Former Republican Party chair Sam Aiona, who ran much of the Saturday program, and Lt. Governor Duke Aiona claimed Hawaii GOP cares about the people of the state. They said their campaign to better Hawaii is all about change and hope. They emphasized their adoption of “E Komo Mai” (Welcome!) as a party motto.

Senator Fred Hemmings said in his speech that the GOP is a party of independent thinkers who must unify because the nation is at war. He also appealed for help in attracting new members to Hawaii’s GOP minority party.

During a break, I asked Senator Hemmings what strategies he might recommend to bring more members into the party, given reports on the mainland of GOP defectors, GOP defeats the last two congressional elections, and dissatisfaction with current Republican candidates.

Senator Hemmings' response shocked, saddened and depressed me. The Senator angrily accused Ron Paul supporters of ruining the GOP and demanded to know if I was a Ron Paul supporter. Given his less than friendly demeanor, I initially hesitated, but later confessed I was more of an independent. But I was unsure of what that had to do with my question.

The Senator then told me “F.U. Get the F. out of my face. I don’t want to speak to you.”

Shocked, I stammered “What?”

The Senator then leaned into my face and said “Let me borrow a line from VP Dick Cheney - F.U.; get the F. out of my face and don’t talk to me.” (i.e. VP Cheney cursed Vt. Sen. Leahy on U.S. the Senate Floor, Tuesday, May 22, 2004).

Fred Hemmings - State Senate

Senator Hemmings then stomped off, stopping about 15 feet away. Incredulous and confused, I approached him hoping to clarify and defuse the incident. The Senator then roared “For the last 30 years I have built the Hawaii GOP party alone. Where were you; where have you been?”

As I stood in stunned silence, he snarled “Get the hell out of here.”

I am not a betting man, but it doesn’t feel like E Komo Mai or Aloha to me and I bet that kind of attitude might be why the Hawaii GOP has such a hard time attracting new members. Understandably appalled, I decided to alert as many party members and officials as possible to prevent further potential damage to the image and ability of the party to attract new members.

Governor Lingle stated that she simply could not comment and would have to speak with the Senator for his side of the story (fair enough I thought … maybe); other officials strongly recommended I speak to Party Chairman Willes Lee and Convention Co-Chairman Sam Aiona. Chairman Lee refused to speak with me, instructing me instead to speak with the Sergeant-at-Arms; the Sergeant-at-Arms reluctantly listened to my story and wrote down my name, district and precinct number.

Chairman Aiona walked away while I conveyed the story to him and when I said “Excuse me, is that it?” he turned and said “What do you want me to do, punish him? I am not his mother.”

I indicated I was not looking for punishment, but instead assurance that the party did not condone such behavior, so Aiona said “OK, I don’t condone it, is that good enough for you?”

Somewhat surprised and certainly disappointed, I simply said “sorry to bother you, but I am not sure that behavior or response is going to attract too many people to the party.”

Chairman Aiona then walked over and repeated, “So what do you want me to do, punish him?"

I indicated not and started to walk away when some other folks came over to speak with him. After a few brief words, the group looked my way and laughed, obviously enjoying a good joke.

Chairman Aiona later approached some people in the lobby near me, so after he was finished I attempted to clarify my position was about bringing attention to the incident for the sake of party damage control rather than for me, but Aiona insisted several times that I would never be satisfied.

He also pointed out that the story was essentially uncorroborated and possibly fabricated for all he knew. When I disagreed, Chairman Aiona bizarrely stated “OK, how about if we both jump in my truck and drive over to his house and beat him up? Will that do it for you? Is that enough for you?”

Stunned, but no longer surprised, I simply said “Forget it” and ceased trying to relate to such juvenile, stunted mentalities.

It was quite clear that GOP officials who had just minutes earlier espoused such virtuous visions of unity, caring, change, E Komo Mai and Aloha were either intellectually dishonest or seriously confused about what those concepts really mean.

Having heard about it, Ms. Pat Beekman with Hawaii Political Info (http://www.hawaiipoliticalinfo.org/) took the opportunity on Monday, May 19, 2008, to call Senator Hemmings and inquire about the incident. Ms. Beekman stated that the Senator had a different take, having perceived my behavior as aggressive, but he also conceded that he should not have cursed at me.

She related that the Senator recommended I call him to discuss the situation further and allow him opportunity clarify and apologize.

Senator Hemmings and I later spoke and he did apologize, saying he thought our conversation was private.

He also stated he had put a lot into the party over the years and was very passionate about preventing misleading Ron Paul supporters from undermining anything less than 100% unified support of the GOP candidate John McCain, period.

Unfortunately, I was not granted much opportunity to clarify my position, because the Senator was providing his position, and not offering to listen to mine.

In any case, Co-Chairman Sam Aiona was a prophet, because I am not satisfied with GOP party officials’ handling of the matter and view Senator Hemmings' mea culpa as too little too late.

The response of Hawaii GOP party officials was very troubling and indicative of a party arrogance that is completely out-of-touch with reality; and not a political party I can currently support.

Douglas Oringer, a resident of Hawaii, can be reached at mailto:doug.oringer@gmail.com

ELECTIONS 2008...