We’ll Take Our “Friends” Over Lingle’s “Likes”

Carroll: An open, friendly two-way conversation.

The Lingle campaign was crowing this morning about its Social Media campaign and the fact that they have over 1000 “likes” from “Hawaii and on the mainland.” That’s nice, but hardly indicates that their message of “Making the Issues the Heart of the Matter,” is catching on fire. Her competitor in the Republican primary, John Carroll, also has well over 1000 “Friends” on Facebook. This August we’ll see whether John’s “Friends” out-vote Linda’s “Likes.”

There are some interesting differences between how the two candidates present themselves on social media:

1. Facts vs Fluff. When John Carroll discusses how to fix Hawaii’s economy, he presents a well thought-out white paper document on why we need to get rid of the Jones Act, the single biggest impediment to growing Hawaii’s economy. Lingle makes a video and says her solution is to “restore

Lingle: If you "like" me you will fill out and submit this form.

confidence in government.” That’s it? What does that even mean?

2. John welcomes dialog. Lingle says that “Issues are the Heart of the Matter,” but refuses to debate. You can write comments and engage the candidate on John Carroll’s Facebook Pages and Website. On Lingle’s it is only she who speaks…you get to listen.

3. People first, or ME first? John’s approach is open, friendly and personal. Lingle, like any long-time bureaucrat, insists that you fill out a long boring form. The internet is supposed to be interactive not indoctrination. The first thing Lingle offers you is a pledge to vote for her, no matter what…shouldn’t we discuss the issues first?  Aren’t they the “Heart of the Matter?”

The difference is truly striking: John proposes a conversation to find out what you want; Lingle jumps right into “how she can USE you,” to get what she wants.

If Lingle truly believes that issues matter, she should publicly debate John Carroll and defend her positions. Instead she chooses to hide behind a one-way stream of one-sided messaging, bought and paid for primarily by mainland special interests.

If you want to respresent Hawaii’s people, Linda, you need to talk with them, not at them…or, they might stop “liking” you.

Lingle’s Bi-Partisan Message Hits a Sour Note

A beaming, "bi-partisan" Lingle pledges support to Obama's "Plan."

At a time when the U.S. Constitution is under attack, International policy is in disarray and Federal deficits spiral out of control…Linda Lingle wants to compromise with Liberals.  Bi-partisan cooperation may sound like a nice “touchy-feely” message to float out to a predominantly Democrat audience in Hawaii’s general election, but sounds like simple appeasement to Hawaii’s Republicans.  Lingle’s current television commercial chirps about her being “pledged to support President Obama’s plan.”  How exactly  is that supposed to sound to Republicans who want President Obama voted out of office, NOT cooperated with?

LINGLE OFFERS CONSIDERABLY LESS COOPERATION TO HER FELLOW REPUBLICANS…

Lingle has charged Republican stalwarts who contested the questionable election of her former DBEDT Director, Ted Liu, to be the new Republican National Committeeman, with trying to split the party.  Many have charged Lingle with simply taking over the Party to use as her campaign organization and “cheating” to fix the Liu election (who won by one vote over Willis Lee after illegal proxies tallied in the back room.)

READ “RULES” ON THE STAR-ADVERTISER’S POLITICAL RADAR BLOG

Star-Advertiser Excerpts (2/16/12):

“Several Republicans have challenged a close vote in January to elect Ted Liu, the former director of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, over Willes Lee, a former party chairman. The challenges allege that the party improperly allowed proxy voting, among other things.”

“But the deeper issue is the private resentment among several Republicans to what they see as an effort by former Gov. Linda Lingle and her allies to control all aspects of the minority party.”

Blog comentors chimed in on the story:

“Lingle has historically used the Republican Party as her own personal campaign organization. The questionable, possibly fraudulent, vote to elect her old DBEDT head as the National Committeeman is par for the course. To push back on people who are just trying to keep things fair as trying to “split the party,” is insulting. The real split is between actual Republicans and Lingleites.”

“The Lingle group wants to avoid an open conflict with the dissident groups: the “movement conservatives around Sam Slom and the Grassroot Institute, the religious conservatives and the Ron Paul supporters. But neither are they willing to share power with them, even if it means, to put it indelicately, cheating.”

“In addition to the back room shenanigans, Lingle’s camp is also asking Republicans to “look the other way” on: her pro-choice stand, anti-school voucher position, promotion of the Akaka Bill, abandonment of the Taxpayer’s Protection Pledge, and enabling of the rail tax. It’s starting to add up to a lot to have to overlook.”

Obama Care Attacks Separation of Church and State

Obama administration declares the Church and the Constitution no longer relevant to modern society in one fell swoop.

By John S. Carroll, Candidate for the U.S. Senate

President Obama has repaid the Catholic Church for its support of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act by seeking to breach the Constitutionally protected separation of church and state. His Health and Human Service Department effectively denied conscience protections to church-run schools, hospitals and social service agencies, ruling that they must provide free contraception to employees, in violation of church teaching.

As a staunch constitutionalist, a Catholic and a believer in pro-life; this offends me on three levels. This is nothing less than an affront to American democracy and an assault on the U.S. Constitution. My opponent in the Hawaii’s Republican Primary, Ex-Governor Lingle, shares none of my three beliefs and will let this issue pass in the “spirit of bi-partisan placation.” This is just one reason she should not be elected to represent Hawaii’s Republicans as their Senatorial candidate.

This can and should be Obama’s undoing. I sincerely hope that the Church and the Catholic Health Association have learned their lesson. And that lesson is that people who espouse socialist “reforms” cannot be trusted. Their promise that no abortion funding was contained in Obama Care was as hollow as their oath to uphold the United States Constitution. The Catholic Church as well as all Christian denominations are now in a fight to protect their very existence. Make no mistake about it, this attempt to force secular authority on them is just the beginning.

The separation of church and state is not a new concept. English philosopher John Locke argued that government lacked authority in the realm of individual conscience. Thomas Jefferson, an admirer of Locke’s ideas wrote:

Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”, thus building a wall of separation between Church & State.

These concepts were codified into the U.S. Constitution. I believe that this document is the sacred foundation of our individual liberties and the basis for our country’s greatness, and is not subject to contemporary revisionists like Barack Obama.

Whomever is elected to serve Hawaii in the U.S. Senate will be in a fight to protect our Constitution. Lingle will compromise; I will not.

Green Drinks Mixer

John Carroll at the Green Drinks event at Fresh Cafe.

John attended Green Drinks, a networking event for green and sustainability-minded businesses in Hawaii.  Representatives from various alternative energy companies and other associated with Honolulu’s fastest growing business sector had an opportunity to meet with John.

Carroll, an early environmentalist, and author of many of Hawaii’s early ocean protection laws, has been following the development of this “knowledge industry” in our state.  John is a vocal advocate for Hawaii becoming a center for research and development, marketing and manufacture of alternative energy technologies.

We have an abundance of energy resources, from geothermal, to solar, wind and ocean energy. Why not focus our young minds onfuture energy solutions that could grow into an entire new econmic component for us.  Major economic turn-arounds in other markets were usually created by a deliberate plan to go after the emerging technology market.  Carroll feels that Hawaii has an opportunity to compete for the exploding alternative energy, environmental monitoring, and biofuel markets.

John Carroll’s Pro-Life Commitment

John at the Pro Life rally at the State Capitol on January 22nd.

John Carroll is the only pro-life candidate among Hawaii’s contenders for the U.S. Senate seat. John was not always a pro-life advocate. As a member of Hawaii’s State Legislature, John voted in support of Roe v. Wade, and pretty much subscribed to the prevailing definition of Pro-Choice as a women’s rights issue.

John’s transformation began when his daughter Dianne Sanae was born premature (only 27 weeks) weighing only one pound five ounces. Somewhere during the long days and nights spent caring for the child, reading Dr. Seuss books, John came to the realization that this fragile life that he was defending could have been legally aborted. At that point the abstract arguments about when life begins, and beliefs as to whose “rights” should protected became crystal clear.

Carroll and his wife were tested further when it was recommended by a majority of the attending physicians that they “pull the plug” on their premature child, and avoid the anticipated health issues that would surely arise. John refused, “I’m not going to kill my own kid.”

That was almost 30 years ago and time has proven the medical advice John was given to be totally wrong. Dianne Sanae has not only grown into an accomplished young woman, but has proven to be an invaluable contributor to our community. She is teaching autistic, hearing and speech challenged pre-schoolers as well as visiting with pre mature babies and working with the group that is nurturing children who have heart disease at Kapiolani Women’s and Children’s Hospital. At the very hospital where she was born, she now shares a special bond with the kids under her care.

John Carroll’s journey to his pro-life position was personal one, and one that has remained unwavering for 30 years. The line between a human life and unwanted pregnancy cannot be established arbitrarily. If John’s child, Dianne Sanae, could go on to prove the value of one human life, without meeting the current definition of someone protected by legal rights, then all children should have that chance as well.

Series of Bad Bills Assault the U.S. Constitution

Protecting the U.S. Constitution is the primary responsibility of every elected official.

By John S. Carroll

Just this week two bills came under withering public criticism. SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act,) PIPA (Protect IP Act) were withdrawn after a highly publicized one-day Internet protest that featured huge Web enterprises like Wikipedia, Google, ReadIt and WordPress blacking out their sites and instructing their visitors to protest the bills to their elected officials. The bills, while purporting to protect intellectual property and attack the online piracy of things like music and movies also included language that made it possible for the government to unilaterally censor or shut down any Web operations it wanted. This blatant infringement of free speech, and affront to the U.S. Constitution was tucked into the small print. Was this just sloppy legislation, or something more pernicious…a deliberate assault on our civil liberties?

Less that a month ago, another bill with even more potential constitutional damage slipped through. The NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) was signed into law on New Year’s Eve by President Obama, after he had promised to veto it. According to the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) this gives the U.S. President military authority to arrest and hold anyone, anywhere, for an unlimited amount of time without charges or due process. This includes American citizens on American soil in direct violation of the 5^th and 6^th Amendments of the Bill of Rights.

All four of Hawaii’s Washington contingent voted in favor of this bill!

Terrorism has replaced Communism as the bogeyman used to spook the American public into yielding their constitutional rights to what could easily become a police state run under martial law. President Obama knew this bill was flawed when he signed it. He felt compelled to add an addendum or “clarification” that said these new powers would never be used against American citizens. His promise, unfortunately, is not binding on future administrations. This law must be fixed.

I strongly believe that defense of the U.S. Constitution is the primary responsibility of every elected official, and that the passage of laws that attack the foundation of our civil liberties, whether by negligence or design, borders on disastrous irresponsibility. SOPA and PIPA, under the guise of protecting our entertainment industry, laid the groundwork for political suppression. NDAA, largely a procurement authorization, contains its own toxic time bomb whose worse case would result in American gulags, or North Korean-style political re-education camps.

Our constitution is America’s defining achievement. It is what has allowed the United States to attain greatness and has established our nation as the protector of human civil liberties. As your next U.S. Senator, I promise you that protecting the U.S. Constitution, and fending off these heinous attempts to chip away at the very backbone of the American spirit will be my unwavering priority.

John Activates Facebook Friends

Carroll calls for new "Friends," "Followers," "Likes," and "Shares."

John Carroll’s personal Facebook page will be loaned to his Senatorial Campaign. In addition to the Carroll “page” displayed on this site, campaign information and events will be promoted through John’s large personal Facebook account which now boasts over 1000 friends.  John will also be growing his new Twitter account as his campaign expands its use of social media to talk directly to Hawaii’s voters.

“Friend” john at: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000271431330

Carroll Addresses Smart Business Conference

Carroll being interviewed by Malia Zimmerman of HawaiiReporter.com

Last week John Carroll spoke to Sam Slom’s annual Smart Business Conference.  All four major candidates for the United States Senate race were invited to debate their qualifications, but only John Carroll and Ed Case took the time to attend.

Carroll considered bringing a pumpkin along to set on the podium to represent his elusive opponent, Linda Lingle, in the Republican primary.  Lingle has refused to debate or appear in any joint appearances with Carroll, and has refused to answer any specific questions directed toward her so far during this campaign.

Carroll identified several key issues that differentiate him from his rival Lingle.

1. 1. Carroll is pro-life, Lingle is pro-choice. This puts her in direct opposition to the tens of thousands of individuals in Christian organizations who alone could dominate the election.
2. Carroll has signed the Taxpayer’s Protection Pledge to not raise taxes. Lingle has refused. She signed it several years ago, but reneged and allowed the large rail tax surcharge to become law. Many in Hawaii’s small business community side with John against tax increases for rail.
3. Another pro-small business (and cost of living) issue which Carroll is closely associated with is the elimination of the Jones Act, an archaic protectionist trade law that protects monopoly shipping in Hawaii and drives cost up for everyone. Lingle took no action to oppose this law during her 8 years as governor.
4. Carroll has a strong gun owners rights position and has served as the HRA’s legal counsel for many years. Lingle has been hesitant on ‘right to carry,’ an issue important to many second amendment advocates.
5. Carroll is opposed to the Akaka Bill, while Lingle openly advocated in favor of it. This provides for more governmental bureaucracy, race-based exclusionary policies and other regressive social policies. It is openly opposed by most conservatives.
6. Carroll has agreed to debate, Lingle has refused any joint appearances and is basically taking the Republican nomination for granted.

Senate Candidate John Carroll Calls For Multiple Debates

HONOLULU, January 3, 2012 – The following statement was released by U.S. Senate candidate John S. Carroll.

John Carroll has called for the four major candidates for the U.S. Senate to engage in multiple public debates, so the people of Hawaii can understand their positions on key issues. Carroll’s campaign will be contacting various media sponsors and the opposing candidates to issue the challenge and encourage scheduling a comprehensive series of debates.

“The candidates owe this to the people,” said Carroll. “In this era of tightly scripted public relations, packaged candidates, and massive paid media advertising, it would be refreshing and informative to see the candidates for who they really are in a series of live, spontaneous debates.”

Carroll thinks that the upcoming election to replace the retiring Senator Daniel Akaka is too important to be simply bought by the highest bidder. His campaign has proposed a schedule of public debates featuring Carroll and his primary opponent, Linda Lingle.

“The more the better,” added Carroll. “Linda and I disagree on a number of issues and she shouldn’t be allowed to simply dodge subjects she’d rather not talk about.”

Carroll has charged Lingle with being a RINO (Republican In Name Only) who splits from Republicans on many of their core conservative positions.

Carroll has also encouraged all four of the major Senatorial candidates, namely Case, Hirono, Carroll and Lingle, to also engage in cross-party debates.

“Because of Hawaii’s open primary, people can vote in either primary so, it would be a huge service for the voters to see all of candidates together, exchanging ideas,” added Carroll.

Next Post

“Former Gov. Linda Lingle hoped to raise $10 million for her U.S. Senate run. That would nearly double the record auction price for a Hawaii politician.”

Dave Shapiro, Honolulu StarAdvertiser 12/31/11