StarBulletin.com

Lingle relishes GOP forum


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POSTED: Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Among those listening to Gov. Linda Lingle's final State of the State speech yesterday at the state Capitol was an old political buddy from Maryland, Michael Steele, the controversial chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Lingle and Steele were fellow state GOP chairmen a decade ago, and the Hawaii delegation was a key vote in making Steele leader of the national GOP, Lingle said.

Steele is in town to head the winter meeting of the RNC, to be held tomorrow through Saturday at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

Lingle praised yesterday the GOP's decision to hold the event in Honolulu, noting that while some criticize the high cost of hosting a convention in Hawaii, “;our hotel room rates are less than what we pay when we go to Washington.”;

; “;He made this decision some time ago,”; Lingle said of Steele. “;It is a great decision to come to the president's home state, the most diverse state in America, a state that is focused on Asia, which is our future, and the headquarters of the Pacific armed forces.”;

Even the newly elected interim head of the state Democratic Party, Dante Carpenter, welcomed the GOP, noting that among blue and red states, Hawaii is one of the deepest blues, or Democratic states.

“;We want to welcome the reds to one of the bluest states,”; Carpenter said. “;We welcome them and bid them aloha because we are all in the same boat. The challenges are irrespective of party and are almost foreboding but not impossible.”;

Lingle is expected today to make the first of several speeches to Republicans when she gives the luncheon keynote to an “;Island Summit”; designed to help Hawaii GOP candidates.

The all-day meeting will also include speeches by Steele and Jonah Kaauwai, Hawaii party chairman, and Jan Larimer, committee co-chairwoman.

“;We are talking about how to get more women involved,”; Larimer said yesterday, adding that the RNC will also cover “;communications, finance and campaign training.”;

“;It will be a training session for locals, how they can network with each other, lead them into new media,”; Larimer said.