Political satire allows us to poke fun at our elected officials, the decisions they make, and sometimes the absurdities of the political process itself. It doesn’t mean the issues are any less serious. Rather, it gives us a different way of looking at them, taking some of the sharp edges off discussions that can, at times, feel very starchy and maybe a bit too blunt for regular people to digest.
Having watched Hawaiʻi politics over the years, and the events that have shaped its political landscape, this blogger asks: Is there really a political revolution brewing in Hawaiʻi, or is this just another election cycle where the hopes for change are running ahead of the political realities on the ground?
So instead of an informal agreement over what the press would or would not cover, the relationship today has become much more direct: report the story in a way the White House finds objectionable, and access to the President may become part of the fight.
If refusing to debate carries no penalty at the ballot box, why would a candidate who is already winning take the risk?
In political terms, it has become something of our own Ali-Frazier trilogy. And with the third “bout” just concluding at the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court, it seems like a good time to look back at how we got here.
Perhaps that is the lesson from the comeback class of 2026. Having won before may help, but it isn’t enough by itself. You still have to give voters a reason to vote for you today, rather than reminding them why they voted for you years ago.
Unlike some of the other names in the indictment, Fuchigami had quietly spent the better part of fifteen years moving through some of the most influential positions in Hawaiʻi government. Yet remarkably little has been written about how he got there.
While journalism as an industry has changed dramatically over the past decade, the spirit of the people practicing it—from established daily newspapers to independent blogs—continues to treat good journalism with mutual respect.
Sometimes campaign finance reports can give us clues about what is happening in a political race. Other times, they may simply show us that there are more dynamics at play than we initially thought.
So as the United States celebrates 250 years, and as a new look takes to the skies carrying its President, it is worth remembering that the appearance of the aircraft has changed before and likely will again.