On Duke Aiona, The Far Right and the First Congressional District

Recent poll numbers published by the DailyKos show the Abercrombie/Aiona race in a virtual dead heat. http://www.dailykos.com/polling/2010/10/2/HI-1/11/5ZR4SHow is it possible that a guy like Duke Aiona can even be considered a credible Gubernatorial candidate?He has absolutely no meaningful experience in government or the private sector.As lieutenant governor he has totally squandered the past 8 years - accomplishing nothing of any significance whatsoever. Zilch. Kaimu. Nada. Zero. Walang anuman. ‘Ole.His main claim to fame is being appointed to a judgeship which he then quit, claiming the pay was too low.Plus, Duke Aiona is a right wing religious zealot. He believes that everyone who does not agree with his particular theology is going to hell. At the present count that would be over 5 billion of us.Which is why of course that Duke and his friends would like to save us.You see, Duke is the “righteous one”. Duke has been chosen by God to save Hawaii from burning in hell. Visit the churches hosting the Duke signs out front and they will tell you this. They will tell you that God has sent them a sign, and that Duke has been chosen by God to lead us all down the path to righteousness.So how can it be possible that 48% of Hawaii residents are ready to elect him as Hawaii’s next Governor? Are people so shallow, so busy and so uninformed that they will vote for him just because he’s young, he’s Hawaiian and he’s pretty? Is it the religious dogma and tea party frenzy of the "new right" that drive his numbers? Has our democracy become so broken and so driven by money, marketing and media that substance matters not at all?It is on days like this that I wonder. I wonder about the wisdom of our forefathers. I wonder if perhaps our system is broken and in need of radical perhaps revolutionary change. I wonder why more people are not as outraged as I but rather seem content to muck about their lives, accepting and believing that none of this matters anyway.But then I come to my senses and with some relief realize that this poll does not include the neighbor islands nor rural Oahu, and is only of residents of the First Congressional District – This is the same district that gives us other right wing conservatives like State Senator Sam Slom, Representative Gene Ward…and the same district that has elected and re-elected Congressman Neil Abercrombie for the past 20 years. Go figure.