From www.Djou.com

Honolulu, HI - Congressman Charles Djou appeared on KITV this morning to discuss the clear differences between his campaign centered on fiscal responsibility and government accountability and that of his opponent:

Watch clip here

Excerpts:

On independent poll showing Djou lead:

"Well, I think the latest poll numbers which show me with a four-point lead is something I’m excited by. The poll that you’re referring to is a poll taken by the hyper-partisan mainland Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which has spent nearly $700,000 attacking me. 

"But the most important thing is not the polls,  it’s what happens on November 2. This race is not going to be decided by any polling organization, it’s going to be decided by the voters of the First Congressional District, where I’m very proud to call myself one of them."

On being the most independent member of Hawaii's delegation:

"What you’re citing is a study done by the Washington Post, and that very same study shows that I am the most bipartisan and independent member of Hawaii’s Congressional delegation. I’ve always said that I’m a Hawaii Congressman first and foremost. I will always vote with Hawaii. 

"When Democrats take a position that I think is good for Hawaii, such as a temporary moratorium on offshore drilling in the wake of the BP oil spill, I voted with the Democrats. On the other hand, when the Democrats do things like take money from the food stamp program to bail out fiscally irresponsible state and municipal governments, I vote against them. For me it’s all about Hawaii first, Hawaii always, not about your party."

On the need to keep taxes low:

"We shouldn’t be increasing any taxes right now in the middle of this economic downturn.

"We don’t have a problem with the government taking too much money from the people, we have a problem with the government spending too much of the people’s money. 

"The reality here is that who we need to help is small business. In the modern 21st century, job growth is not going to come from a few big corporations hiring hundreds of people. Job growth is going to come from lots and lots of small businesses each hiring one or two or three individuals. And the way we encourage more job growth and more small businesses here is we make sure we maintain a low tax base, we don’t increase things like the dividend rate, or the capital gains tax, or the inheritance tax – and those are the taxes which the current Congress wants to increase. It’s a terrible idea, because it’s going to kill job growth."

On the difference between Charles and his opponent:

"I’ve taken Colleen Hanabusa at her word. I think this shows a clear philosophical difference between myself and my opponent. I believe we’re going to turn around this economy – not through the government – but through individual Americans, through entrepreneurs who go out there into the marketplace and create a job. 

"And I believe that there’s waste in government at all levels: the city, the state and the federal government. Government can clearly be more efficient, at all levels.  

"The reality here in this race so far is that the national Democrats have spent over $700,000 attacking me. They haven’t spent one penny saying one good thing about my opponent, who again was their second-choice candidate. I think all people here in Hawaii have got to ask: ‘Why is that?’ I have a very good, clear, positive message that we have got to change the direction of this Congress and the one question I ask every voter in this race is: ‘Ask yourself, are you satisfied?’ Are you satisfied with 9.6% unemployment rate, $1.3 trillion budget deficit, $13.5 trillion national debt. I think we shouldn’t be satisfied and we need to change this."

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