We have until July 20, 2010 to recruit Republicans to run for office. We've put out radio and Facebook ads and a You Tube recruitment video that have generated dozens of qualified and exciting candidates. 

We only have 10 more districts to go before we fill the ballots with Republican candidates....

The debate surrounding the redefinition of marriage in Hawaii centers on the nature of family and its role as “a prime institution in civil society.” According to Heritage Foundation Senior Fellow Chuck Donovan, the “family is not the creature of the state” but is “both natural and pre-political” in its origins. As such, the consequences of a redefinition for the whole of the state are weighty. A change of this magnitude should not “be made by one person sitting in her office or by members of the Majority Party,” but, as Governor Lingle suggests, “by all the people of Hawaii.”

USA Today reported that Federal employees earn higher average salaries than private-sector workers in more than eight out of 10 occupations that exist both in government and the private sector. Instead of taking the news as an opportunity to save taxpayers money, the Obama administration pushed back against the news and dispatched Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag to defend government employee pay. Orszag told reporters: "I think the key thing to remember about that is the federal workforce is more highly educated than the private workforce. ... Basically the entire delta between private sector and public sector federal government average pay can be explained by education and experience." The problem is, this is just not true.

 In order to uphold righteousness for our land, we now need to exercise our civic and kuleana responsibility to VOTE. The Lord has provided us this “victory” but we must take responsibility to be salt and light to this community.

“I am very glad the Akaka Bill will be amended to reflect the State’s concerns,” Governor Lingle stated.  “I have assured Senators Akaka and Inouye that I will strongly support a bill with the changes described above, and will write to Senators of both parties expressing my support.  I sincerely hope the bill will become law in 2010.”

Last December, Neil Abercrombie passed a previous immunity-free version of the Akaka Bill as a Trojan Horse to get through the House Committee on Natural Resources.  He then amended the bill by substitution on the House floor.  Would Akaka pass a no-immunity version through the Senate and then use the House-Senate Conference Committee to change it back?  Of course he would—everything about the underhanded and secretive way the new version of Akaka Bill was created shows that is possible. 

"I am committed to seeing this process through as Governor."

Now, Djou enters a new stage in his political career: embattled incumbent. After easily winning a three-way special election in the more conservative -- but still dang Democratic -- House district in a May 22 special election, Djou enters an abbreviated 2010 reelection campaign as one of a handful of deeply endangered GOP incumbents.

That's just fine with him, and nobody will accuse Djou of being ill-prepared. "The only way I know how to campaign is running a race where I'm down by two points and closing in," he said in a recent interview with the Fix.

Lambda Legal and the ACLU had readied a lawsuit after the House tabled HB 444 in January.   The Hawai`i Senate had previously approved the bill by a veto-proof 18 to 7 majority and sent it back to the House for a conforming vote.

“We’re obviously disappointed that Governor Lingle has, once again, used her power to deny the people of Hawai`i their civil rights” said Laurie Temple, Staff Attorney for the ACLU.  “Luckily for the people of Hawai`i, however, our constitution prevents discrimination based on sexual orientation.  If the Governor won’t honor her oath to uphold the constitution, the courts will.”

“I am very encouraged by the Governor’s veto of HB2377, a bill that would have forced future governors to nominate individuals for the Board of Education from a list submitted by an advisory committee. 

“This bill served only to further fragment the leadership and accountability in Hawai‘i’s education system.  As I have stated for years, much of Hawai‘i’s public education challenges arise because there is no clear line of accountability between the Board of Education, the governor and the legislature." 

“Democrat legislators pushed to bring this bill back to life on the last day of the legislative session, but where are those arrogant legislators today?  Speaker Calvin Say is afraid to call a special session because his unstable rule over the House of Representatives is in jeopardy and he wants to avoid an attempt by dissident Democrats to overthrow him."

When Linda O’Boyle was diagnosed with bowel cancer, her doctors told her she could boost her chances of survival by adding the drug cetuximab to her regimen. But the rationing body for Britain's National Health Service, the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), had previously ruled that the drug was not cost-effective and therefore would not be paid for by the government. So O'Boyle liquidated her savings and paid for the drug herself. But this is not allowed under NHS rules. When government bureaucrats found out that O'Boyle had purchased the drug with her own money, she was denied NHS treatment and died within months.

We are truly grateful for Gov. Linda Lingle’s veto today of HB 444. Her decision came after a thoughtful and balanced study of the bill and its consequences and we are convinced she has come to the proper and only conclusion that will best serve the people of Hawaii.

Her veto affirms the will of Hawaii citizens. In 1998, seventy percent of Hawaii voters ratified a constitutional amendment limiting marriage to one man or one woman. A 2009 survey by SMS Research found that 66 percent agreed with that vote more than a decade later.

"As I have always said, this issue will persist as long as lawmakers continue to keep the public from deciding whether marriage should be between a man and a woman.  

"If elected Governor, I will propose a constitutional amendment on this issue so the people can define marriage once and for all."

Now that the governor has decided the fate of House Bill 444, I firmly support steps to let the people of Hawaii have the final say on an issue that has generated passionate perspectives. 

But in the end, it wasn’t the persuasiveness of public debates, the soundness of legal arguments, or the volume of letters and emails that convinced me to reach this decision. It was the depth of emotion felt by those on both sides of the issue that revealed to me how fundamental the institution of marriage is to our community. It is as fundamental to those who support marriage between two people of the same gender as it is to those who support marriage only between one man and one woman.

This is a decision that should not be made by one person sitting in her office or by members of the Majority Party behind closed doors in a legislative caucus, but by all the people of Hawaii behind the curtain of the voting booth.       

HONOLULU – Governor Linda Lingle today vetoed 32 bills that would adversely impact Hawai‘i residents and businesses, would be detrimental to public policy and would hinder efforts to expand the economy and create jobs.

Governor Lingle will announce the bills she is vetoing at a news conference at 3PM in Executive Chambers.  Meanwhile Hawaii Family Forum today sent out an email message stating: “We are hearing that members of the House are getting strong pressure from proponents to hold a special session.” 

Speaker Calvin Say announced today that the House will not convene a Special Session to override any of the Governor’s VETOs. Unless both houses agree to meet there can be no special session and there will be none on July 6. Praise the Lord! Now the decision rests squarely with the Governor.

Therefore, we will not be gathering at 9:00 a.m. to fill the House gallery but instead, will gather for prayer on the fifth floor, at noon in front of the Governor’s office, regardless of her decision.

Remember 9/11. Remember Katrina. Remember Haiti. Often, after a disaster of epic proportions, we are urged to remember the victims and the lessons of how to avoid a similar catastrophe. These reminders are necessary because after the moment of impact passes, people’s attention is drawn to other major events. Rarely ever, however, is the phrase used while the crisis continues unabated; while the administration that the media needs to hold accountable flounders in a sea of ineptitude, red tape and finger pointing.

Yes, we’re talking about the Gulf oil spill. It may be the first time in U.S. history that a president and the national media’s attention need to be refocused on a crisis while it is still, in fact, underway. Remember the Gulf.