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.
Big problems don’t lend themselves to quick-to-decide solutions. Mayor Blangiardi is only the latest leader in this state who has discovered the rock wall of opposition in Hawaiʻi, on any issue of controversy, is both well-built and able to withstand withering attack, both through policy and rhetoric.
The real question, still looming, is what happens next year when the bills keep coming in, but there are no more vacant positions to shuffle around.
In the end, Blangiardi’s substantial campaign funds and lack of serious opposition likely contributed to his reelection. Despite not being seen as exceptional, voters felt he was doing enough. This suggests that a combination of adequate performance and a lack of compelling alternatives were key factors in his victory.
When it comes to how leaders in Hawai‘i are treated, the first rule that one should know is that no…
Politics Hawaii with Stan Fichtman now takes a look at the various mayoral and county council races across the state, to see who has pulled papers (or filed) for various offices.
With the 2022 election, the generational ratio of leaders in Hawai‘i changed, dropping the sole millennial and putting the majority of power in the hands of the X-Generation.
In the category of “turn down the political volume and maybe you’ll hear something interesting,” this blogger has found it thought-provoking to see how our current spate of leaders in Hawai‘i and Honolulu are revamping their public messaging.
That bold vision is simply this – take whatever is happening at the White House (and Congress if he can) off the front pages of the news. I suspect that the new President, in his folksier ways, plans to reverse the concentration of interest on whatever his office is saying, in the news.
The Democrats, in the end, still stay firmly in charge of Hawai‘i. While there may be new faces in the elected seats, the overall infrastructure of who is running Hawai‘i stays generally the same.