Lingle: Inouye Thinks He Chooses Hawaii Senator

The spat between Sen. Daniel Inouye and Senate hopeful Linda Lingle continues to grow.

A brief recap:

• First, Lingle campaign manager Bob Lee put out a video touting his boss’s bipartisan bona fides and her relationship with Inouye.
• Inouye quickly shot back that he didn’t approve that message, which included side-by-side photos of him and Lingle.
• A week later, Inouye told reporters the video showed Lingle is “desperate” and said it motivated him to seek a more active role in Mazie Hirono’s campaign.
• Lee responded that Inouye was downplaying the times he and Lingle had worked together, reiterating the original statement that he’ll remain powerful no matter which party controls the Senate.
• Now, Lingle is out with a new Web video criticizing Inouye for believing “he should be the one to determine who should step down and who should step up in Hawaii politics.”

Watch the new video here:

Governor Lingle Answers Senator Inouye from Linda Lingle Senate Committee on Vimeo.

— Michael Levine