Moe Lane of RedState and Matt Drudge are trying to create racial controversy where it didn't exist. Neither are doing those who oppose leftwingers playing the race card any favors.

Using the link text "Hawaii Gov ignores Senator's dying wish, picks white male...", Drudge links to Lane's story "Neil Abercrombie ignores Daniel Inouye’s dying wish, picks Brian Schatz for Hawaii Senate" [1].

Lane's post starts with:

Just as a thought experiment imagine what would happen if the following scenario played out…

* A minority Republican Senator passes away.
* Choosing a successor is the responsibility of his state’s (white) (Republican) governor.
* The late Senator in question had formally made a request to the governor that a particular qualified individual (who also happens to be a minority) succeed him.
* The governor then proceeds to ignore the dying wish of the late Senator, and instead chooses his (white) Lt. Governor.

The question before the board is, Just how big would the resulting media firestorm be, anyway? Large enough to detect from orbit?

Yes, probably. However, in this case all the players are Democrats: the state is Hawaii, the Governor is Neil Abercrombie (best-known for fumble-fingeringly extending birther fantasies for an extra two weeks or so), the Lt. Governor (and new Senator) is Brian Schatz (I never heard of him, either), the late Senator is Medal of Honor winner Daniel Inouye, and the slapped-in-the-face candidate that Inouye favored was Rep. Colleen Hanabusa.

That "thought experiment" is pointless and enables those who would play the race card in such a case. It doesn't represent Inouye's request which doesn't make mention of anything involving race; read the request at [2]. Lane's time would be better spent helping those who can show why playing the race card in specific cases is wrong, rather than just making things up.

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[1] redstate . com/2012/12/26/
neil-abercrombie-daniel-inouye-brian-schatz-hawaii

[2] From blogs.starbulletin . com/inpolitics/dear-neil, this is the entire letter:

Dear Neil,

Since 1959, it has been an honor and a privilege to serve the people of Hawaii and our nation as a member of the U.S. Congress. I have been fortunate to be a part of Hawaìi’s history and growth over these many years. People haye asked me how I want to be remembered, and I say very simply, that I represented the people of Hawaii honestly and to the best of my abilities. I think I did okay.

It is with much sadness that I share with you, that I will not be able to complete my ninth term in the United States Senate. While I understand that selecting someone to serve out the remainder of my term is fully your responsibility, I respectfully request that U.S. Representative Colleen Hanabusa succeed me, and continue the work, together with Mazie, on behalf of Hawaii in the U.S. Senate. Colleen possesses the intellect, presence and legislative skill to succeed in the Senate. I have no doubt that she will represent Hawaii with the same fervor and commitment that I brought to the Senate chamber since 1962.

I hope you will grant me my last wish. God Bless the people of Hawaii and God Bless the United States of America.

Aloha

DANIEL K. INOUYE
United States Senator