Aloha Friends, welcome back.

-June 15 & 16 HRA Shooting Sports Fair www.hawaiirifleassociation.org

-July 4 Honolulu TEA Party Kailua Parade marissa@oahuexpress.com

-July 4 East Oahu Republicans Hawaii Kai booth Marian243@hawaiiantel.net

-July 4 Honolulu TEA Party Hawaii Kai Booth adrienne@kingandking.com

-July 19 1:00 PM Rusty Humphries http://hawaiirepublicanassembly.com

-September 20 Smart Business Hawaii Banquet Sbh@lava.net

-There are many strong and energy-filled conservatives and Republicans. Thank you. The Hawaii Republican Party can be better. Today’s Part 1.

-HRP State Convention. Congratulations to the officers elected. Same leadership = same plan = same results. When speakers (except one) use their time to address intra-party problems rather than differences with Ds, perhaps HRP should address their problem. Blair CB http://www.civilbeat.com/articles/2013/05/18/19107-hawaii-gop-republicans-will-rise-again/ What is not working is the HRP definition of ‘unity’ = agree with us or stay away. Only 177 delegates, including party and elected officials. Depledge SA (premium) http://www.staradvertiser.com/newspremium/20130519__Isle_Republicans_must_build_unity_top_members_say.html?id=208044411 Aiona hasn’t decided whether to run http://hawaii.news.blogs.civilbeat.com/post/50760179028/aiona-only-office-i-would-consider-is-governor. NONE of the ‘leaders’ spoke transparently of HRP debt. NO R ‘top-tier’ attended in the afternoon. $1196 calabash! The establishment ran their slate and three individuals ran. Chang 145, Hayes 28. Ready 128, Greco 45. Klompus 102, Palcic 69. HIRA perspective http://www.hawaiirepublicanassembly.com/enews/hira_press_release_051813.html In his post-convention email, Chang congratulated himself for winning.

-SA Shapiro “The Hawaii GOP got a rare turn in the spotlight but wilted in the glare..>>The state’s fading Republican Party held an annual convention marked by factional infighting over how to overtake the Democrats. It was like Abbott and Costello squabbling over how to outnumber the Marx Brothers. >>State GOP chairman David Chang told the convention that he recently watched all six “Rocky” movies for inspiration on fighting back as the underdog. The difference is, Rocky Balboa didn’t take his hardest hits from his own corner.” Our so-busy chair watched all six movies when four might have beaten Hayes. Conservatives know that an honest, committed and transparent Hayes would be better for the Republican Party than an unprincipled and self-serving Chang gang.

-Chang said he brought in 5000 new members, 1000 new donors. Fact: Only 177 delegates, HRP still in debt.

-Finishing the rules. Konoho had a convention-week Monday meeting following that marathon Saturday. Cmte member “Weekends are not long enough for that circus?” The Chang gang’s ‘mid-night maneuver’ (actually, 8:20 PM) changed the rules so that several members, without notification, weren’t allowed to participate the next morning. Member “I’m not wasting my time with this kangaroo court. I’ve lost confidence in their leadership.”

-Pants on fire. Ready said the changed participation rules wouldn’t affect past work. Member emailed “Willes if you can [conference] call into this meeting you would be thoroughly entertained. Recommendations to Greco’s Section 306 amendments are about to be rescinded.” 35 minutes into the meeting, Ready, Chang and Moses reopened the previously passed work. Honesty? Integrity? You decide. Member “Don’t like the rules? .. ignore, or ramrod new ones down our throat.” “The wider my eyes open, the deeper I can see into their snake pit!..this crowd lies, cheats,..THEY ARE TOTALLY CORRUPT!”

-Chang/Hellreich/Liu and the State cmte refuse to address the issue of Rs campaigning for Ds. I proposed to eliminate the rule calling for possible State Cmte action. If we won’t enforce it, why have the rule? On the issue of Rs campaigning for Ds, Chang said… it was alright. Chang said (1) he needs “to spend more time with the issue,” as if the past seven months were not long enough for him to think of a better excuse, (2) he didn’t want to be mean and ask mom Thielen (R) to NOT campaign for daughter Thielen (D) against Hemmings (R) (so he knew the campaigning was wrong) but he asked Thielen to “try not to be too open about it.” That didn’t work – mom Thielen’s DtD advocacy was reported by Rs AND shocked Ds. Chang drew a line in the ocean (get it?) – it will be ok if an R endorses his D BFF, or his D school mate or his D neighbor. In this red herring moment, Chang never addressed the other four Rs who endorsed Ds….and your Rules Cmte was mum. Then, (3) Chang said “we are too small to throw people out of the party”… but not too small to push out the liberty movement on Maui, to shun the TEA party, for Ready to call for my expulsion or for Chang himself to help boot Kaauwai. Reader “Seriously, do you think Chang and his crew are democrat party plants [in HRP]?”

-Most interesting comment: Chang again told us he is busier than you, and a member “really was bothered by David seemingly using the [Rules] meeting as a campaign event. He went on and on about how wonderful everything has been under his watch. And how they raised so much money??!!” Most interesting conference call comment; Wharton asking Chang to tell her how to vote. Most interesting visitor: Klompus, not a cmte member and hasn’t been to a previous meeting, one week before her convention election run. Member “Really, really disgusting.”

-We used to appreciate volunteers participating and HRP minimized their personal costs when volunteering. C/H/L haven’t gotten the party out of debt since 2010 so conference calls are no longer provided by HRP. Now, volunteers pay long distance or use cell minutes to do HRP volunteer work. Member “my charge for the last two meetings is $148.00 UGH!”

–LD numbers. ?. HRP still won’t tell us.

State Convention and Lincoln Dinner complete (once we get some numbers), back to policy and politics.

-Congratulations to Honolulu NB election winners Capelouto x2, Souza, Allen, Larson, Guerrero, Grey, Svrcina, Ho, Philips, Saniatan, Peters, Kaapu, Sabey, Legal, Butler, Radke, Weller, Egge, Mulkern, Lye, Anderson, McGuire, Hayes, Wong, Finley. Appreciated though unsuccessful include Party Secretary Schaedel, Gollner, Terry, Ho, Higa, Fenton, Degracia, Baron and Berg. List http://www1.honolulu.gov/nco/2013+election+results.htm

-87 seconds which change politics in Hawaii. The state budget. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbzlHWaS0CQ

-Members plead for HRP to stand for something. Chang and Blom went on record saying HRP would not (probably was not capable) take a stand on anything ‘in the name of party unity.’ Ready asked HRP members to join groups which have principles and speak to them. In May HRP finally sent out a press release. AP, Bengazhi, taxes, guns, Gosnell …the IRS scandal is the one HRP chose.

–Communications. Straightening out HRP’s Twitter, and the 40 new followers, coincides with Mukk’s election. HRP stopped following Dem Charlie Crist (duh), and started following Santorum (duh). HRP FB shared a conservative Cruz post.

-Good news. HRP got out another press release. Not my years of writing, but HIRA messaging finally got HRP off their collective duffs. HRP needed to bring in a liberty movement leader, Mukk, for their communications. They attack Kim, who leads Senate investigations into corruption, instead of UH President-out-the-door Greenwood who is responsible for much of that corruption. I am not defending the red-herring Greenwood allegations against Kim, but HRP messaging people need help with… messaging.

–Scathing. “The Party apparently acted in a narrow vacuum without any observable research. [Slom] said a “cynical person” might suggest the current action could be viewed as pay back for Kim’s previous investigation of ..Ted Liu, or Kim’s several past skirmishes with ..Lingle.” http://www.hawaiireporter.com/senate-minority-leader-chastises-gop-party-leaders-for-unfounded-accusations-against-senate-president/123 Slom, our senior elected official was not contacted before, during or after the release.

-Most publicity, ever. HR ran http://www.hawaiireporter.com/the-hawaii-republican-partys-alarming-negative-trend/123 from HIRA which asked members to support HRP. Instead of appreciating the call for support, HRP got defensive. A Ready/Exec Cmte red herring, also in HR, challenged HIRA numbers instead of addressing party decline. HIRA responded by showing how Ready (accidentally?) miscounted office holders and again asked members to help HRP out of their slump. http://www.hawaiireporter.com/who-do-you-believe-in-the-hawaii-republican-party/123 This para is not about HRP’s difficulty with the truth. I highlight this exchange in HR because it is the most publicity HRP received this year. Walden, who now represents Grassroot Institute Hawaii, blogged Ready’s wrong numbers. Instead of personal attacks, they should try making HRP better. Neither Ready nor Walden posted a retraction.

-HRP April FEC. Receipts $37,144. Disbursements 25,895. More revenue than expenses for April! Beginning CoH 62,968. End CoH 74,216. Net Contributions 37,143. LD accounts for the bulk of the contributions, and there appears to be 14 sustaining donors. Net Operating Expenditures 25,895. Major expenses are Blom $3334+Payroll tax $1640+Health $352, Mortgage 1499, building maint 2703, Chang LA RNC lodging $1,262, Chang Charlotte RNC lodging $1,262, Copier 786. Debt $45,595. Four months in a row of no debt paydown. Party of fiscal responsibility now in debt for 31 consecutive months. This is the second 2013 report (of four) in the black, the second (of six) in the black since before the November election. Over the last 15 reports, HRP is six-nine, black to red, including the heavy national contributions for Lingle and Djou. State account with LD funds may have up to 40k (guesstimate) but probably more like 30k, including county monies). LD goal was 190k: TOTAL federal receipts for April and May = 70k and it is highly unlikely that $120k found its way to the state account. We’ll see the state account at the end of July.

-Ready perhaps believed Chang and Klompus’ spin when he wrote that HRP debt was “virtually zero.” It is not. Chang skirted the issue in his campaign piece “the party raised enough money to retire its debt” which is not the same as actually paying the debt. Why hide the debt status only weeks before party elections? Here’s what I cobbled together. Just before Convention, HRP paid 31k of the 45k debt. The remaining 14k, includes finance charges, is with a print/mail vendor. The vendor allows HRP to pay part of the debt with each future order. This is good for the vendor because it locks in HRP as a client and recoups their money. It is good for HRP because they don’t have to pay all now. Regardless, HRP is still in debt and now HRP is committed to that vendor, and captive to their pricing. If debt is owed to only a mail vendor, HRP made good to Gingrich for his LD10 appearance and to many of our friends for their services two+ years ago.

–Garage sale. OL members are led to believe this is their project, raising CSC complications, and Capitol Campaign team thinks it is their project. Originally planned for last summer and again for this spring, it got delayed again – not necessarily only because building Directors wouldn’t let the sidewalk be used for the sidewalk sale.

-I select but don’t necessarily agree with the opinions expressed by our readers: “The only reason I haven’t left the party is because there isn’t another party that aligns with my values.” “so discouraging. Same cluster-F**K as always.” “the big money from out-of-state, funneled through the state party, goes..usually and not coincidentally to the clients of party committeewoman Miriam Hellreich.” “our message-less, meaningless, solution-less LLIFE party needs to exist for a greater purpose than helping a handful of people get into office.” “Walden (GRIH) is Poison!” “many of us also have had the same frustrations within the party.” “It’s so bad that even Republican candidates are re-registering as Democrats.” “How much are the Democrats paying the HRP leadership to destroy the HRP???” “About rules cmte ‘Mike Greco – kudos’!” “Every time I tried to contribute [to HRP], I felt like no one cared or wanted me around.” “I do believe how corrupt the HIGOP is…been watching it for years! Glad you used the word ‘corrupt’…it’s about time the GOP is called what it should be!” “This horse is already dead.” Four days before convention “When are the elections for Chair?” “..current leadership is absolutely corrupt! I’ve been joining some on State Committee asking for audits since Jonah was Party Chair.” “Lingle is not my favorite person..when she invited Collins to..one of her events, that did it in terms of my believing she was a conservative.” “[Ready] sounds condescending and obnoxious.” “[Walden] had some conflict within the HRP, and fortunately haven’t seen him around any of the meetings there for a while (he now represents GRIH).” “As long as people write and talk about HRP then they must care.” “do they really believe the crap about districts being organized? One more district chair resigned today.” “They have my and my wife’s email and phone, but, oh wait, I guess I must search them out. If the HRP doesn’t reach out to all parties,..it will not grow and take seats in Hawaii.” “..the look I received from [Blom], man if looks could kill..and we pay Blom’s salary.” “I talked to many of those who did run for office in 2012, they all told me that they had no contact from the HRP, no assistance during and no thank you after. But wait, they must be doing OK, cause they, the current committee kept slapping themselves on Back.” “BFO: We need a new party. Call us when it’s awakened, up and running.”

Part 2 tomorrow.

 

ARE YOU SATISFIED? HRP needs leadership focused on HRP.

 

Willes

Last five: Convention Special/ What a Month/ Spring Party Update/ February-March/ Weekend update/ BUZZ-RNC Winter Meeting