Posted on: Friday, July 27, 2001

Island Voices
Democrat grip on this state must end

By Kevin Grigsby
17-year-old Punalu'u resident

Hawai'i's political system is a disgrace. Never have I seen so much imbalance, incumbency and Democratic dominance.

It used to be that the Republicans controlled everything in Hawai'i, but now, and as long as I can remember, Hawai'i's political system is completely controlled by the Democrats.

I'm not talking about a simple majority. We are looking at total dominance. This problem is overlooked too often by this state. The Republicans take notice and cry for help. But nobody in this state will take out their stubborn earplugs to listen.

When Linda Lingle told the Hawai'i GOP in May that she hopes Republicans can soon take over control of the House and the governorship, Hawai'i's political leaders laughed hysterically. Maybe she is dreaming, but political equality is an attainable goal that should receive much more focus.

Whose fault is it that Hawai'i's government is like this? Why, the voters, of course. Democratic incumbents are re-elected at an incredible rate, whether they deserve to be or not.

Voters are not looking at the candidates' platform or personality, but merely at their party. In recent years, no Republican candidate has been taken seriously to represent us in the U.S. House or Senate. Some may say I'm exaggerating, but this is the Hawai'i I have grown up to see. So Hawai'i voters have kept the same party and representatives in office. But are we satisfied with the way our state is run? Definitely not.

Corruption, inefficiency and bickering plague Hawai'i's political system. Citizens are fed up. So what do they do to make a change? They re-elect the same officials and keep the same party in dominating control, which is the reason these problems persist. I'm not saying we should vote for all Republicans in 2002.

All I'm saying is voters should start voting for the best candidate, and not vote solely on party lines. This could create political equality and weaken the Democratic supremacy. Is this happening now? Of course not.

Very often Republicans are the better candidates but lose because they are not Democrats. Linda Lingle is a perfect example. Hawai'i's voters should not have re-elected Ben Cayetano, yet for some reason they did.

The HSTA should not have supported him, yet it did.

This political joke must end. Until we attain political equality, don't count on the system getting better anytime soon.