It was very strange to go looking for information about the State Democratic Party convention held over the weekend and find that the conservative Hawaii Reporter was offering live video of the major speeches from the convention.
I doubt many in attendance would put Hawaii Reporter high on their must-read lists, but HR got the video and now has it archived and publicly available.
How in the world did that happen?
There’s a batch of convention photographs by Andrew Wertheimer, available on Flickr.
And there was a Twitter feed from the convention that has links to more photos and other info.
I haven’t seen the results of the election for the party’s Central Committee, although I did see that Russell Okata defeated Maui’s Jonathan Starrin the election of Hawaii’s National Committeeman.
And, on an entirely different topic, BlogHer has an interesting little discussion last week on how bloggers should respond to comments. And, of course, the comments are a big part of it.
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It’s just speculation on my part, but perhaps my friend Malia, with the possibility of becoming a coowner of the Star-Bulletin, now sees Hawaii Reporter more in the sights of people looking for news in Hawaii. And rather than be extremely slanted toward conservative views, wants to put forth more balanced coverage.
You know, the best thing about a news outlet is its neutrality toward the subject matter. And maybe there’s also that seeking balance and equilibrium in the marketplace. And maybe there’s Civic Beat weighing in on Hawaii Reporter’s approach.
Seems to be a good thing.
Yeah sure. More likely, Republicans believe that since the current cycle is perceived to be anti-incumbent, any broadcasting of incumbent party views inherently works in their favor. There is a lot of question as to whether their read on the situation is right, especially by the time November rolls around, but it would be a big surprise if the decision was not motivated by potential partisan gain. Like everything else Hawaii Reporter does.
“Yeah right,” is insulting…”motivated by potential partisan gain.” “Dumb haole,” was an often-used childhood insult. I don’t know what shade “Year right” is, but the comment is very demeaning to those of us to write with another perspective; mine, for instance is seemingly welcomed for its Hawaiian flavor. What kind of partisan gain is there to be realized by giving a voice to the old-times? What are your gripes about Rath?
If Russell Okata is the new National Committeeman, it is yet another sign that the party remains a creature of the HGEA. Unless and until the stranglehold which the public employee unions have on the party is weakened enough for air to pass through, true political reform will remain chimerical. I write as a lifelong Democrat and former government employee and HGEA member.
Why woudn’t Hawaii Reporter be high on your list of must read sites ? I am probably at the opposite side of the political spectrum from you, Ian, but you are still pretty high up on my list of local sites. Unfortuantely, there are just not enough sites with a local focus and depth, of any bias, to be picky, our shrinking newspapers included.
Life is dull in the echo chamber, feel free to venture outside. Hawaii Reporters opinion columinists are obvously predominanty conservative, but they usually ideintify themselves as such, and there are regular left leaning type contributors as well. They always provide a pltaform for local politicians.
I’d like to point out a contrast between the two parties ignored by the major media. The popular prejudice, encouraged by the corporate media, is that the Democratic Party is tightly controlled by an “Old Boy Network.” Meanwhile, they ignore the heavyhanded control Lingle’s group has exercised over the working of the GOP.
Let’s use the party conventions as a test. Malia Zimmerman is a committed rightwing propagandist, working hand in glove with Sam Slom to advocate for “movement conservative” positions. Yet the Dems allow her free reign at their convention.
Can ANYONE provide a counter-example of a committed liberal being allowed comparable access to the GOP convention? Doesn’t happen.
Not only are “liberal” activists barred from the GOP convention, commercial media has very restricted access as well, generally being excluded from the committee deliberations which are held behind closed doors. The press, including Zimmerman, can wander in and out of the same meetings when held by the Democrats.
Yet the media never comments on this difference.
Because Lingle is a lame duck and control is being shared with the Aiona group, Lingle’s control was less absolute at the recent GOP convention. But in 2008, her people used every parliamentary trick, including clear violations of Robert’s Rules, to shut down free debate and internal elections. They even passed out ballots already marked with votes for Lingle loyalists and these were accepted when cast!
Again, the commercial media ignored this behavior. But had it been an inner group of Democrats using such heavyhanded tactics, it would have been broadcast all over the papers and TV stations.
The reality is, the Democratic Party is internally WAY more democratic, transparent and accountable to its members than the GOP. Yet the media keeps alive the myth of the Old Boy Network and the Democratic Machine, not because it is accurate, but becaue it is useful to their efforts to undermine the strength of the Democrats vis a vis the corporate class which wants to run the state unimpeded by demands from the Democrats.
The rightys were probably hoping for a Mufi/Neil supporter feud and consequent meltdown live for their future propaganda use. Didn’t happen, though the mood at times may have been tense. As a virgin delegate I was impressed with the strong effort to allow everyone a voice and a vote.
There was no railroading or influence about any items on the platform. A remarkable experience. I’ve been having a lot of those lately.