"Nothing could be more dishonorable, or argue greater want of Judgment, than in affairs of the highest moment, to take measures upon the information of an enemy." -- General Lucius Arunculeius Cotta, Roman Army, 54 BC
Star-Advertiser: Republicans need to back Rail, Akaka Bill, and Gay Marriage
The Republican nosedive occurred as the party structure turned right while Lingle maintained a moderate agenda during her residency in Washington Place.
(SA editors want readers to forget that Kaauwai became chair in 2009 at the very end of Lingle’s last term. They are actually trying to blame him for the Legislative decline when Kaauwai was the one who delivered legislative gains in 2010 after years of losses. Shapiro debunks this below.)
...(Lingle) supported rail transit on Oahu and U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka's bill for Hawaiian sovereignty, both vehemently opposed by the party's conservative wing….
Leaders of the national tea party movement have been cautioned to focus on fiscal issues instead of ranting about social controversies, such as same-sex marriages/civil unions or abortion. That's sound advice, especially given the dismal financial outlook. A moderate strategy at the state level to bring more small-business, less-government believers back into the fold would be beneficial indeed.
(In other words, we progressives can rant about social issues all day long, but you have to shut up.)
Remember this? Star-Bulletin comes out against voter registration drive (Same editors)
read … Isle GOP needs new game plan
Shapiro: GOP's state of affairs in isles not solely Kaauwai's fault
it would be unfair to fault Kaauwai alone for the moribund state of the local GOP — divided, disorganized, debt-ridden and dead in the water with no statewide offices and only nine seats in the Legislature. Lingle gets a full share of the blame for that.
Kaauwai restored some measure of respectability to the party by fielding candidates for nearly all legislative seats last year after the disgraceful 2008 campaign in which the GOP failed to compete in 40 percent of the contests.
It was in the big races for governor and the U.S. House that Kaauwai proved himself a liability as a narrow thinker playing to a small base….
Djou may well have kept the House seat he won in a special election with a smart campaign that hit Hanabusa on local issues she was vulnerable on — 36 percent pay raises for legislators in a crushing recession, the $75 million Ko Olina aquarium boondoggle, leading the ouster of former Attorney General Margery Bronster as she investigated the Bishop Estate scandal….
Lingle controlled state patronage for eight years — a golden opportunity to recruit and nurture bright young Republicans — but failed to capitalize and left behind no budding stars to carry the GOP forward.
Don't put that on Jonah Kaauwai.
read … In other words, the SA Editors are Full of it
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