Ethics

...effective today, the Company has successfully completed its reorganization and has emerged from its Chapter 11 proceedings, pursuant to the plan of reorganization (the “Plan”) approved by the bankruptcy court.  As expected, the new ownership and capital structure of the Company have been approved by the Federal Communications Commission and the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission.

In the past four years (at least), she did not encounter a single tax increase, government regulation or pay raise that she thought fell short of getting "the biggest bang" for Hawaii taxpayers' bucks.

Djou has now raised more than $362,000 in October alone and over the past two months has raised more than $752,000 - nearly $200,000 more than his opponent.

Honolulu, HI — Congressman Charles K. Djou (HI-01) released the following statement after attending Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s speech on America’s engagement in the Asia Pacific....

“Given the financial tight rope First Wind is walking and its voracious need for financing to build its projects, we believe the risks outweigh the company’s upside,’’ Stephen Simko, Morningstar Inc. analyst, wrote in a report on the stock offering.

While many know Neil Abercrombie supports abortion, the extreme stances he has taken on parental notification and prosecuting criminals who harm fetuses during violent crimes are counter to the values of many here in Hawaii.  While in Congress, he voted against...

HONOLULU -- Lt. Governor Duke Aiona today announced four of Hawai`i’s top financial institutions will be providing a benefit of over $1.3 million dollars for Hot Water, Cool Rates, a new solar water-heater loan interest-buydown program.

But Djou also isn't shy about emphasizing his Republican views on the economy: he views the stimulus as a failure, wants Congress to spend a lot less, supports a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution and supports the extension of all the Bush-era tax cuts.

Djou has "essentially been very candid and straightforward about his Republican principles. And, love 'em or hate 'em, they're out there pretty clear," said Neal Milner, a professor of political science at the University of Hawaii at Manoa....

According to a report released last month by the Small Business Administration, existing total regulatory costs already amount to about $1.75 trillion annually. This "hidden tax" on the economy is nearly twice as large as the sum of all individual income taxes collected last year.

1. Rank-and-file members, not party leaders, should be allowed equal opportunity to nominate and vote for each party's steering committee members;
2. Term limits should apply to all House party leadership positions, including the Speaker; and
3. A cap should be placed on the overall size of each committee so no one committee dominates the House.

Starting this week, we are going back on television with our "Mountains of Debt" commercial--making a promise to future generations. We are starting a telephone outreach program to conservative and independent voters.  And we are reaching the people of Hawaii about Daniel Inouye's record with our online ad campaign.

Honolulu, HI -- Hawaii Right to Life PAC has announced its candidate endorsements and recommendations for dozens of races statewide. Its selections are based on a comprehensive vetting of those running for office and in-depth personal interviews affirming each endorsed candidate’s commitment to pro-life values.

NEW YORK , NY - President Obama is spending the next week crisscrossing the country in support of Democratic candidates before this year's midterm elections. While the president may do a great job of energizing the base, he may not be able to convert any Independents who have yet to decide for whom they will vote. Currently, two-thirds of Americans (67%) have a negative opinion of the job President Obama is doing while just over one-third (37%) have a positive opinion. This continues the president's downward trend and he is now at the lowest job approval rating of his presidency.

He’s caring and courageous, taking on the political establishment to put working families first, fighting irresponsible spending that threatens our keiki’s future, creating new local jobs by opening overseas markets so Hawaii families can stay here together.

A poll released by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and Hawaii News Now shows Colleen Hanabusa in trouble. Across the board, she is struggling not only to make inroads with independent voters and younger voters but also struggling to seal the deal with her own party and union members.

The telephone survey, conducted by ccAdvertising, showed Charles leading Hanabusa 44% to 35%, with a margin of error of +/-3%. The survey had 2,747 participants.

Emerson is now routinely described as the nation's foremost expert on Islamist terrorism, and no serious news organization would think of ignoring his views. Except National Public Radio.  NPR blacklisted Emerson in 1998....

$154 billion. That is the amount of taxpayer money that will be needed to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac according to a new "stress test" performed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. And that is the good news....

While Congressman, Neil Abercrombie voted against the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage as between a man and a woman.  When it passed he tried to repeal it.

In the pre-general reports filed yesterday, Djou reported $226,000 to Hanabusa’s $112,000 in the first two weeks of October. Djou outraised her by more than $50,000 in September.

According to the non-partisan Tax Foundation, the tax burden for the average working family in Hawaii’s First Congressional District where Charles Djou lives would be $1,784 higher if tax rates are allowed to increase at the close of this year—if Congress does nothing, as it is currently poised to do.

Washington – Colleen Hanabusa's Washington friends already opened up the nation’s pocketbook once to bailout Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – the catalyst of the mortgage crisis – and now the mortgage giants may need anywhere from $73 to $215 billion in additional handouts just to keep afloat. The Democrats’ failure to reform and restructure the two companies is now going to cost taxpayers more money, further contributing the nation’s economic woes and signifying the spending problem that has become a signature of the out-of-touch majority.

Hawaii's first congressional district, former home to President Barack Obama, longtime Democratic district, but the GOP has a great shot at keeping this seat. Why? Well – a couple reasons: foremost being that this year seems to be the year where the impossible becomes possible in Hawaii politics: a Republican, Charles Djou, won the special election for former Democratic Rep. Neil Abercrombie's seat and now, when Democrat Colleen Hanabusa is trying to take it back, Djou is well-positioned to keep the seat.

The U.S. Treasury has needed to borrow money to pay Social Security benefits in 15 out of the last 25 months on record because the Social Security system was in deficit in those months, with the cost of monthly benefit payments exceeding the Social Security tax revenues flowing into the Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance trust funds, according to data published by the Social Security Administration.

“After evaluating the candidates in this race, we believe that Cam Cavasso will best serve the interests of hardworking Hawaii taxpayers by advocating the principles of lower taxes, less government and more individual freedom.”

"I congratulate my opponent on receiving this endorsement from our president; however, it does not change the fact that he would stall our progress on clean energy and hold us back from cutting by more than half our dependence on foreign fossil fuel by 2018, grow government at the expense of small businesses, and waffle on critical public education reforms." 

Remember this is the same President who admonished "small towns in Pennsylvania" and "a lot of small towns in the Midwest" because they "get bitter" and "cling to guns or religion." And the President is not alone. MSNBC's new "Lean Forward" Progressive Movement branding campaign also leaves out "by their Creator" from their reading of the Declaration. Again, this is no accident. Writing faith in God out of the public sphere allows and encourages Big Government to replace it.

Two weeks ago the Hill released a poll in which Djou led his once and current opponent, Hanabusa, 45 to 41 percent — within a margin of error of 4.9 percent. The poll also found 61 percent of respondents had a favorable opinion of the congressman, while 56 percent did of his adversary. Fortune, it seems, is smiling on Djou.

AFBI’s President Dick Patten praised Willoughby for signing the pledge, saying “By supporting estate tax repeal, Willoughby will help save local jobs and businesses.”

A recent study from the American Family Business Foundation found that repealing the Death Tax would increase nationwide employment by 1.5 million jobs.  In Hawaii alone, repealing the Death Tax would add over 7,000 new jobs.

Hanabusa believes that more government is the answer to every problem, even though the massive stimulus and government expansion into virtually every sector of our economy have failed.

"As if the lies from mainland special interests weren't enough, the local establishment has launched a smear campaign of its own. The group, called 'Working Family for Hawaii,' is really the Hawaii Government Employees Union, which is apparently too ashamed of its false ads to run them under its own name."

HONOLULU-- In her recent ad, Colleen Hanabusa boasts that she would have voted for the $26 billion state bailout bill that put Hawaii taxpayers on the hook for bailing out fiscally irresponsible state and municipal governments.

During the administration of President Bill Clinton, conservatives successfully reformed one welfare program in the 1990s: replacing the old Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) with the new Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). But President Barack Obama's failed economic stimulus gutted those reforms. And his budget proposal would spend $10.3 trillion on means-tested welfare over the next decade. Before the current rise in poverty, that was enough to give $250,000 to each person currently living in poverty in the U.S., or $1 million for a poor family of four. Our nation can’t afford another 10 years of failed War on Poverty thinking.

It took from 1776, when the United States became an independent country, until 1990, the year after the Berlin Wall fell signaling victory in the Cold War, for the federal government to accumulate a total of $3 trillion in debt, according to the Treasury Department. It only took from Jan. 20, 2009, the day President Barack Obama was inaugurated, until Oct. 15, 2010, for the Obama administration to add $3 trillion to the federal debt.

We couldn’t help but notice Obama's reference to the “Small Business Credit Card Act”—HR 3457 .  The bill was introduced in Congress by then-Rep Abercrombie on July 31, 2009.  But even with a Democrat-controlled House and Senate, and Dan Inouye’s seniority, Abercrombie’s bill has gone exactly nowhere. 

“Inouye backed Colleen Hanabusa in May’s special election for Hawaii’s first congressional district.  She came in second place and is still defying political analysts who believed the seat was a safe Democrat seat by polling behind Republican Charles Djou in recent polls.  Inouye also backed Mufi Hannemann for governor and Kirk Caldwell for mayor, both of whom lost their election."

Honolulu, Hawaii—An impressive 49 candidates from Hawaii in the November 2^nd election have have signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, promising to “oppose and vote against any and all efforts to increase taxes.”

It wouldn’t be an election without an October surprise, and sure enough, the 2010 cycle will not disappoint.  This time, it’s not some 11th hour accusation about unpaid taxes, illegal nannies or secret love affairs, but an appearance from the Mad Hatter of pollsters whose crazy talk in the final days of the election is making black sound like white and and Nancy Pelosi sound…sane. Well, almost.

Who is the Mad Hatter of the 2010 elections?  Friends, follow me on a trip down the rabbit hole…

From Cam Cavasso Campaign: Just two weeks ago, we sent you our roadmap to victory, analyzing the latest polling in the Hawaii Senate Race. At the time, our opponent, Dan Inouye, held a 36-point lead in the polls.  But in the latest poll released yesterday by Rasmussen Reports, Cam is closing the gap, narrowing Inouye's lead to just 13 percent!  The poll is also revealing because it shows several trends:

He voted against adopting the recommendations of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission, which worked for nearly two years to provide an accurate description of the September 11 attacks and identify the problems that led to the success of the attack.  

Cam Cavasso focuses on addressing the chronic deficits faced by the U.S. Government by addressing Washington’s out-of-control spending and developing a fairer, simpler tax code that avoids the revenue volatility of the current income tax structure.

In 2004 Inouye won with 75% of the vote so this is quite a come down and a very good sign for Hawaii Republican candidates up and down the ballot.

This is the first American Crossroads independent expenditure campaign ad.

"Tonight she was unable to articulate anything the Congress had done in the past year that she would have voted against, she was unable to describe how she would encourage job creation and she continued to tout the success of the so-called 'stimulus' bill which has failed by the very standard its proponents set. The people of Hawaii deserve independent, fiscally responsible leadership, not a rubber stamp."