Take for example the way leaders of the Hawaii Democratic Party used and still are using the death of U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink to further their power and agenda – even before she is laid to rest and the public is allowed to pay their respects to her.

The latest chess game began when Mink fell ill more than a month ago and was hospitalized in Straub Clinic & Hospital August 30 with a reported case of chicken pox complicated by pneumonia.

The articles in the daily papers began to reveal the pattern of manipulation primarily by Mink’s family that refused to release information on her condition, and by Democratic Party leaders who gave misinformation, saying Mink was getting better and then stable, right up to the time of her death.

U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie took on the role of the unofficial spokesperson and provided the greatest amount misinformation.

Later in the saga, it became clear by the television media coverage that U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye was calling all the shots. Inouye adamantly denies that charge, but elected Democrats interviewed for this story say only Inouye, considered "King" of the Hawaii party and political chess, could have choreographed such a masterful game.

The chronology of the articles details the manipulation:

• On Friday, Sept. 6, The Honolulu Advertiser posted a story "Congresswoman Mink down with chicken pox." Reporter Curtis Lum quoted Eugene Takemoto, Mink's brother saying his sister was not in the hospital's intensive care unit. She in fact had been put in the hospital’s intensive care unit on Sept. 1, the day after she arrived at the hospital.
• Later that same day, The Honolulu Advertiser posted a story "Mink fighting pneumonia," that confirmed Mink was in intensive care. Reporters Mike Gordon and Curtis Lum wrote that the family members would not allow Straub Clinic & Hospital to release her condition or say how serious it is. They quoted Joan Manke, chief of staff for Mink’s Honolulu office, saying the family just wants to have their privacy. Manke said: "She (Mink) does have pneumonia and is being treated. She is in the intensive care unit. There are no visitors or flowers allowed. She was basically quarantined because of her condition." Manke described Mink's condition as serious but said that was not based on an official physician's assessment, the paper reported.
• On Saturday, Sept. 7, The Honolulu Advertiser wrote: "Mink remains in intensive care unit" Reporter Curtis Lum wrote that Manke would not describe the seriousness of Mink's illness, except to say she has pneumonia because of the chicken pox. His quote of Manke: "We just want to make sure that people know that she is being treated. … It's pneumonia, and I know everybody's concerned and the family is, too, so we'll just have to let it run its course…Since being hospitalized, the virus has spread to her lungs." Lum wrote that Manke said she had not yet spoken to her boss because "Mink is in quarantine."
• Posted Monday, Sept. 9 is "Mink remains in Straub ICU." Reporter Mike Gordon writes: "The medical condition of U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink, now hospitalized for the second week in intensive care as she battles chicken pox and pneumonia, remains secret. But doctors familiar with similar cases say the combination of illnesses can be extremely serious for a person of her age." Gordon quotes Manke again saying Mink's condition has not changed. Mink's family told officials at Straub Hospital & Clinic not to release her condition or any details to the media, Gordon wrote.
• Posted Thursday, Sept. 12 in The Honolulu Advertiser is "Family appeals for patience as Mink fights illness." Reporter Mike Gordon writes "The family of U.S. Rep. Patsy Mink, who has been hospitalized in the Straub Hospital & Clinic intensive care unit since Sept. 1 (later corrected to be August 30), today said Mink has ‘a hard-hitting pneumonia that takes time to overcome and heal from.’" Gordon never did get to talk to the family members; rather the message was relayed through Manke who pleaded for the public’s patience. "The family has been advised to be patient while Mrs. Mink fights the pneumonia. The family asks the public to be patient, as well." He repeated the family’s request of the hospital to withhold information on Mink's condition.
• Friday, Sept. 13, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin headlines: "Mink to be on primary ballot despite illness." Reporter Crystal Kua quotes the attorney general saying Mink, whom family members describe as being "very sick" and recovering from pneumonia, will be on the Sept. 21 Democratic primary ballot no matter what happens with her health. Office of Elections spokesman Rex Quidilla told Kua: "If there's a vacancy before the primary election, then in that event a proclamation will be issued informing voters that the vacating candidate will remain on the ballot and votes cast for that vacating candidate will be counted. If she should win, then a vacancy will exist in the Democratic Party's nomination. The law provides that the Democratic Party will have three days to fill the vacancy for the general election." This same article sets a deadline of Oct. 16 for Mink to withdraw from the General Election.

Then Attorney General Anzai lays out the key to exactly what is at stake. "If Mink withdraws before Sept. 26, her party could appoint someone to take her place as the nominee for the Democrats. But if she withdraws after Sept. 26, there won't be a Democratic candidate." He emphasized Mink will remain on the general election ballot unless she withdraws.

Democratic Party Chairwoman Lorraine Akiba announced they would not look for another candidate.

The deadline to withdraw from the General Election passes and suddenly Mink’s condition changes for the better, according to the daily papers who quoted party leaders who supposedly talked to family members.

• In a Tuesday, Sept. 17 article, a story appears, "Mink said to be on road to recovery" by The Honolulu Advertiser's Lynda Arakawa. She quoted U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie as saying family members told him that Mink is "on the way to recovery" and capable of running for re-election. He said "She is not in mortal danger. She is quite the opposite. She is doing exactly what the doctors tell her to do, which among other things include that she rest completely. And as soon as it's physically possible for her, she will be back out in the campaign ... full blast for renomination and for election, and intends to serve and complete her term in the 108th Congress. … People are entitled to know whether she will be able to serve. And my best answer is yes." The article emphasized that the family still requested that the hospital withhold information on her condition.

It is noteworthy that none of the media reporters asked: suppose Mrs. Mink is not capable of responding to any question or any inquiry either the condition of her health or her future plans. Not capable because she might already have been on a ventilator or life support from the beginning.

• Posted Wednesday, Sept. 18, The Honolulu Advertiser writes: "GOP rival presses for Mink health status." Reporter Lynda Arakawa interviewed Republican congressional candidate Bob McDermott who said the public has a right to know the medical condition of Mink. "When you're running for Congress, this is a high federal office. I can tell you as a public figure you don't have that much privacy. So I am asking that they be forthcoming with her medical condition. Is she unconscious? She hasn't released a statement. Is she able to speak? Can she walk on her own? I think these are all valid questions that the voters before the primary election have a right to know. The primary election is in three days and we don't even know if she is unconscious, we don't know if she can breathe on her own, we don't even know if she's awake and they've been stonewalling."

Gov. Benjamin Cayetano weighed in on this story, responding to McDermott’s plea for information, commenting to both papers that he felt the public had a right to know more about Mink’s condition. It was obvious later that he stepped on Inouye’s toes, because the governor complained about the Honolulu Star-Bulletin’s headline, coverage and use of his photo in a follow-up story. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin changed in its late edition and corrected the online version. Democrats interviewed for this story said only Inouye could make Cayetano back down like this publicly and ask the newspaper to change its coverage in its late edition.

• Posted Thursday, Sept. 19 was "Candidate calls for details on health of Mink." The article published a statement released by Mink's office, that her family asked for "the public's continued patience" as Mink fights the pneumonia. "This is an illness from which one can recover and we expect Mrs. Mink to be back on her feet representing the 2nd District," the statement said.

On Friday, Sept. 20, Mink did not withdraw from the primary or the general elections. The primary passed, Mink beat out Tataii with more than 80 percent of the vote. Mink was given four days to withdraw from the general election, but that would have left the party without a candidate in the general, according to Anzai. There was no way they would give up that seat to a candidate from another party, Democrats close to the situation told Hawaii Reporter. The four days came and went and Democratic Party Chairwoman Lorraine Akiba announced as expected that Mink would not withdraw. Akiba claims here to have talked to Mink: "There's no need at this point because Mrs. Mink and her campaign have indicated to myself as state party chair she will be proceeding to campaign."

The information released by the family through the Democratic Party was that Mink, who was supposedly getting better, was now "not getting better or worse, but is stable."

Then suddenly a fourth person appears as Mink’s spokesperson -- someone no one in Hawaii has ever heard of. Andrew Winer, the director of the Democratic Party Coordinated Campaign, told the media: "She is not improving. She is not getting worse. She is just stable. Her condition is still the same." He mentioned a family meeting would take place later that day to discuss Mink’s health, saying he believed "the family plans to release Mink's prognosis sometime soon." Winer told The Honolulu Advertiser: "The sense I got from talking to them is they are finally getting some answers. I think (her prognosis) has been a question on their mind. My sense is that feedback is coming."

That statement set the stage for the announcement of her death. No word of what the family meeting entailed, if it was to pull Mink from life support that other doctors at the hospital interviewed said they understood her to be on.

Less than a day later, the Democratic Party of Hawaii announced Mink’s death. No statement was ever released by the family or the doctors and no medical records were ever released to verify her competency or her consciousness during her one month-long hospital stay. No information was released to verify her time and date of death, or to prove that in fact she did die when the party said she did.

It seems everything has worked out for the Democrats. Now, the Hawaii media is focusing not on the answers that were never given or the questions never asked, or on the final days leading up to her death, but instead are recounting the highlights of Mink’s life leading up to the final days before she was hospitalized. The media have overnight forgotten the deception and the intrigue surrounding her month-long illness, and by doing so have done a great disservice to the people of Hawaii, namely the voters and Mink herself.

There will now be two special elections at a cost of $4 million: one Nov. 30 to replace Mink temporarily in the U.S. House and another Jan. 4 if she wins the general election posthumously. Now the Democratic Party can replace Mink with their candidate of choice who will likely be re-elected for many decades to come.

It is right to honor Mink in her death with all the glory the press and the Democratic Party want to spout.

But a more important way of honoring Mink is to clear up any doubt of her life and death being manipulated along with the voters, in her final days, by releasing her medical records to the public.

Mink was known for her straightforwardness, honesty and tenacity. It is only proper that she gets the final word, and is allowed to make public the truth about her final days, if only from what is written in her medical records.

Her family and the party leaders owe her at least that after her years of public service and complete dedication to the Democratic Party agenda.

It is better to release the records rather than allow the mystery to continue and the appearance that Mink, the voters and the remaining public are all pawns in a high stake chess game for which the Democrat leaders uttered "checkmate" at the announcement of her death.

See related story at: "Let Mink Rest With Honor, Not be Dishonored by Vultures"

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