I stumbled across this candidate in the special congressional election in Hawaii. Charles Djou appears to have a slight lead and may actually have a chance to win. Here is a copy of a campaign update. Perhaps some of you have hear of him. It is another chance to send a message to Washington.

It’s hard to believe, but voting starts in just about 30 days!

Those 30 days in April will be the most important of our campaign — the time when we identify and turn out the votes we will need to bring real change to Washington, D.C. from right here in Hawaii.

That’s why from now until March 31st we’ve set an online goal of raising $30K for 30 Days to fund the important registration and turnout activities we will need to be ready for the mailing of ballots on April 30th.

Thanks to your generosity and a healthy dose of fiscal conservatism in running our campaign, we’ve been able to conserve resources in order to fund an aggressive television ad campaign introducing me to voters in the 1st district.  Our second ad, featuring my wife Stacey will begin airing today, click here for a preview. Now, I need to raise the funds to build the 30-day ground campaign we will need to persuade voters person-to-person. Can you help us reach our goal? March 31st is also the last full fundraising deadline of our campaign. The media, along with the Case and Hanabusa campaigns, will be poring over the reports for any sign of weakness. By helping reach the goal, you’ll ensure they don’t find any. With your help, we CAN send a powerful message to Congress that bigger government isn’t the answer and that Washington’s focus on increasing taxes and continued wasteful spending must stop. Help me make your voice heard in our Nation’s Capitol. Mahalo! Charles

In today’s Seattle Times a rather shameless puff piece was written about Senator Patty Murray, D.Wa. The piece tries to sell the idea her seat is safe. It took awhile but I found a reference to a story where Murray was shocked by internal polls showing she had a 12% lead over unnamed Republican. It seems there are several unknowns running for the Republican Primary. In the comments section where the vast majority do not like Murray one fellow named Craig Williams stated he was a Republican candidate running in the primary. A poster asked Williams several questions which later Williams responded. Cut and paste to follow. I wrote Williams and he confirmed that he did in fact respond. Read the guys responses, he sounds like a viable candidate.

To Proudtobealiberal, Antler,

Thank you for the questions and the exchange. I returned from church and wanted to read all the posts before I responded. Here are my thoughts in the order you asked:

*H-1B visas and in-state tuition – I do not favor providing in-state tuition to H-1B employees or their families. I paid out-of-state tuition at Georgia Tech when I earned my MS in Nuclear Engineering, and even though I work in Oregon and pay Oregon income taxes I still had to pay out-of-state tuition for classes at Portland State University when I got my MBA in Securities Finance.

I also believe H-1B visas should be restricted their traditional role as a tool to bring people with unique specialty occupations to the U.S., not as a business tool to reduce labor costs.

*Paying the National Debt, Bush tax cuts, Prevailing as a freshmen – 435 Representatives and 100 Senators must balance the budget with $300-400 Billion payments on the debt included in that total. It will still take 20 years, but it is doable.

I opposed the the Bush tax cuts then and now. Republicans ignored the regressive nature of the left side of the Laffer curve and cut taxes for political gamesmanship. It made things worse and simply required more deficit spending which is nothing bust a future tax increase.

I’m working to speak the truth whether my own caucus agrees with it or not. Had Republicans done nothing more than insist on budgetary integrity, balance the budget, and pay the national debt over the last 30 years they would have the complete trust of the American people today despite our differences on social issues. There is no substitute for integrity.

*Did I benefit from the real estate bubble? – NO. I primarily represent buyers and I was one of the few people warning that the rapid rise in prices would not be good in the long run. I recognized that people all through the industry were compromising their honesty to “make the deal go through”, but nobody had an interest in stopping the circus. Bad loans are not the root of this real estate crisis, dishonesty in the face of making money is the root.

*How to balance the budget – You are 100% correct that the task is daunting. It will take every Rep. and Sen. at the table to do it. I suggest starting with today’s revenues of approximately $2.2T, and FY1999-2000′s outlays of approximately $1.8T. This provides a balanced budget with room to spare for starting payments on the national debt. We can adjust any section of the budget we need to, but we must hold the line on keeping revenues and outlays in balance. We must reduce spending dramatically to reach these goals.

Balancing the budget this way will require dedication, political will, and fortitude but it is the right thing to do for the country at this time and will set a foundation for moving forward on a much safer financial path.

*Correcting the damage of globalization – I can’t say that I can correct the damage that has been done. There are benefits to “globalization” as well. However, I would start with less government managed trade (GATT), and begin requiring foreign products/companies to meet the same environmental and safety standards that American workers and companies comply with.

I realize that this is not a treatise, but it does provide my basic thoughts on the subjects. Again, thank you for asking and giving me an opportunity to reply.

I hope to earn your vote and help to accomplish these goals together.

- Craig

Craig Williams
U.S. Senate Candidate 2010
www.VoteWilliams2010.com