A Republican Steps Forward as a Serious Contender in Hawaii!

Honolulu City Councilman Charles Djou (standing in the blue aloha shirt in the upper left and lower right pictures), who is running in a special election to fill the House seat vacated by Rep. Neil Abercrombie, made an appearance before a warm and welcoming crowd at the Mililani High School cafeteria this evening [7 April]. In addition to preaching about the need for responsibile representation and fiscal responsibility, he described his track record for fighting corruption and introducing efficiencies on the local level.

Two grand observations he made about American democracy were:
1. Politicians say they do what's in the best interest of the people, but in reality they're more likely to try to do what's in the best interest of the VOTERS. In other words, if you don't vote, you drop off their radar screen.
2. He said that he's not asking his supporters to make any cold calls, but urged them to talk to 10 of their friends and relatives, and encourage them to do likewise. In theory, the best candidate should win; in practice, it's the best campaign that gets the candidate elected.

You can find out more about this promising young man at: http://www.djou.com/
The CFIF (Center for Individual Freedom) has an article that compares him to Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown.

UPDATE1: A word to the wise, from Ramesh Ponnuru of National Review:

The DCCC is pounding Charles Djou, the Republican candidate in a special House election in Hawaii, because he allegedly "still supports tax breaks for big corporations who would export our future.” The DCCC's evidence for this claim, according to the ad, is that Djou signed Americans for Tax Reform's pledge to oppose tax increases. That doesn't commit him to defending every tax break. He could, consistent with his pledge, support legislation to abolish whatever corporate tax breaks are at issue, so long as that legislation also cut taxes by an equivalent amount. Djou could even sponsor the legislation.

The Democrats have, in short, invented a phony issue.

UPDATE2: Djou has a fighting chance when the Democrat vote is divided between 2 candidates, Ed Case and Colleen Hanabusa. His prospects will improve even more if Democratic state Senator Will Espero jumps into the fray.