Once again I need to get out the door for some volunteer work with Hanabusa for Congress. Most polls show a close race, though I see a new one at Civil Beat that shows Hanabusa leading Djou by a very slim margin of 49.5 to 45.3 with a margin of error of =/- 3.9%.
Ok, that is pretty small, but it is big improvement from about a month ago when the Rothenberg Political Report said that a private Democratic poll showed Djou with a double-digit lead.
Even so, most Hawaii polls are showing a tight race. However, just as with the mainland, there is some evidence of a late-developing Democratic trend, as people finally catch up to the horror of teabaggers in government.
Gotta run
Showing posts with label Djou. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Djou. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Friday, October 1, 2010
Djou Flunks
The nonpartisan Coalition for a Prosperous America has released a congressional scorecard on how members of the House of Representatives vote on international trade. The CPA gives its results and an explanation of the methodology. You can see how your representative did here.
The CPA does not favor ideologically-laden free trade, so it certainly is not the must-have-cheap-labor Chamber of Commerce. Rather, the CPA supports trade that works for Americans, meaning the US must endeavor to develop a more coherent foreign trade policy.
Two results stand out for me. The first is that Democrats, as a group, score better than Republicans. The latter show a strong preference to give corporations what they want, such as freedom to outsource production. Dems are starting to recognize what our trading partners have always known; work for policies that promote our industrial base, and to hell with the free-trade gospel. Unfortunately, the institutional barriers to meaningful change are enormous.
I also see that my Representative, Republican Charles Djou, received not only an F on the CPA scorecard, but a complete zero. Way to go, Charles. Looks like you are still Boehner's Hawaiian BFF.
Hawaii's other Representative, Mazie Hirono, scored an A. Thanks, Mazie. Come November Hawaii will have a chance to vote for two Representatives that take working families seriously. Mazie Hirono, and Colleen Hanabusa. A vote for Colleen will help send Djou packing.
Don't get too comfortable, Chuck.
The CPA does not favor ideologically-laden free trade, so it certainly is not the must-have-cheap-labor Chamber of Commerce. Rather, the CPA supports trade that works for Americans, meaning the US must endeavor to develop a more coherent foreign trade policy.
Two results stand out for me. The first is that Democrats, as a group, score better than Republicans. The latter show a strong preference to give corporations what they want, such as freedom to outsource production. Dems are starting to recognize what our trading partners have always known; work for policies that promote our industrial base, and to hell with the free-trade gospel. Unfortunately, the institutional barriers to meaningful change are enormous.
I also see that my Representative, Republican Charles Djou, received not only an F on the CPA scorecard, but a complete zero. Way to go, Charles. Looks like you are still Boehner's Hawaiian BFF.
Hawaii's other Representative, Mazie Hirono, scored an A. Thanks, Mazie. Come November Hawaii will have a chance to vote for two Representatives that take working families seriously. Mazie Hirono, and Colleen Hanabusa. A vote for Colleen will help send Djou packing.
Don't get too comfortable, Chuck.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Hanabusa for Congress
On Thursday I got myself down to the Hanabusa for Congress campaign HQ for some volunteer work. It was my first visit. I spent a few hours working the phones and generally enjoying myself. Colleen Hanabusa will hopefully take back Hawaii's first congressional district (HI-1), the one held for years by Neil Abercrombie and now held by Republican back-bencher Charles Djou.
It may seem improbable a Boehner yes-man would represent such a blue state as Hawaii, but remember, the Dems badly split the special election vote last May; the party establishment and DLC crowd leaned towards Blue Dog Ed Case, while the party rank and file, and what Robert Gibbs considers the "professional left" favored Hanabusa.
Hawaii generally does not have this much drama; Democratic candidates generally do well, and our two congressional districts had been blue for a long time. Abercrombie held HI-1 since 1991. This year is different. Given their track record, it is inexplicable why anyone would want Republicans back in control. But these are bizzare times.
You can visit Colleen Hanabusa's web site at Hanabusa2010. Emily's List has a nice write-up on Colleen here.
It may seem improbable a Boehner yes-man would represent such a blue state as Hawaii, but remember, the Dems badly split the special election vote last May; the party establishment and DLC crowd leaned towards Blue Dog Ed Case, while the party rank and file, and what Robert Gibbs considers the "professional left" favored Hanabusa.
Hawaii generally does not have this much drama; Democratic candidates generally do well, and our two congressional districts had been blue for a long time. Abercrombie held HI-1 since 1991. This year is different. Given their track record, it is inexplicable why anyone would want Republicans back in control. But these are bizzare times.
You can visit Colleen Hanabusa's web site at Hanabusa2010. Emily's List has a nice write-up on Colleen here.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Djou Learning His Lines
It is not my intent for this blog to focus solely on local Hawaii politics. All the same, elections are coming up, and we have a huge amount at stake. That is obvious for the US as a whole, but for Hawaii the stakes are higher than usual. We are not called America's bluest state for nothing. Democrats have dominated both congressional districts for many years. And two of the US Senate's most senior members, both democrats, hail from Hawaii. So there is often relatively little drama, at least as far as who we send to Washington.
But now we have Republican Charles Djou, winner of a special election in May, looking to cement that victory by winning outright in November. As is usually the case with Republican newbies, Djou has all of Boehner's talking points down (a little party discipline is a good thing, right?).
I see Djou is harping about what he calls out of control spending. On Fox News (where else?) he makes the claim that the stimulus has failed. This is quite a remarkable statement. Even a cursory media review shows that the people who insist the stimulus has failed almost always have three things in common: One) Merely saying the stimulus has failed is an unproven assertion. They offer no real evidence or suggestion as to how they so easily arrive at what in reality is a complex issue; Two) There is a complete failure to consider, even with what the Great Depression has already shown, how the economy would have fared without the stimulus; and Three) The claimant is almost always a Republican politician or political operative, arguably the most biased view on a Democratic stimulus package, that one can possibly find. So consider the source's motives.
This doesn't prove the anti-stimulus critics, including Djou, are wrong, but merely asserting the stimulus failed is pretty weak. There is a host of economists, including those who have won that little thingie, what is it now? Oh yeah, the Nobel Prize, who say the stimulus was absolutely needed, and it needed to be larger.
Unfortunately, President Obama, and many Democrats in Congress, have failed to respond with sufficient vigor. Remember that for many members of our beloved electorate, you must not merely state your case-- you must repeat it incessantly. Too many democrats still figure that if an opponent's charge is wrong, it is best to ignore it. Republicans understand that repeated assertions, given enough time, become accepted truth. Remember how Senator Kerry refused to dignify the idiotic smears of the swift boaters? The accepted wisdom was that he would only call attention to the issue, and possibly look petty, if he complained about it. Good advice for daily life, but Republicans interpret it as weakness, and it only serves to embolden them.
Democrats have not learned their lessons. Djou is learning his; get your party's talking points and repeat them endlessly.
But now we have Republican Charles Djou, winner of a special election in May, looking to cement that victory by winning outright in November. As is usually the case with Republican newbies, Djou has all of Boehner's talking points down (a little party discipline is a good thing, right?).
I see Djou is harping about what he calls out of control spending. On Fox News (where else?) he makes the claim that the stimulus has failed. This is quite a remarkable statement. Even a cursory media review shows that the people who insist the stimulus has failed almost always have three things in common: One) Merely saying the stimulus has failed is an unproven assertion. They offer no real evidence or suggestion as to how they so easily arrive at what in reality is a complex issue; Two) There is a complete failure to consider, even with what the Great Depression has already shown, how the economy would have fared without the stimulus; and Three) The claimant is almost always a Republican politician or political operative, arguably the most biased view on a Democratic stimulus package, that one can possibly find. So consider the source's motives.
This doesn't prove the anti-stimulus critics, including Djou, are wrong, but merely asserting the stimulus failed is pretty weak. There is a host of economists, including those who have won that little thingie, what is it now? Oh yeah, the Nobel Prize, who say the stimulus was absolutely needed, and it needed to be larger.
Unfortunately, President Obama, and many Democrats in Congress, have failed to respond with sufficient vigor. Remember that for many members of our beloved electorate, you must not merely state your case-- you must repeat it incessantly. Too many democrats still figure that if an opponent's charge is wrong, it is best to ignore it. Republicans understand that repeated assertions, given enough time, become accepted truth. Remember how Senator Kerry refused to dignify the idiotic smears of the swift boaters? The accepted wisdom was that he would only call attention to the issue, and possibly look petty, if he complained about it. Good advice for daily life, but Republicans interpret it as weakness, and it only serves to embolden them.
Democrats have not learned their lessons. Djou is learning his; get your party's talking points and repeat them endlessly.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Going After the Weak
I live in Hawaii's first congressional district, one which had been well represented by Neil Abercrombie until recently when Neil decided to run for governor. Republican Charles Djou won a special election in May because a disorganized Democratic Party allowed two well-known Democrats to split the vote. Djou won the seat despite overwhelming voter preference for the democratic candidates.
A few days ago my wife received a letter from this freshly-installed congressman, detailing legislation he has co-sponsored, Federal Sunset Act, H.R. 393. I need to share some of this with you because it is a letter which sounds sensible enough at first blush, but which can't conceal the fact that Djou, long seen as a moderate in Hawaii, is already assuming the form and substance of his party leaders in Washington.
In that letter, Djou, in his best imitation of Herbert Hoover, says he is co-sponsoring legislation to “reduce the size of government and cut spending.” His claim is there are multiple agencies with overlapping jurisdictions and functions and that it is all terribly wasteful. After all, Djou says, “we cannot afford duplication and waste.” He further states that a bipartisan sunset commission, which the legislation would establish, would analyze programs and make recommendations to abolish, reorganize, or make substantive changes.
OK, Djou, there is waste and duplication. So if the goal is a more efficient and effective government, then I am for it, but reducing wasteful spending is not really the goal. His examples of multiple agencies are revealing:
163 programs with a job training or employment function
500 urban aid programs
324 economic development programs
71 business support programs
64 welfare programs
130 programs serving at-risk programs
90 early childhood development programs
Notice a pattern? Most of these areas focus on the poor and the young. Djou is going after at-risk and childhood development programs to save money. Urban aid programs? They also serve the poor and urban areas are democratic strongholds, and Djou knows it. There is no mention of the programs and departments that are truly and frightfully expensive; Our two endless wars and the massively bloated Defense Department behind them.
Or how about Homeland Security if you are looking for bloated waste? Or, more broadly, that bureaucratic octopus called the intelligence community? The feds just acknowledged its inefficiencies are so chronic and so pervasive that effective intelligence gathering is being hampered.
Like so many other Republicans, Djou has little to say about the programs that line corporate America's pockets, but thinks we got to reel in those out-of-control social programs.
A few days ago my wife received a letter from this freshly-installed congressman, detailing legislation he has co-sponsored, Federal Sunset Act, H.R. 393. I need to share some of this with you because it is a letter which sounds sensible enough at first blush, but which can't conceal the fact that Djou, long seen as a moderate in Hawaii, is already assuming the form and substance of his party leaders in Washington.
In that letter, Djou, in his best imitation of Herbert Hoover, says he is co-sponsoring legislation to “reduce the size of government and cut spending.” His claim is there are multiple agencies with overlapping jurisdictions and functions and that it is all terribly wasteful. After all, Djou says, “we cannot afford duplication and waste.” He further states that a bipartisan sunset commission, which the legislation would establish, would analyze programs and make recommendations to abolish, reorganize, or make substantive changes.
OK, Djou, there is waste and duplication. So if the goal is a more efficient and effective government, then I am for it, but reducing wasteful spending is not really the goal. His examples of multiple agencies are revealing:
163 programs with a job training or employment function
500 urban aid programs
324 economic development programs
71 business support programs
64 welfare programs
130 programs serving at-risk programs
90 early childhood development programs
Notice a pattern? Most of these areas focus on the poor and the young. Djou is going after at-risk and childhood development programs to save money. Urban aid programs? They also serve the poor and urban areas are democratic strongholds, and Djou knows it. There is no mention of the programs and departments that are truly and frightfully expensive; Our two endless wars and the massively bloated Defense Department behind them.
Or how about Homeland Security if you are looking for bloated waste? Or, more broadly, that bureaucratic octopus called the intelligence community? The feds just acknowledged its inefficiencies are so chronic and so pervasive that effective intelligence gathering is being hampered.
Like so many other Republicans, Djou has little to say about the programs that line corporate America's pockets, but thinks we got to reel in those out-of-control social programs.
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