I know. It sounds like an oxymoron. It’s right up there with jumbo shrimp and quiet children. They’re the stuff of myths. Most people smirk at the idea of their true existence. After all, no matter how big a shrimp is-it is still a shrimp. Children are never quiet (come visit me sometime for proof). And Republicans may vacation in Hawaii, but they are not locals.

Born and bred Hawaiians are liberals. Case closed.

Much like Massachusetts Republicans, the notion that Hawaiian Republicans actually exist is viewed with skepticism. It would be a joke then, to hold even the tiniest sliver of hope that a Republican could win a Senate seat in MA. Especially if that seat’s previous occupant has been a Kennedy. I mean, that’s as close as we get to royalty in the U.S. It would also be ridiculous to even ponder the chances of a Republican winning a seat in the House of Representatives, representing the district of Barack Obama’s childhood.

Except that one of those things already happened.

And it looks like Charles Djou is leading in the polls in Hawaii’s 1st district special election.

In his own words (from an online Q&A hosted by Red State’s Caleb Howe)

On immigration:

As the child of immigrants, I understand that immigration is a positive benefit for our nation. While I support a large open front door to legal immigration in the U.S., that will only work if we close the back door of illegal immigration. I understand Arizona’s frustration – all the more reason Congress must act to address illegal immigration.

On immigration, all of us must realize that we are a nation of immigrants. We can move past the heated partisanship by coming to a common agreement that we are still a nation that supports LEGAL immigration, but need to secure our borders and cut off ILLEGAL immigration.

On taxes:

I have built my career as a state representative and councilmember on fiscal responsibility. I have never voted for a tax increase or a budget that increases spending by more than inflation plus population growth. I will continue this record if I am fortunate to get elected to Congress. I do not support any plan to “spend” our way to prosperity.

My philosophy and approach to governing supports lower taxes over higher taxes and a simpler tax code to a more complex tax code. I share the concern that an ever increasing percentage of Americans are not paying any taxes to fund our government. I support tax reform, similar to what Pres. Reagan did in 1986, to simplify our tax brackets and lower our marginal rates.

I generally support a progressive income tax, but believe that our current tax code is too complicated and the rates are too high. I much prefer to see much fewer and much lower tax rates coupled with fewer tax deductions and exemptions. I like your thought on income “smoothing,” but want to make sure it is easy to apply and enforce.

On diversity:

The beauty of Hawaii comes not only from our natural resources, but also the diversity of people. I look forward to serving in Congress as both a Republican and as an Asian-American. Conservative values and fiscal responsibility is something that stretches across racial and ethnic lines.

On health care:

I would not have voted for the healthcare bill if I were in Congress last month. I support repeal and if elected will actively work to dramatically reform the current healthcare act.

In Hawaii, like the rest of the nation, medical malpractice insurance is the fastest rising cost to practice medicine. We need to control this with tort reform. I also makes no sense for our nation to have 50 separate health insurance markets in the 50 states. We should have one single national market for health insurance. In Hawaii 90% of all residents get their health insurance from only two companies – that is not sufficient competition.

Congress should allow for interstate sale of health insurance and only set minimum rules to smooth interstate commerce. Beyond that, the regulation should still largely be left to the states.

On the “nanny state”:

I believe the beauty of our nation is based on individual liberty and individual responsibility. Our government should be limited. When government starts telling individual Americans what they can or can not eat, we have clearly gone too far and Congress should not get involved.

On national security:

Hawaii, located half-way between Asia and North America, is key to our national security. As an Army Reserve officer, I understand and appreciate how critical the military is to both my home district and our nation. The major challenges for the U.S. in the 21st Century will come from the Asia-Pacific region and Congress much maintain a strong presence in Hawaii. North Korea in the near-term and a possibly hostile China in the long-term are concerns our armed services must be ready to confront. As a member of Congress I will work to provide the necessary upgrades to our Pacific military forces.

Mr. Djou needs our help in this special all mail-in election. Find out how you can help at www.djou.com. It may seem like an impossibility for a Republican to win a House seat from Hawaii, but just ask Scott Brown-stranger things have happened.

I had quite a time getting set up for blogging CPAC this morning.  There will probably be a post about my adventures since my airplane post soon.  Trust me, it was definitely an adventure.  A humorous one.  Because, well, sometimes you have to choose whether to laugh or cry, and I always choose to laugh.

Because I was so behind in getting setting up, I missed the opening speaker.  Marco Rubio.  I saw the last 20 seconds of his speech, just enough time to snap one ridiculously tiny & fuzzy picture on my blackberry.  I was bummed.  I almost cried.  Then I decided to laugh instead.  I’m like that.

Then I was walking from one place to another and ran into Leon & Jillian Wolf, two very awesome people that I’m happy to call my friends.  Oh yeah, and Erickson was there too.  ”You want to meet Marco Rubio?” He asks me.  Do I?  Um… YES.  ”He’s right in there with a small press group.”  I just stared at him.  Nerves, yah know.  ”Go on in,” he said, giving me a little push into the room.  ”Everyone thinks you’re my wife anyway!”  (Ask me about that story sometime, it’s really funny.)

So that’s how a found myself standing ten feet from Marco Rubio, taking questions from a dozen or so journalists, both real and citizen, although the distinction is getting very blurred very quickly these days.  In fact, citizen journalism and social media was the topic de jour.

He said that he wouldn’t have a campaign if it weren’t for the bloggers.  The ability to communicate online has made it possible for anyone to become a candidate, or a journalist.  There’s a whole new set of rules in today’s political world.  Because of the wide access to information, Americans no longer have to choose between two candidates that are sort of the same, picking the one that we like better.

People understand what’s at stake, and candidates are being more widely vetted than ever before.  We don’t need to rely on the traditional media to tell us what to think about a candidate, we get the information ourselves and get it out there.  Some really consequential things are happening in Washington, and will continue to happen if we don’t stop it by sending sensible people to congress.

His hope for the 2010 elections, of course, is to win a senate seat in Florida, but also to be one of a crop of newly elected Senators and Congressmen determined to restore our country to it’s greatness, not fundamentally transform it into something not recognizable in our Constitution.  Which is why he spoke at CPAC: to reach a broader audience.  He hopes that the attendees from across the country go home and seek out reliable candidates to support and vote for.

When asked about Scott Brown, he commented that if the Obama agenda is not safe in Massachusetts, it’s not safe anywhere.  And then his handler said he had to go, so he politely said it was nice to talk to us, walked right past me, smiled directly at me, and said (and I quote), “Hi.”

Awesomeness.