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Hawai`i was Obama’s strongest state in both 2008 and 2012, giving him 70% of the vote each time.  It’s arguably the nation’s most Democratic state.

This can partly be attributed to the fact that any politician who wants power in the State Legislature better be a Democrat in this Democratic-controlled institution or they’ll be relegated to the powerless back bench.

Consequently Hawaii gets a lot of Democratic politicians who, if this weren’t such a Democratic stronghold, might have signed up with the Republican Party.  For instance, many of the infamous anti-gay-marriage legislators are Democrats – putting them in conflict with the Democratic Party Platform.

Nexus of the Tiny Republican Party in Hawai’i

But even Hawai`i has a right-wing movement of people who admit to being Republican…or Teapartiers.  Yep, even here in Hawai’i we have a right wing which revolves around a birther-friendly blog called Hawaii Reporter. (No link – don’t want to give them any more clicks.)

Hawaii Reporter is operated by Malia Zimmerman. Her blog has strong ties to the GOP and only loose ties to the truth.  Activist Sam Slom (the only Republican in the Hawai`i’s 25-member state Senate) and conservative talk-show host Rick Hamada get featured roles.  It is funded by the conservative Franklin Center. Zimmerman was reputedly let go from her previous job for what could be charitably described as poor fact-checking.

Slom’s organization (Smart Business Hawaii fka Small Business Hawaii) and Hamada’s talk show both have banner ads on the HR blog. They also provide content, such as columns (by Slom) and interview clips (by Hamada).

Hanabusa promotes the Birther Blog

The HR blog reports on Orly Taitz’s “investigations” into Obama’s birth certificate. Taitz’s conspiracy theories are reported on as though they were credible news.  Slom also raises questions about Obama’s birth certificate and  Hamada interviewed Slom about his concerns about Obama’s birth certificate.  And remember, Sam Slom has actually been elected to office!

While the rest of the world is debating actual civil liberties issues, Hamada is devoting his radio show to conspiracy theories, such as Obama’s “PC crackdown” on Facebook’s Islamophobes.

By most objective measures, these folks would be considered fringe elements. Yet they’ve benefited from a strange and long-standing association with Democratic Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa, who’s now running for U.S. Senate.

Hanabusa’s campaign directs traffic to the right wing Hawaii Reporter blog and she frequently speaks before Slom’s organization. Check out this photo with Slom at a Smart Business Hawaii function.

Hanabusa touts her regular appearances on Hamada’s show on Twitter.  Understandably, Hanabusa is deemed a “friend of the show”.

The proudly right-wing Slom has been enthusing about Hanabusa for years. This is from a decade ago regarding her allegedly courageous stand against labor while in the state legislature:

Even Republican Sen. Sam Slom sings her praises: “That takes a lot of guts – you get peer pressure from your party and from the unions,” he says.

And you were wondering why Hanabusa lost almost all of her labor endorsements this election?Why does Hanabusa spend so much quality time with these right-wingers? Maybe the same reason she’s in the New Democrat Coalition? Hanabusa likes conservatives. Perhaps Hanabusa, at heart, is a conservative.

Is it Conservatism or is it Money?

Or maybe she just follows the money.  She’s buddies with the money men who ignore labels and ideology for lucrative favors from any elected official they can corrupt – guys like attorney Jeff Watanabe and developers Jeff Stone and Cameron Nekota.  (She was a key figure in the Ko Olina controversy where she got state funds for her friend, Stone’s, development and appeared to receive some perks as a result.)

Watanabe was a Bush supporter attending a George W. Bush fundraiser in 2003.

Watanabe was the man who delivered the infamous letter from a dying Sen. Daniel Inouye to Gov. Neil Abercrombie urging the appointment of Hanabusa to the Senate.  This letter was later revealed to have been written by now-Hanabusa staffer, Jennifer Sabas,  and robo-signed.

Who wants Hanabusa in the Senate?  Inouye or the corrupt right wing developers?

Government records show that Stone has contributed tens of thousands dollars to GOP entities – and to a Democrat named Colleen Hanabusa.

Nekota is Hanabusa’s campaign chairman – and just three years ago he was a major Republican donor.  Did he have a change of heart or does Hanabusa fit the right wing mold?

These are Hanabusa’s friends. Hawai’i voters in next summer’s U.S. Senate primary must ask themselves: Are they my friends?

California Lawyer Determined to Get to the Bottom of Obama ‘Fraud-gate’; She is In Hawaii to Examine President’s Birth Certificate

BY MALIA ZIMMERMAN – Dr. Orly Taitz, a California lawyeroriginally from the Soviet Union, is heading up a campaign to examine President Barack Obama’s original long form birthcertificate.

After serving the state 33 days ago with a demand to produce the document, Taitz brought two experts to the state Department of Health on Monday. She said they hoped to get a closer look at the document to determine whether the birthcertificate is a “cheap forgery” as she and her experts allege. She calls it “Obama Fraud-gate” – a take off on Watergate.

However, her request was denied. “As you know, Hawaii law does not allow the department to release birth records to anyone that does not have a tangible interest in the record,” said Janice Okubo, spokesperson for the state Department of Health.

Joshua Wisch, Special Assistant to the Attorney General, also presented a letter to Taitz from Deputy Attorney General Jill Nagamine that denied her request. ”You are seeking disclosure of privileged or other protected matter, and there is no exception that applies to allow disclosure to you,” it reads.

“This is a joke because he (the president) already has posted the long form birth certificate on the web site,whitehouse.gov. Privacy is irrelevant,” Taitz said.

Not surprised by the state’s denial, she had a back up plan. She headed over to  U.S. District Court where she hopes she can use federal muscle to force the state to compel the document at her September 14, 10 a.m. hearing.

“We want to check the authenticity – it (the birth certificate) could not be from 1961,” Taitz said. “The certificate had different fonts, different ink, and some computer graphics.”

Taitz, who runs Defend our Freedoms Foundation, organization that attempts to solicit Obama’s personal documents including his marriage certificate, social security card and birth certificate, said she current is managing four legal cases to view these original documents.