“These are naive idiots who’ve come out of academia and have never done anything real in their lives, and they are actually in power,” he said. “These are the people we never let in the room when we had serious business to do. Now they’re running the country.”

On October 23, 2009, a reporter asked Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA): "Madam Speaker, where specifically does the Constitution grant Congress the authority to enact an individual health insurance mandate?" Speaker Pelosi shook her head dismissing the question: "Are you serious? Are you serious?" Pressed for a more substantive response later, Pelosi's press spokesman admonished the reporter: "You can put this on the record. That is not a serious question. That is not a serious question."

Yesterday, Roger Vinson, senior federal judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, found it to be a very serious question indeed.

An amendment that would replace the elected board with one appointed by the governor has the support of 54.2 percent of likely voters, according to the automated telephone poll. The survey of 1,151 likely voters was conducted Oct. 11 by Aloha Vote, a Hawaii subsidiary of Merriman River Group.

Citizens Against Government Waste named him “Porker of the Month” in August of 2009 for his constant reach into pockets of hard working Americans to fund useless, ineffective and sometimes even radical programs and ideas.” 

Worst of all, Abercrombie has consistently provided large taxpayer funded contracts to his friends in companies like Pacific Biodiesel, which also donate to Abercrombie’s campaigns.  

Former Democratic Congressman Neil Abercrombie and Republican Lieutenant Governor Duke Aiona are now virtually tied in the race to be Hawaii’s next governor.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in the Aloha State shows Abercrombie picking up 49% of the vote, while Aiona earns 47% support.

"Mr. Abercrombie was asked point blank how he would find the $190 million he promised to government workers, but once again ducked the answer.

"This is consistent with our opponent's long-standing inability to specifically explain how he would fund his book of promises."

Abercrombie admitted that he does not support an appointed Board of Education, stating that it would not make a difference.

Duke Aiona, Governor Lingle and each of Hawai'i’s past living Governors - Governor Ariyoshi, Governor Waihee and Governor Cayetano - have voiced support for an appointed Board of Education. This bipartisan support for an appointed Board of Education shows that those who have been held responsible for education in Hawai‘i believe it would be a step in the right direction to improve accountability in our education system.

The Milken Institute rankings of 200 largest US metro areas shows that Honolulu has risen from 100th to 55th overall in the combined rankings based on eight measures of job growth used by Milken.  The brightest spot for Honolulu is its ranking of 30th in “short term job growth” comparing employment numbers for April 2009 with April 2010. 

PAYCHECKS HAWAII, the private, independent, non-partisan political action affiliate of Smart Business Hawaii (SBH) announced the following federal and state pro business candidate endorsements for the November 2, 2010 Hawaii General Election

The Taxpayer’s Perspective highlights two ballot measures in Hawaii, including a statewide measure that would give the legislature discretion to use property tax rebates intended for taxpayers and a local measure in Oahu that would create a transit authority to oversee a rail project.

"I am endorsing Duke Aiona and Lynn Finnegan because they will provide a hopeful, balanced vision for our island and citizens," said Annette Baptiste. "My family is fully supportive of their campaign for Governor and Lieutenant Governor. At this critical point, I feel that, under their leadership, Duke and Lynn are best suited to address the big issues facing the people of Hawai‘i."

"I do not believe the future of our economy is going to come from a bureaucrat," Djou said. "The future of our economy is going to come from an individual, an individual American who takes a chance, goes into the marketplace and creates a job."

Wall Street Journal, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Hill

The Democratic Governors Association is fighting back with a new ad framing a vote for Mr. Aiona as a vote against President Obama. The ad quotes Mr. Aiona himself saying electing a GOP governor would be a "knock-out punch" against Hawaii's favorite son in the White House.

However, this may not be a risk-free strategy for Democrats. The Republican Governors Association has its own ad up that gently chides Mr. Abercrombie for being out-of-touch with the state. The ad doesn't clobber Mr. Obama, but says: "Maybe people in Washington don't care how you handle the federal budget -- by printing money, raising taxes, and increasing the deficit -- but in Hawaii, we do care."

In her own words, Colleen Hanabusa said in one of her recent advertisements that she is the kind of politician that, “What you see is what you’ll get.” Since she asked for it, let’s take a look at her record…

At one time, social obligations and services were carried out by community groups, family networks and even local governments. Now, an ever growing and ever more unaccountable federal bureaucracy undermines our spirit of self-reliance and self-improvement by making more and more Americans dependent on Big Government. In 2010, we witnessed a record-breaking surge in American dependence on the federal government including....

...in a hearing on the State’s motion for summary judgment, the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. argued that the court should interpret “preserve in place” as used in the State burial law and administrative rules as prohibiting building over burials. There is no such prohibition explicit in the statutory language and the Court declined to impose such a meaning....

Myth: The U.S. Chamber is spending foreign money on political activities.

Fact: The U.S. Chamber fully complies with all applicable laws and regulations. No foreign money is used to fund political activities.