Inouye, a synonym for real Americanism

The date was April 21st, 1945. Second Lieutenant Daniel Inouye, part of the US Army, Company E, 442nd Regimental Combat team was ordered, along with the men of his company, to attack a heavily defended ridge beside a road in San Terenzo, Italy. As the company moved up the hill, three German machine gun nests opened fire, pinning the company down. Inouye moved in. Throwing a grenade, he was shot in the right side and didn't even realize it until his own men pointed out he was bleeding. Once it exploded, he moved in to wipe out the gun crew. The first gun nest was destroyed. He continued up the hill, throwing two more grenades into the second gun nest, destroying it. He fell in weakness from a loss of blood. Yet Daniel Inouye, not yet even 21 years old, crawled to the third nest. He pulled his last grenade, and stood to throw it. At that moment, a German soldier fired a rifle grenade which hit Inouye in the right elbow, almost tearing off his arm. Prying the grenade out of his own dead right fist, he threw it at the third bunker, lurched forward, and fired his Thompson submachine gun left handed, but not before yet another German shot hit him in the leg. He refused evacuation until he was certain that the hill was secure. The remnants of his right arm were amputated. He finished college, studied law, and is currently residing in both Hawaii and Washington D.C. as one of the two Senators from Hawaii. He was the first Japanese-American elected to both the House of Representatives and the Senate. He was given the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest military award in the United States, on June 21st, 2000.

The man works for the Democratic Party.

Now I've been told by some that I have a slant to my blog entries here. That I hate Obama simply because of his party. That I supported and voted for McCain and Palin simply because they were Republican and that it must be because I'm somehow rich and not poor (I've been unemployed since late April 2008 with the exception of about 2-3 weeks of work in August, barely living off of student loans).

So in an effort to bring some balance to this blog and prove a few people wrong about me (which I must admit, gives me a certain warm joy in my heart), I offer this particular entry regarding the appointment of Daniel Inouye to the position of Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

People talk about the color purple as being the true wonder of politics. And it is. It is the spirit of compromise, of freedom, of teamwork, and has brought unity to this great nation a number of times. President Elect Barack Obama even used this metaphor for his own campaign, calling himself a candidate who in the Senate, did a lot of 'crossing the aisles'. Yet for all his bluster and muster, President Elect Obama has a record of voting that shows which side of the aisle he's really on.

Perhaps he could take a lesson from a real compromiser and politician like Inouye. "Many insiders regard him as a team player, often doing what the Democratic leadership wants but not shying away from telling his superiors to do what he thinks is right." From all accounts, Inouye is a rather quiet compromiser, preferring back room deals and calm phone conversations to the rhetoric of Senator Robert Byrd, his predecessor.

Well that's great and all, but what do the Republicans think of him?

“I have never had occasion to go to him and ask for something reasonable that he did not respond [to] in a positive way. I feel so comfortable with him,” said Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.).

"Inouye will hold the gavel of the powerful committee without his friend [Republican Senator Ted Stevens], whom he calls “brother.”"

Brother? In a political world like America, that terminology is dangerous to use, especially towards someone convicted of corruption charges. Yet he continues to stick by Ted Stevens. Loyalty? In a politician?? To his friends??? What a concept!

Both Inouye and Byrd voted against the Iraq war, yet only Byrd has received funds from liberal organizations such as MoveOn.org. Why? Because Inouye actually does something called compromise? While Byrd and other Democrats, including Barack Obama and Joe Biden have voted against war funding bills, Inouye has expressed his concern for the fighting men and women in Iraq, and done his best to ensure that they have the supplies they need.

Quiet courage is something that often goes unnoticed in our world today. When rhetoric, celebrity, and showmanship count for 9/10 of politics, true character is often pushed to the background in favor of 'razzle dazzle politics'.

It's written in the Gospel of John, Chapter 15, Verse 13: Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

For compromise. For loyalty. For dedication to the American Armed Forces. For dedication even in giving your own blood for a freedom that you believe in, for all these things and more, I salute, and indeed invite you to salute a REAL compromising politician and a REAL American, Senator Daniel Inouye. There are a lot of people who could learn from his example on both sides of the political equation, and I certainly hope that, although Senator Inouye is quiet, that they take notice of the 'still small voice' from Hawaii and follow his leadership.