Upgrade the Senate, give Rep. Mazie Hirono a promotion

That's the latest ad from Daily Kos's newest Orange to Blue and Upgrade the Senate candidate, Rep. Mazie Hirono (HI-2). There are plenty of reasons to be excited about her candidacy to replace the retiring Sen. Daniel Akaka, from her stellar voting record as a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus to her chance to make history as the first Asian American woman elected to the Senate.

But, more compelling, there's this:

Born in Japan, Mazie spent her early years on her grandparents' rice farm, sent there by her mother to escape a father whose chronic alcoholism and compulsive gambling left the family with few means and even less stability. When nearly eight years old, Mazie, her mother and her older brother fled Japan in search of a better life. Her mother had to make the wrenching decision to leave Mazie's baby brother with her grandparents.

With one suitcase with all their belongings, the three crossed the Pacific in steerage and arrived in Hawaii. Life was hard for many years. The family rented a single room in a boarding house in the early years, sharing the single bed by sleeping sideways. [...]

Not knowing a word of English, Mazie was enrolled at Ka'ahumanu Elementary School, then at Koko Head Elementary School. [...]

In elementary school, she got her first job'serving as the student cashier at lunch hour. The pay was a hot lunch every day. In time she'd take on a paper route, in addition to doing the cooking and cleaning at home while her mother and grandparents worked.

Hirono knows, has lived through, the kind of struggle that plenty of Americans have endured. Sure, lots of other politicians had struggle in their life, but when they got to the the lofty heights of national elected office, didn't remember those humble beginnings and work to make sure the opportunities they had in life were available for everyone. That's what Hirono's done, from her first elected position the state legislature in Hawaii. As a consumer crusader, advocate for working people, and for children, Hirono made a real difference in the lives of the real people.

If you need more reason, consider the alternative in this primary race for Hawaii's Senate seat: former congressman, and Blue Dog, Ed Case. A quick review of his record: voted for the Iraq war and was in favor of an open-ended commitment to keep American troops there; voted to extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy, even after it was clear the Iraq war was bankrupting the nation; voted for the bankruptcy bill that protects the credit industry at the expense of the consumer; wants to raise the retirement age for Social Security; and would have opposed President Obama's Jobs Act, if he'd been in the House. The last thing the Senate needs is another LieberDem, which Case most definitely is.

Need more incentive? Hirono is stomping the Republican candidate, former Gov. Linda Lingle, in the polls. In this one from the Mellman Group for the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee that has Hirono with a 19 point lead over Lingle, 52-33. A second, from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, confirms that, showing Hirono besting Lingle 58-39. That poll shows has Hirono far ahead of "Democrat" Ed Case as well, 55-37, but other recent polling has the primary race neck-and-neck.

Let's send a true progressive to the Senate, someone who isn't just from the 99 percent, but who has worked for the 99 percent.

Give $3 today to Mazie Hirono, so we can Upgrade the Senate!

Rep. Hirono's answers to our Orange to Blue questionnaire are below the fold.