Honolulu, HI - Congressman Charles K. Djou appeared yesterday on Hawaii News Now "Sunrise," in advance of the Congressional Debate tonight, to discuss the First Congressional District race:

Click To Watch Clip

Excerpts:

"What I’m concerned about right now with 15 days to go before the General Election is making sure we get our message out and that everybody understands that there’s one basic question here on this ballot: ‘Are you satisfied? Are you satisfied with the U.S. Congress spending money to no end? Are you satisfied with record unemployment?’

"Ultimately this not going to be decided by the machine, ultimately this is going to be decided by the people. We brought that message in the Special Election and won. We look forward to doing the same on November 2nd."

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"I think I’ve been one of the most active and visible members in the U.S. Congress. Certainly, comparing myself among most of the freshmen members of Congress, I’ve been one of the most active. The first official thing I did as a Member of the U.S. Congress is sign on to the Balanced Budget Amendment. I’ve been a clear and consistent advocate for fiscal responsibility, and that’s exactly the message the Congress needs today."

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"I think it was a very good commercial that accurately reflects the differences between myself and my opponent in terms of our philosophy of government, and whether or not government should be doing everything or whether or not what we need here is a lot more private sector jobs, not more government programs.

"This election entirely boils down to: ‘Do you want more of the status quo or do you believe, as I believe, that Congress has misrepresented and not served the American people right? We need to change the direction of our Congress, we need to change the majority in the United States Congress and I believe we’ll be able to that hopefully here in 15 days."

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"The reason this district residency is entirely an issue—because other Members of Congress from Hawaii have not lived in their district, including my current colleague Mazie Hirono—the reason this is an issue is: first off, a lot of people are very surprised that that’s legal. But second, and much more importantly, this is an issue because Colleen Hanabusa has made this an issue.

"When she ran for Congress, in her own district in 2002 and again in 2006, she repeatedly raised district residency as an issue.  But now, Colleen is all of a sudden saying that it’s not an issue here, which I believe brings straight into this debate and into this race whether or not people should be listening to Colleen Hanabusa and what she says, and question directly the principles she stands on.  If Colleen had never raised this issue, in her previous races for Congress in the Second Congressional District in 2002 and 2006, I don’t think this would be a big deal in the 2010 election."

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