us to imagine her making the compromises that are going to be needed to deal with problems like Medicare and Social Security reform, as well as reducing deficits and getting the national debt under control.
We are fairly certain that neither political party is going to have a large enough majority in either house of Congress to dictate solutions to our big problems. And we simply cannot continue the way we have the past couple of years compromises are needed. We cannot keep kicking the can down the street when it comes to fixing Washington.
So we hope Hawaii picks a senator who is going to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. In our view, a Case vs. Lingle matchup would ensure that result.
* Editorials reflect the opinion of the publisher.
