By Melba Amaral Kalihi Valley, Honolulu, Medical/Legal Researcher
Have you ever heard the saying “If you always do what you’ve always done, you will always get what you’ve always gotten”? Let that sink in for a moment. I certainly don’t want to insult anyone. Truly, I don’t. But the reality is, I most certainly will.
Hawaii voters are a great example of this. Why? Every election cycle, we seem to keep the democratic party in power.
Of course, there are perhaps a few factors as to why, and the very same reason could be the very common sense reason as to why the Filipino community should support the republican party. And perhaps change the course of Hawaii politics through common sense. I don’t like local politics; I prefer foreign policy.
In 2024, I ran for Congress to challenge our current Senator (who seems to embarrass herself and her constituents every time she decides to speak).
To my surprise, the Filipino community and the local unions threw their support for her again, as they did previously.
See the pattern? But wait, here is the kicker. The Filipino community or the local Filipino paper did not support its own. Why would they not support another Filipino, born in the Philippines and through naturalization became a legal citizen of the US (maternal parent born in Hawaii and Grandfather’s service in the US military)?
I mentioned earlier that Hawaii politics can change through common sense. Voting for a fellow Filipino candidate is common sense. By doing so, it breaks the complacency of the current party.
There are no current checks and balances. Fraud is rampant, and it didn’t happen overnight. From Medicare, Medicaid and SNAP benefits, food bank and I’m sure there’s more to come. Supporting Filipino republican candidates, it also creates leadership roles or at least provides a pathway.
Immigration is a hot topic and reasonably so. The Filipino community should understand this more than anyone else. There is a connection to the plantation era in Hawaii.
My grandfather immigrated and worked in the plantation, and served in the military not long after. Although very young, I went through the naturalization process. The republican party supports legal immigration, not through open borders.
Get in line, wait, and go through the process like everybody before us. Do we not teach our children not to cut in line? Learn English.
Filipino community represents Hawaii’s highly unionized workforce. Just because you give them your monthly union dues doesn’t mean you have to vote democrat.
Finally and most importantly, our faith. There is a significant portion of Hawaii’s Filipino community that is Roman Catholic (receives communion) or evangelical. The very same Filipino community who are unionized and supports abortion every time they support a democrat candidate.
Perhaps after reading this editorial, we shall start asking ourselves if we have been doing the same thing over and over, and that perhaps common sense should prevail.
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