Dylan Nonaka, introduced by House Speaker John Boehner, lead the Pledge of Allegiance: VIDEO (minute 0:47:00 to 0:48:00) Romney Acceptance Speech begins about 3:40.
More Updates from Hawaii GOP in Tampa
CB: … delegate Dylan Nonaka, a former Marine who was part of the first American troops to cross into Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom, will lead the Pledge of Allegiance on Thursday (Aug. 30), the final night of the RNC.
“I have wanted to attend a national convention since I was four years old,” says Nonaka. “Now having not only been able to attend as a delegate but also to lead the convention in pledging allegiance to our great country is an honor beyond description.”
When: Today, Thursday, August 30th at 7:00pm EST / 1:00pm HST
To catch Dylan, you can view a live stream of the Convention here, tune in to C-SPAN for full coverage, or check your local network listings.
KHON: Hawaii Delegate in the spotlight at closing RNC session
HNN: Hawaii delegate to lead pledge at GOP convention
AP: Hawaii delegate to lead pledge at GOP convention
BIVN: Hilo’s Dylan Nonaka to Take National Stage at Republican Convention
WHT: Hilo delegate gets stage role at GOP convention
Nonaka was vetted, cleared and was confirmed for the job on Monday. The U.S. Marine Corps veteran of the Iraq invasion currently is an Army reservist with the 871st Engineer Company in Hilo.
Nonaka is a first-time delegate to the Republican convention.
“It’s fun spending time with other Republicans,” Nonaka said. “You can walk around without getting grief from everybody for wearing your Romney shirt.”
Republicans realize there is virtually no chance in Hawaii for Romney to beat President Barack Obama, who was born in the state. But Nonaka said “good folks locally” are running in down-ballot races.
As for Obama, “people have to look at whether they are better off now than they were four years ago, and I think it is clear the vast majority of people are not.”
“Even if you like Obama personally and like that he was from Hawaii, he didn’t deliver on the vast majority of promises that he made,” Nonaka said. “I hope their vote is based on that and not on his personal life.”
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Hawaii Casts Votes for Mitt Romney in Official Nomination
News Release from Hawaii Republican Party
Hawaii delegates cast 17 votes (out of 20--editor) for Governor Mitt Romney last night, helping to officially nominate Romney as the Republican nominee for president.
“Hawaii was particularly honored to participate in this nomination because many of our delegates worked hard to help secure a win for Governor Romney in March and in doing so, earned their spot here as delegates," said Fritz Rohlfing, Chair of the Hawaii Delegation and Chair of Hawaii for Romney.
“It was an honor to represent Hawaii and our delegation yesterday, especially because of the hard work many of us put in on behalf of Governor Romney specifically,” said Erin Kealoha Fale, Vice-Chair of the Hawaii Delegation and of Hawaii for Romney. She announced Hawaii’s votes on the floor of the Convention.
Romney won a majority of Hawaii's delegates in the inaugural Hawaii Republican Presidential Caucus in March, capturing 44.5 percent of the state-wide vote.
For video of the announcement, click here. For pictures from the RNC Convention, click here.
PDF: 2012 RNC Hawaii Delegates
Hawaii GOP Rules Committee Delegates Support Changes
PR: Hawaii had two representatives on the rules committee, delegates Jacquelyn Skaf and David Chang, the state party chairman. Skaf was among those who supported the rule changes.
Said Skaf in an email to the Rules Committee:
… the revised RNC rules respect each states’ right to make their own state party rules as long as the candidate who “wins” the state also “wins” the delegates. In other words, if Candidate A wins the state you cannot send delegates to elect Candidate B. Imagine the confusion and sense of voter disenfranchisement when a state thinks they have elected Candidate A only to find out later that Candidate B received the delegates! I support this rule because it makes sense to rank and file voters, folks we would like to empower to vote and stay committed to the democratic process.
Hawaii delegates cast 17 of their 20 votes for Romney on Tuesday night, with the last three going to Paul. Delegates were rewarded proportionally based on the results of the party’s statewide presidential caucus in March.
Romney won a majority of delegates with 44 percent of the vote. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum won five delegates, who pledged their votes for Romney when the vote was announced Tuesday night by Erin Kealoha Fale, the delegation’s vice chairwoman.
read … Pledge
Maui Ron Paul Delegate Shows True Colors: Plans to Vote for Obama
PR: Joe Kent, a delegate from Maui and one of the Paul supporters, said he may abstain from voting, he may write in Paul or he might vote for Obama or Romney. (Translation: He’s an Obamabot)
Asked Thursday whether he could support the ticket, Kent, in a phone interview, said: “…They’re pro-war. They’re against social issues that we’re for. You could say we agree with half of the things he says but the other half of the things we disagree with. And is that really a decent reason to vote for any candidate?”
(In other words, abandon Israel, and embrace Islam, legal drugs, and gay marriage.)
Pro War? AP: First Since '52: No Talk of War in GOP Speech
DC: Occupy RNC ends in tears, frustration (More Ron Paul Occupiers, lots of photos)
read … About a Progressive Activist trying to do to the GOP what Progressives have already done to the Dems
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Message from Tampa -- Hawaii GOP Chair David Chang
Aloha, August 29, 2012
It has been a whirlwind week here in Tampa, FL, at the 2012 Republican National Convention. As you may know, the Convention was a bit delayed due to tropical storm Isaac moving through the Gulf, but we were fortunate enough to have missed the wrath of the storm. Please remember to send aloha and prayers to those that are affected by the storm. The city of Tampa has welcomed us with open arms and we've been doing our best to spread the aloha spirit here by handing out our signature leis - so keep an eye out for people wearing them in the media!
After the short delay from the hurricane, we were very excited to kickoff the Convention by officially nominating Mitt Romney as our Presidential candidate yesterday! The night continued with a plethora of fantastic Republican leaders giving inspiring and energetic speeches centered around the theme "We Built It." The various speakers included RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, Speaker of the House John Boehner, former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former democrat (now Republican!) Rep. Artur Davis, Texas Senate Candidate Ted Cruz, among others.
Ann Romney and Gov. Chris Christie were the two keynote speakers last night. Our future First Lady of the United States, spoke on the importance of love - love for others, love for our country, and of course, love for her husband, Mitt. The stories she shared touched our hearts and gave us new insight into the more personal side of Mitt Romney. Gov. Romney then came out on stage briefly after Ann's remarkable speech and was welcomed with a standing ovation.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie ended the night with an energetic and invigorating speech that had the crowd on their feet. Gov. Christie, in his no nonsense, direct manner, reminded us that "we need to work together and take action on the big things facing America." He hailed Mitt Romney as the man capable of telling the "hard truths" and bringing about America's comeback.
The message last night was clear: we built this nation and we need a leader who believes in this country and is willing to make the hard decisions to bring us back to greatness. We are excited about another great convention lineup tonight featuring Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan. Please be sure to tune in to watch tonight and check your email tomorrow for a special update about Hawaii being in the spotlight at the RNC.
If you would like live updates from the Convention, please visit our Facebook and Twitter pages, where you can see posts and photos from inside the Tampa Bay Times Forum from all of our delegates. Many people in our delegation have been featured in local and national news this week, so keep an eye out for members from our Aloha state!
This election season promises to be an exciting one with many opportunities across our state and our nation, but we need everyone to get involved and commit to the cause. If you’d like to learn more about getting involved, please click here to volunteer. We are also in need of financial resources so please click here to donate $25, $50, $100 or more and help ensure the Hawaii Republican Party’s success in 2012!
Mahalo,
David S. Chang, Chairman
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SA: Isle GOP conventioneers raring to go
"We know that the weather was bad, but it really hasn't tempered the mood," said Hawaii Republican Party Chairman David Chang, who was among the 82 state members to make the trip to Tampa, Fla., for this year's convention.
"I almost think that it's kind of even bottled up," Chang said in a telephone interview Monday. "People are really eager to go to convention tomorrow and get everything going."…
BOTH Chang and Fritz Rohlfing, chairman of the Hawaii delegation, agreed with the new timetable out of an abundance of caution.
Rohlfing also was in St. Paul, Minn., in 2008 when opening festivities were cut short in deference to Hurricane Gustav, which was threatening the Gulf Coast. The convention overcame the slow start in rousing fashion, resulting in a bump for nominee John McCain after the introduction of Sarah Palin to the ticket.
"They did fine last time, and I'm sure they'll do great once again," Rohlfing said. "Like everything else in life, you do your best, and you make do with the situation you're presented with.
"I'm hopeful that we'll just forge ahead now and try to get the business of the convention accomplished and send everybody back full of enthusiasm for the Romney-Ryan ticket — back to the states where the work needs to be done."....
Their morning session at the Sheraton Suites Tampa Airport Westshore hotel welcomed guest speakers Ben Romney, one of Romney's five sons, and U.S. Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming....
"Ben was just focused on his dad and his mom as people," said Erin Fale, vice chairwoman of the delegation. "I think it seems like that's the strategy of the Romney campaign in general. … I think that's the message (the sons) are trying to bring out is just their dad as a person — as a dad, as a father, as a husband, as a son, that kind of thing."…
"I think she'll be able to continue what Ben was talking about before our delegation, which is the personal side of the Romney family, particularly Mitt, so that people can understand where he's coming from on a personal and emotional level," Rohlfing said....
Seventeen delegates and three superdelegates from Hawaii are taking part in the convention. The 17 delegates are pledged proportionally to Republican candidates based on the results of the state party's presidential caucus held in March. There are nine Romney delegates, five Rick Santorum delegates and three Ron Paul delegates.
In all, more than 80 people are traveling with the delegation, including alternates, guests and support staff, Fale said.
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Photos: Hawaii GOP Delegates Vote to Nominate Romney
PR: Delegated
MN: Mauians in attendance at GOP National Convention
HPR: Elephants withstanding wind and protests. David Chang is the Chair of the Hawaii Republican Party. In his day job, David is the President and CEO of Chang Holding Company. A graduate of West Point, David is also a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
RNC faithful unfazed by Isaac’s stormy weather
DC: Hawaii delegate Jamie Shidel told TheDC that while his plans did not change much, the Hawaii delegation did stockpile some water, just in case.
“Better to be careful than take the risk of business as usual,” he said, noting that he is “confident” that the GOP has a chance to take Obama’s home state of Hawaii.
read … Daily Caller
Better Know a Convention Delegate: Kimo Sutton, Hawaii
NYM: Are you a birther?
What's that mean? [laughs] He was born in the same hospital that I was!
You were born in Kenya?
No! In Kapi'olani. Now you're talking birther. Where's your Ron Paul shirt? [laughs] No, he was born in the United States. He went to my high school. But nobody in my day, which was nine years before him, would ever allow another basketball player, or a teammate, to smoke dope….
read … NY Magazine
WSJ: Hawaii Delegation Pulls No Punches on Obama
“The last four years I can smell socialism and communism. Very big in this country,” said Rosamaria Bejarano Hurst, an alternate delegate to the GOP convention who lives on Oahu. “The way that Mr. Obama has conducted business in our country is leading me to believe that he doesn’t have the best interest of the Constitution, of our freedom.”
Larry Averill, a 54-year-old delegate who lives on Maui, described the president as “a man who likes to talk …. But does not know how to do what he says he wants to do.”
Asked about the president’s allegiance to the state, one Hawaii delegate said he didn’t see much of a commitment beyond the occasional winter getaway.
“I don’t think from my reading that he actually feels that much tie to Hawaii itself, other than a vacation place,” said Bradford Burton, 56, a delegate who lives in Honolulu. “It’s a left-leaning state, but he fits more comfortably in the environs of Chicago.”
Do they believe he was born in Hawaii?
Charlotte Ahlf, 67, from Oahu: “I guess so. I would never challenge it.
Pepper Dombroski, 50, of Maui: “I trust that he has a birth certificate from Hawaii.”
Mr. Averill: “I know there are some issues with that. Hawaii has declared his birth certificate is legit. Let’s get on with it. We’re good.”
FOX: Interview with Hawaii GOP Chair David Chang