Hannemann, Caldwell very much alike

Of all the candidates campaigning for office this year, who are the two who are engaging in negative campaign ads?

Yep, Mufi Hannemann and his appointee Kirk Caldwell.

Seems like they are cut from the same cloth.

Caldwell’s ad just presented the facts

Kirk Caldwell’s new ad was not negative in any way. It showed the results of a "fact check" on the many claims that Peter Carlisle has made about his fiscal responsibility.

With many independent groups — the Republican Party for one — publicly informing us of Mr. Carlisle’s lies, Kirk Caldwell’s new ad strived to do the same.

The facts are accessible to anyone who wants to view them. I would encourage Hawaii’s media to fact-check the information they’ll be using in their stories before publishing and/or broadcasting anything. If they had done that, there would never have been a story like this.

For those of us who have yet to cast our ballot, important, factual information on each candidate is very helpful. Thank you, Kirk Caldwell.

Abercrombie should continue to serve

I don’t know either Mufi Hannemann or Neil Abercrombie personally, so I have observed the media campaigns and read both candidates’ positions and messages.

What caught my eye in Neil Abercrombie’s brochure, "A New Day In Hawaii," was the phrase, "In Hawaii, our diversity does not divide us; our diversity defines us."

A governor should lead from a place of aloha, including and listening to everyone, not just some. Solutions, as hard as they may be to find, will come only if respect and tolerance is fostered. That starts at the top.

I visited Abercrombie’s headquarters; it looked rather bare. Abercrombie came up to me to chat. He was cheerful, sincere and optimistic. It was clear that he would do well despite an obvious lack of monetary campaign resources. Not every solution requires more money. Using other resources wisely, including people and their ideas, works too.

More than ever, Hawaii’s state government needs positive leadership that creatively makes do with what is available. Neil Abercrombie has served Hawaii well, and he should continue to do so.

Carlisle has clear leadership vision

The current SHOPO commercial gives the impression that the majority of SHOPO members made the decision to endorse Kirk Caldwell for mayor.

However, all of the officers whom I have talked to say they were never polled.

In the past, the SHOPO boards questioned, polled or gave ballots to members so that a consensus was reached before any candidate was endorsed. The decision to endorse was made by a few SHOPO board members and not the general membership.

The bottom line is this: For more than a decade, Peter Carlisle led the prosecuting attorney’s office with a clear vision and his successful partnership with HPD has resulted in some of the lowest crime rates in years. He knows how to work together with others for the common good of public safety.

Right now the economy is on everyone’s mind, but that’s only because crime is under control on Oahu. Nothing else matters when you don’t feel safe.

Wharton would fight for smaller government

This election cycle presents an opportunity for the more conservative voters in Hawaii to elect congressional representation that will be in the fight to stop the squandering of our tax dollars and the tax dollars of our children and grandchildren, and the spending of our country into third world status.

We must select the right candidate in the Republican primary in order to have the message of smaller, smarter government, lower taxes, less government intrusion into our businesses and personal lives carried effectively into the November election.

That candidate is Ramsay Wharton. As a former journalist, news anchor and investigative reporter at KGMB in Honolulu, she knows the issues facing the 2nd District firsthand.

Of the three candidates in the primary, Wharton is the only candidate who has the ability to establish the coalition of Republicans, independents and moderate Democrats necessary to effectively challenge the incumbent. Ramsay Puanani Wharton will be the nominee with core conservative values of limited government, lower spending, individual rights and personal responsibility.

Hawaii can go global under Hannemann

As an international businessman born in Honolulu, I am pleased to see that former Mayor Mufi Hannemann is poised to lead Hawaii into a role in the international business arena.

I had the pleasure of working with Mr. Hannemann as the head of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism and as mayor of Honolulu. He has both the grasp to understand the importance of Hawaii’s opportunities in the global marketplace and the ability to do something about it.

Hawaii has the geographical location and diversified human resources to become a larger player in the world economy. We welcome the opportunity to take advantage of Hawaii’s strategic location and help expand the "Paradise of the Pacific" into a viable economic showcase under Gov. Hannemann’s leadership.

LETTERS ON RELIGION AND POLITICS

Religious groups free to speak out

The unions can freely say, "Vote for this candidate." The newspapers can say it. Retired politicians can say it. And religious leaders can say it, if they follow the Democratic Party.

House Bill 444 brought many religious leaders, who through the media said, "Pass it." But when others opposed HB 444 for moral and religious reasons, the media said religion should be kept out of the debate.

Anyone should be able to say whether this person’s actions are moral or corrupt. The problem is that there are religious leaders who have embraced immoral behaviors that contradict their religion and now try to defend their beliefs through politics. Religious groups should be free to speak as to whether a candidate’s views or past decisions were right or wrong. That’s what freedom of speech is.

Voters free to use religion as guide

There is no such thing as "separation of church and state" in the Declaration of Independence, United States Constitution or federal statutory law. While a religious test for public office is not allowed to be levied by the government under Article VI of the U.S. Constitution, private individuals are, and always have been, free (and even duty-bound) to support and elect candidates who share the moral values of those who choose to vote for them. Political parties are private entities that are also legally free to support candidates on such a basis.

That is the nature of our political system, and our First Amendment rights to free speech guarantee that every voter has both the opportunity to speak in support or opposition to any and all candidates, as well as the perhaps even more important right to hear speech in support and opposition to any and all candidates.

Christians must live their faith boldly

Kudos to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser for covering the dust-up over the injection of religion into the body politic. ("The clashing of church, state," "Letters on religion and politics," Star-Advertiser, Sept. 12).

Christian voters have at last found their voice after decades of being bullied into silence by a hateful cabal of name-calling atheists, ACLU-pandering politicians and their amen corner in the media.

Christians cringed in silence when the cross at Kolekole Pass was pulled down. They groveled in fear when the cross on a Catholic church was removed because someone might take offense.

The time for groveling and cringing is over. The time for Christians to live their faith boldly and without apology — according to the First Amendment — is at hand. In hoc signo, vinces! (With this as your standard, you shall have victory!)

America is not a Christian nation

Sydney Inuauoe’s letter is a perfect example of what is wrong with this "neo-theocracy" movement in Hawaii ("Don’t attack Christians," Star-Advertiser, Sept. 12).

Just as important as faith is to many Christians, the separation of it from our government is to others in the community.

Why are Christians surprised at societal pushback and anger at their dangerous motives? Christians continue their full-court press to force their religious "values" on the rest of us via elected officials and legislation, while framing every political issue in religious terms, like the Taliban. No, America is not a Christian nation any more than it is a Buddhist nation.

As to Inuauoe’s take on Christians as striving toward "faith, hope and love," I have seen little of these latter two virtues and only blind adherence to the first, in the Christian community lately.