Hawaii Political Platter - March Wrap-up

Following are some of my opinions regarding recent political and legislative issues.

Governor Ben Cayetano Runs For Mayor: I'm not the biggest fan of former Governor Ben Cayetano, but I have known for the longest time that he was anti-train. He does not support the city's heavy rail project and has tossed his hat into the Honolulu Mayor's race for 2012. Early polls indicate he is the heavy favorite to win this contest. Once in, he vows to stop rail using a number of options available to someone in the mayor's office, such as not funding it.

Cayetano is a bonafide Democrat, but officially the mayor's office is "non-partisan". All the mayors Honolulu has had since Frank Fasi's last term have been Democrats and all were pro rail. The main difference here is that Cayetano is anti-rail and that is good enough for me.

Mr. Cayetano can be a good mayor if he concentrates on some of the core things that need to be done to keep the city running smoothly and financially sound. He mentioned these at a Smart Business Hawaii breakfast on March 30. This includes placing priorities on fixing the sewer system, water pipes and maintaining the roads... all laudable goals that should keep most taxpayers happy.

On the other hand, I am somewhat speculative of Cayetano's support for a "Bus Rapid Transit" (BRT) option that he seems to favor. I think BRT will be okay for rural areas but not for in town routes where traffic lanes and on-street parking will be taken away for the use of priority busses only. Still it is too early to oppose a revival of this. Just have to see what happens.

Ben Cayetano for Mayor website



Hawaii Republican Presidential Caucus: This was a first for the State. Hawaii Republicans came out to vote at the first presidential caucus for the state on March 13. Of the 4 contenders I ended up voting for Rick Santorum. (My first choice would have been Herman Cain who dropped out of the race).

Mr. Santorum will probably not get the nomination as most of the delegates have so far gone to Mitt Romney, the current GOP frontrunner.

Romney got 45% of the vote. Here is the statewide breakdown:

• Romney: 4548
• Santorum: 2589
• Paul: 1975
• Gingrich: 1116

In the end I'll vote for whomever the GOP candidate is. Mr. Obama must be sent to early retirement.



Problems with the Hawaii GOP: The Hawaii Republican Party has been in turmoil for many years. Unless it is Linda Lingle or a small handful of other Republicans, victory on election day has proven to be daunting.

2012 will probably be no different in Democrat dominated Hawaii. I suspect the party will be putting most of its effort into getting Linda Lingle elected to the  U.S. Senate. Other candidates seeking office from within the GOP ranks will largely be on their own in so far as getting party support or funding. I know of one candidate who is frustrated because some of the leaders in the party keep on supporting this person's Democrat opponent.

There are other problems that have plagued and continue to fester within the party. One of them include a questionable vote count at a recent state caucus meeting to select a national committeeman. A few years back a conservative leaning platform was pre-empted by the moderate wing of the party after they brought in their own people at the last minute to stack the vote. I was on the platform committee and supported the platform that would nix support for the "Akaka Bill" and putting the party on record to oppose the Jones Act and fixed rail.

Lastly here's something funny. The Lincoln Dinner, an annual event to honor President Abraham Lincoln that usually occurs in February is being held by Hawaii GOP on April 20. The theme of the $150 per head dinner is "Honoring the Past, Winning the Future". Honoring the 16th president in the month that he was shot and killed back in 1865 is not the essence of good timing. I've gotten some laughs out of this observation.



The Saga of the Library Fundraising Bill: Finally there is this... a bill (SB 2994) introduced by State Senator Sam Slom (I work for him) to allow private non-profit 501(C)(3) organizations to conduct fundraising activities (book sales) on state library properties to help support a selected state library.

The bill is opposed by the large Hawaii Friends of the Library (Big Friends) fundraising group and by the State Librarian Richard Burns (photo at top, lower corner). Burns and several people from the "big friends" organization have been called to task at various State Senate and House hearings to answer questions on why they are so opposed to having smaller, independent "friends" organizations such as the group from Aina Haina to continue fundraising at their library without having to be officially affiliated with the "big friends" group.

The answers given by Mr. Burns and his minions to the legislative panels have led to more questions, a new, revised bill (HB 1054) and possible investigative hearings in the future. The State Librarian's and the "big friends" position against the independent groups have opened a new can of worms for the larger entities. This is not the end of it.

My support for the Friends of the Library group has greatly diminished. Instead of donating books and records to them this year, I opted to give those items to another charitable organization. I have always liked the annual Friends of the Library book sales. This year I may not go to the annual sale because of the attitude the State Librarian and the "big friends" have shown (in the hearings and through emails that I have seen) toward the Aina Haina Friends in particular.

External Links:

Not So Friendly 'Friends' Battle Over Library Support Heats Up at the Hawaii State Capitol - HawaiiReporter.com

Photo Captions:

Top Photo: Former Governor Ben Cayetano speaks at the March 30 SBH Sunrise breakfast. 2nd Photo: GOP Presidential contenders. 3rd Photo: Hawaii GOP Honoring Lincoln in April? Go figure. 4th Photo: State Senate hearing on SB 2994. Left Panel - Senator Slom and State Senate education committee; 2nd panel - Jerri Young from the Aina Haina Friends of the Library group 3rd panel - Byrde Cestare, Friends of the Library Executive Director; 4th panel - State Librarian Richard Burns. All photos by Mel.

Hawaii Republicans to Hold Presidential Caucus

For the first time ever, Hawaii is having a Republican Presidential Caucus... not a primary but a caucus much like Iowa and several other states have. The 4 contenders aiming to take the White House away from the current incumbent are former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, U.S. Representative Ron Paul, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum.

None of the 4 candidates are my ideal choice for President. Nevertheless any one of them would make a better president that the current one we now have.

So far Romney is the leader by a small margin, followed by Santorum, Gingrich and Paul. Several other candidates threw their hat in the GOP ring. Many have dropped out for various reasons.

Hawaii's Republican Party is probably favoring Romney since he is the most "moderate" of the 4 (and in line with the Lingle faction that dominates the Hawaii party). It will not be surprising if Romney wins the Hawaii caucus since the voting process is being handled the the local Republican party.

The presidential caucus will take place in several district locations throughout the state on Tuesday, March 13, 2012 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Results from the caucus voting should be made available later that night.

Photo inserts of Gingrich, Romney and Santorum by Gage Skidmore. Photo of Ron Paul from the U.S. House of Representatives.

Hawaii Republicans Honor Lincoln in Month he was Assassinated

Lincoln Day in April?, originally uploaded by macprohawaii.

Gotta leave it to Hawaii's Republicans to have the Lincoln Day dinner in the month of April.

Back in 1865 our 16th President of the United States was assainated on April 14 in Ford's Theater in Washington D.C. and died the next day, April 15. How ironic to have an honorary dinner in his name on April 20.

More on Lincoln's assassination:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Abraham_Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln

Hawaii Tax Day Tea Party

HAWAII TAX DAY TEA PARTY ON APRIL 15

The Hawaii Tax Day Tea Party is part of a nationwide campaign of tax protests set for April 15, 2009. The purpose of the April 15 protest/rally is to "Repeal the Pork, Cut Taxes and Spending". According to the Tax Day Tea Party website "there are more than 500 tea parties confirmed for that day, and it is expected that over the next week and a half, the number of tea parties will continue to grow. Crowds of 5,000 to 10,000 are expected in multiple cities, including Atlanta, where Sean Hannity of Fox News will be broadcasting live, Sacramento, where Neal Cavuto will host his show, San Antonio, where Glenn Beck will broadcast, and New York City, where Newt Gingrich will be a featured speaker."

Here in Hawaii there will be Tax Day Tea Parties in Honolulu, Hilo and Kahului, Maui. The Honolulu Tax Day Tea Party will be held at the State Capitol Rotunda from 4 to 7:00 pm on Wednesday afternoon, April 15. The Hilo Tea Party will be held at the Bayfront Highway area near the King Kamehameha Statue starting at 4:00 p.m. The Maui rally will be held at Kaahumanu Avenue at intersection with Kahului Beach Road from 3:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. More information about the Hawaii Tea Parties are available at the local page of the national Tea Party website.

Hawaii taxpayers are being hit with more tax increase proposals this year than any in recent memory. The state and counties are facing deep revenue shortfalls this year. Politicians and both the Hawaii State Legislature and the various counties are proposing new bills that will increase taxes, create new ones and boost fees for a number of services.

In the State Legislature tax proposals include hiking the General Excise Tax (GET), allowing the counties to create a new 1% sales tax (to be tacked on top of the GET), imposing a new tax on internet purchases (Streamline tax), hiking the gasoline tax, vehicle weight tax, vehicle registration fee and the car rental surcharge.

The City and County of Honolulu is proposing property tax hikes, raising the price to ride the bus and charging a fee for residential garbage collection.

I don't know what kind of taxes the Fed is coming up with. The Obama administration certainly wants to raise taxes on upper income tier (they provide the most investment, jobs and charitable giving in America) and sunset tax cuts enacted by the Bush administration.

The problem with each and every tax increase is that the politicians proposing them seem to view each one in a vacuum. Raising multiple taxes will take serious bites out of many taxpayers. Most of the burden will impact the poor and middle income people.

Stop raising taxes. Americans cannot afford it. Show up at the tax rallies on April 15.

GOP Hawaii Elects County Leaders

Yesterday's GOP Hawaii Oahu County Convention saw no major shake-up in leadership. Most of the county officials backed by the Lingle administration were swept to victory after polling was done by about 220+ delegates.

Coming on top for GOP Hawaii County Chair for Oahu was Malia Gray. She was backed by Governor Linda Lingle and many supporters. She beat Dan Douglass for the seat who was supported by delegates wanting to move the party back to its conservative base.

Several county and regional seats were also filled at yesterday's convention. They include the following:

• Adrienne King, Vice-Chair for East Oahu
• Chris Wong, Vice-Chair for West Honolulu
• Justin Menolascino, Vice-Chair for Central Oahu
• Suk Moses, Vice Chair for Leeward Oahu
• Eliza Talbot, Vice Chair for Windward Oahu
• Chico Figueiredo, Honolulu County Treasurer
• Nadine Nishioka, Honolulu County Secretary

OBSERVATIONS

More than 220 delegates cast votes. There were at least 250 to 275 people at the crowded Kawananakoa Elementary School cafeteria. Parking was very scarce for anyone who came after 8:00 a.m.

Early voting started before the formal meeting began or candidates nominated. All nominations were made during the floor session. The Dan Douglass camp is now looking into the process of early voting and whether or not any rules were violated.

It would seem voting should have started after all nominations were made and closed.

It was also noted that the credentials committee report was not ready until sometime after 10 a.m. The credentials committee is supposed to verify delegates and alternates present before voting starts. Voting was well underway when the report was verified.

Ballots were collected in 3 cardboard boxes. Ballots were pre-printed for most races.

Governor Lingle made a speech about taxes and how she opposed "any tax increase" this legislative session. Well said but not entirely true. At the beginning of the session the Governor introduced a bill (SB 985) that will increase the vehicle weight tax, registration tax, fuel tax and car rental surcharge tax. That bill was copied to a Democrat sponsored one (SB 1611) which made it out of the Senate and awaits action in the House.

The main issue dividing the Hawaii GOP is the Akaka Bill. Conservatives oppose the Democrat sponsored and authored Akaka Bill while moderates have supported it. The new county chair is in the camp that supports the Akaka Bill. Governor Lingle supports the Akaka Bill.

There was a new group that I was made aware of. "Conservatives for Change". Sounds promising. I signed up with them and hopefully get more information on what their platform is and who they are.

Finally I shot dozens of photos at the 3-hour convention. They are posted at my Flickr site.

GOP-HAWAII OAHU COUNTY CONVENTION PHOTOS



Photo captions: (Above) - East Honolulu Vice-chair Adrienne King; (Top) County Chair candidates Dan Douglas (left) and Malia Gray (right) kick off the early convention agenda with the Pledge of Allegiance with Tercia Ku (center), convention chair.

Dan Douglass for Honolulu County Chair

Dan Douglass for Honolulu County Chair, originally uploaded by macprohawaii.

"Between the Congressional and State elections, there will be 68 very important races in 2010. It will be an important opportunity to hold our ground and even grow the Republican presence in our Government. We must have the right Party Leadership to take us to victory. Electing the County Chair is an important first step in choosing that Party Leadership Team.

You can learn more about Dan at honolulucountygop.com. See for yourself why Dan has earned the endorsement of many community and Party leaders. See why you should attend the County Convention and vote for Dan Douglass for County Chair. "

I'm voting for Dan on March 14.

Hawaii GOP Convention Tightly Scripted

This media release from Eric Ryan came in today.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HONOLULU, Hawaii ― May 18, 2008 ― Hundreds of well-meaning Hawaii Republicans from all counties statewide traveled at their own expense to Waikiki and participated in our 2008 State Republican convention. During that time, many duly elected party delegates witnessed a carefully scripted event.

The attached internal document was provided by an undisclosed party official. This document carefully outlines the exact verbiage and that was followed. This included the adoption of rules, motions, and other matters that are considered highly debatable. Rulings provided by the chair were also pre-scripted and pre-determined, indicating a biased position on the part of the party leadership who should have remained unbiased during the proceedings. Delegates and alternates weren’t even allowed to discuss their own party’s platform, though hours were supposedly allotted for such discussion.

The General Session proceedings were conducted in an atmosphere of malfeasance. Please pay particular attention to General Session [beginning on page 7 of the attached document]. All outcomes were predetermined and every delegate’s and alternate’s time was completely wasted.

QUOTES FROM RYAN

“The need to change our party leadership has never been clearer. We’ve been railroaded by insiders for too long who only care about protecting their power base and preventing the discussion of our platform and principles.”

“We’ve strayed a great distance from our party’s beliefs and we don’t even bother to tell voters what we in. If party leaders spent as much time implementing a winning strategy as they do circling the wagons to prevent reform, Hawaii would be a different and better place today.”

“Adding insult to injury, when asked about releasing the actual vote tallies, Willes Lee said it’s nobody’s business. Considering this in light of party leader’s unwillingness to promote our party and our solutions and our candidates, no wonder we keep losing at the ballot box.”

IMPORTANT LINKS

• Aiona sets sights on 2010 campaign at convention
  
• Hawaii Republican Party Rejects Ad Campaign Donated by Party Supporters
• Convention Script (800+K PDF)
  

Photo caption: Platform chair Darwin Ching checks his script.

GOP Convention Weekend

Contentious is a word that I would use to describe most of the business sessions of the GOP Hawaii Convention sessions held on Saturday May 17. Members were divided among those wanting to return the party to a traditional and conservative base while others want to continue with the moderate and "Democrat light" ideology pursued by the Lingle administration and her many supporters. A division among supporters for Senator John McCain and Congressman Ron Paul for President of the United States was also apparent, but not a concern to me.



The Platform remains a major issue for many in the party. Not only did the party end all discussion and proposals for the platform in April, they did the same thing at the full session of the convention. Members were forced to approve the 2006 platform as the 2008 platform through a series of motions that cut off all possibility to amend or even discuss the document. Clearly supporters of this action outnumbered the many who wanted to open the process to discussion at least. No way. The vote was taken and the 2006 platform ended up being rubber stamped into place as the official one for 2008.

As mentioned in this blog and elsewhere, the point of contention against adopting a new, conservative platform is the Akaka Bill. The Democrat crafted bill is designed to allow Hawaiians to be recognized by the federal government as a tribe and allow them to create their own government within the framework of the one we have now. The Hawaiian plank of the proposed platform would have not allowed for the support of the Akaka Bill and instead would grant Hawaiians and everyone else the opportunity to take charge of their own lives without relying on government handouts and more programs.

In the end, pro-Akaka Bill advocates such as Attorney Bruss Keppler (shown below, left) got their way in squashing a better platform. Mr. Keppler was seated in the delegate area while continuing to support Democrats through financial contributions in the thousands of dollars.



The air of contention also hung over the selection of delegates to the National Convention in Minnesota. The process of conducting the vote was flawed. Blank write-in ballots were issued by the party for members to write-in the names of those people running for delegate and alternates. The problem? The list of names that were handed out on paper to delegates was incomplete. A new list of both delegates and alternates were to be posted on the giant TV screen. Nearly a half hour of the meeting was wasted on getting the names.

To make matters worst, it was ruled that anyone could submit any type of ballot on paper to the counters, as long as they did not surpass the 3 congressional district and 11 at large district vote count for both delegates and alternates. The McCain campaign distributed a printed ballot with their delegate list on it for submission.

After the votes were counted, it was indicated that 60% of the delegates had turned in the handwritten ballot and not the pre-printed McCain ones. Delegates from the Ron Paul campaign later protested the validity of the McCain printed ballots, to no avail.

A clear slate of McCain pledged delegates and alternates were elected.



Anything bright happened at the convention? Certainly. Lt. Governor James "Duke" Aiona made his 2010 campaign speech for the State's top seat. He spoke about lower taxes, better education, getting tough on crime and support for the Constitutional Convention. Governor Linda Lingle praised her Lt. Governor, her cabinet staff and neighbor island liaisons. Candidates running for office were able to introduce themselves and meet people. Lunches and dinners were served to those who sprung extra money to attend them. The "Obsession" movie on radical Islam was shown. A good time was had by some.

Perhaps by a slim chance, what was done at the convention this weekend will turn into election gold in November. Don't hold your breath.

Photo captions:

1. The face of anger from conservative delegate on the shutdown of platform discussion.
2. GOP leaders confer before platform meeting of convention. They wanted to shut down platform discussion very quickly and did through a series of staged motions.
   
3. Bruss Keppler, GOP delegate who has given thousands of dollars to Democrats.
4. Stop Rail Now people were there to get more signatures for ballot amendment.
   

Links

• Aiona Sets Sights on 2010 Campaign
• State Republican Party Sets Platform, Repels Insurgents
  

www.flickr.com

GOP Convention Day 1

The first day of the Hawaii State Republican Convention was an all day affair held at the Hilton Hawaiian Village resort in Waikiki that featured a number of speeches, candidate workshops, a luncheon and presentations. The convention gives Hawaii Republican party members an opportunity to meet the candidates, their leadership and get ready for both the National Convention and elections to be held later this year.

PLATFORM & RESOLUTIONS

The party's platform has been a point of contention during the drafting process between party members who want a return to more traditional and conservative values, vs. the current leadership who advocate a moderate to liberal platform. Work on crafting a new platform was stopped in April and the 2006 platform was adopted as the 2008 version.

A very brief session conducted by Platform Committee Chair Darwin Ching (photo above) was held to entertain proposals for commemorative resolutions only. Ching stated that any substantive resolutions and possible amendments to the 2006/2008 platform will be on the agenda sometime today. Should this happen, today's session may prove to be interesting.

FILM ON ISLAMIC TERRORISM

Perhaps the highlight of yesterday's proceedings was the showing of a documentary film titled "Obsession: Radical Islamic Terrorism." The film is a riveting, eye opening piece that outlines radical Islamic teachings and goals through the use of footage obtained from various Arab TV networks. It features snippets of people from both the Islamic world and the West talking about the worldwide threat from radical Islamic organizations. Images of recent terrorist acts, bombings and large groups of extremists chanting "Death to Israel," "Death to Britain," and "Death to America" are chilling and unforgettable. A major portion of the film compared the threat of radical Islam to that of Nazi Germany during World War II.

The bottom line: Radical Islam's goals are to wipe out Israel, the United States of America, Britain and all of Western society. These people are indoctrinated from a very early age to hate all that we hold dear . They want to conquer the world and convert it to its radical view and religion at the expense of everything else. The war on terrorism will be with us for a very long time and in order for America and the rest of the world to survive, we must continue to fight and never let down our guard.

Additional Links

• Some Republicans Expect Infighting at Convention
• Hawaii Republican Party Rejects Free Ad Campaign
• Hawaii GOP Delegates Should Take a Principled Position
• GOP Hawaii Website
• It's All About the Akaka Bill

Will the Haze Clear Up?

VOG THIS WEEK

Honolulu and the rest of the State of Hawaii have been plagued with a thick layer of volcanic vog again as the tradewinds subsided and the gray haze drifted over all of the islands. As most people know, vog is created by the debris kicked into the sky by the ongoing eruption of Kilauea volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii. Normally the vog travels in a southerly direction, away from most of the state. However, when the winds change all of the stuff drifts over the state and becomes a hazy mess. Forecasts call for the vog to lift by Sunday or Monday.

HAZY REPUBLICAN CONVENTION

The Hawaii Republican Convention starts today at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort in Waikiki. There may be some heated debate, if allowed, on the recently aborted platform issue in which GOP members loyal to the Lingle status-quo shut down in late April.

The event will probably end up being a lackluster convention where the most accomplished will be to vote for delegates to the upcoming National Convention on the mainland late this summer. About the only possible excitement in this will be a proabable strong surge among supporters of Texas Congressman Ron Paul, who is still a candidate in the race despite Senator John McCain's immense lead in the delegate count.

Personally I am officially undecided on the McCain vs. Paul issue as the candidates I previous supported have fallen by the wayside a long time ago. It is more than likely that I will end up voting for the Republican presidential candidate in November over Barrack Obama, who seems to be the close choice for the Democrats.

Meanwhile the goal among the conservative leaning Republicans is to build the party and return it back to those core values that make being a Republican, Republican.

COUNCIL NOT HAZY ON STEEL RAIL

The Honolulu City Council's transportation committee chair killed a bill that would have put non-steel wheel alternatives back into consideration for discussion. Councilmember Nestor Garcia, chair of the committee, deferred the alternative technology bill yesterday in committee.

It looks like the steel wheel on steel rail favored by the majority of the Council and Mayor Mufi Hannemann will continue to be the only option left for consideration. The mayor is already plowing ahead with this thing.

Meanwhile the StopRailNow organization continues with its petition drive to get the rail question onto the November ballot. There is no volcanic haze in front of my eyes about my opposition to rail and the nasty tax increase perpetuated by Democrats and our Republican Governor on the Mufi train proposal. Time to stop the train is now!

Hawaii's Political Stew Pot Brewing

Various items are brewing today from Hawaii's political stew pot:

Fixed Rail

The Honolulu City Council held an 8-hour plus long hearing yesterday to decide whether or not steel wheel on steel rail will be the technology approved for construction of the $6.4 billion rail project. Many people came to testify before the full council of 8 members... 8? Council chair Barbara Marshall was absent due to a family emergency. The result in the end was that the votes for a steel wheeled train got locked in a 4 to 4 tie. Good!

Hopefully Ms. Marshall will be back for next week's April 23 meeting where she can cast a vote against steel wheels. A good move here would be to abandon the entire rail project.

As a sideline it was revealed yesterday that the City & County of Honolulu is squandering millions of your tax dollars to pay P-R flacks and consultants to build a favorable image of rail to present to the public. They pay at least $2400 a month to Clear Channel radio to have them run a series of pro-rail commercials and programs on their stations. Democrat party hack Elisa Yadao's P-R firm is being paid $504,000 to be a rail cheerleader. Former Secretary of Transportation Norman Minetta is being paid $120,000 to do the same as well as a firm called Lychee Productions to the tune of $889,000.

These payoffs represent just the tip of the iceberg of the hundreds of millions being spent just to build a favorable image for rail with nothing actually built. A total waste of money!

Inter-island Airline Regulation



HB 2250 surfaced this past week in the Senate days after the official crossover deadline passed. Majority Democrat leadership fronted by House Speaker Calvin Say and Senate President Colleen Hanabusa waived their crossover deadline rule to allow HB 2250 to crossover from the House to the Senate.

The bill will allow the state to regulate the inter-island airline industry should federal enabling legislation pass in Congress some time in the near future.

Establishes a statutory scheme for the regulation of Hawaii inter-island air carriers; provided that federal legislation is enacted to permit implementation.

The purpose of this Act is to establish a statutory scheme for state regulation of interisland air carriers, to the extent permissible under the Constitution and laws of the United State s.

What the state is trying to ultimately do is decide who the players in the inter-island airline market will be and fix prices to a certain level. The bill will also create another commission or something to overlook the whole thing at more cost to the taxpayer.

The strange thing is that this bill passed out of 2 House committees with no testimony with no one voting against it. It is scheduled for a hearing tomorrow (April 18) at 2:00 p.m. in conference room 224, State Capitol.

I wonder if Hawaiian Airlines will be testifying in favor of this bill. I am sure the state's biggest incumbent airline would like to see nothing like another Go! airlines come in to the market to compete with them. I wonder where Mesa is on this issue.

I am not in favor of regulating inter-island air travel. While prices are creeping up in wake of Aloha Airlines' departure from the inter-island passenger market, any regulation of the market will prevent another competitor to enter the market and set its own price. If Joe Blow Airlines wants to be here and offer me $9 tickets again over what Hawaiian and Go! are now charging, so be it. Legislation like this will prevent this from happening.

Republican Party Platform Woes

HawaiiReporter and the Honolulu Advertiser have run more articles about this past weekend's pre-emption of the Hawaii GOP Platform committee. Eric Ryan notes on the Advertiser blog that the loyal Lingle minions are notifying party district chairs to sign up more delegates that are blindly loyal to the administration and its Democrat-lite views for the upcoming party convention in mid-May.

The wagon circling continues. Lingle’s ‘party of one’ is calling district chairman across the state and asking them to fill vacant delegate positions with “administration-friendly” people, so that the state convention next month can continue to rubber-stamp Lingle’s RINO (repubican in name only) direction for the party. The convention, dubbed RINO-Fest 2008 by some, will be a celebration of the complete control of both parties by local Democrats. No wonder voters complain about the lack of choice on ballots. The party that should be providing choice in Hawaii has been sucker-punched into helping one person’s political career at the expense of spreading a reform message which could resonate with voters.

Hawaii Superferry

Lastly, a State Auditor report to be released today states that the State of Hawaii Dept. of Transportation caved into a deadline forced upon them by Hawaii Superferry, Inc. I am sure this will add to the chorus of naysayers who want to shut down the Superferry. Whatever.

And so the political stew pot in Hawaii brews....


Photo: Hawaiian Air, Mesa Go! and Island Air are the players in Hawaii's inter-island airline market. Photo by Mel.