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.
This leads this writer to wonder “was anyone paying attention to what was going on in Washington when it came to CARES and HEROES money?”. It was apparent by at least the end of July if not the start of August, to anyone that was paying attention, that whatever was wished for in April was not coming to pass.
What the virus has shown to so many constituents is that while the “experienced” politician can talk a good game when it comes to managing the state in good times, the ability for them to convert into war-time crisis leaders does not exist. We are seeing now that the leaders we elected, for one thing, are falling apart when the situation has dramatically changed.
So, returning to the question, can these new pedigreed candidates relate to the people that they will represent in their offices like the one I described?
These letters provide a window. What they envision is not business as usual anytime soon. And to boot, many whose livelihoods are based on these jobs may not see them come back for some time.
Is striking fear in people, ramping up their anxiety, showing us that you understand this line in the oath? Does it show that you do have warmth, sympathy, and understanding for people?
Or are you showing us a new form of bedside manner, starting with the declarative statement that jolts the soul followed by a “do as I say, or else” demand to everyone?
So here is a theoretical question for everyone in Hawai‘i: If we had political leaders that were not career politicians, would we be seeing the same outcomes from the COVID saga in Hawai‘i?
Typically the primary election in Hawai‘i is something of a sleeper event. Unless there is a marquee race or something…
For us to fix anything means that leadership needs to come forward and state clearly what the numbers mean and what we should be concentrating on. Personally, to me, the answer is that the infection rate is just that, an infection rate and that we should be focused on hospitalizations and death rates when it comes to making policy.