On September 23, the voters of the 2nd Congressional District will have a chance to elect a Congressman who has taken no special interest money during his election campaign.

On September 23, the voters of the 2nd Congressional District will have a chance to elect a Congressman who has run his ideas for a “Common Sense Congress” around the 2nd Congressional District.

On September 23, the voters of the 2nd Congressional District will have a chance to elect a Congressman who has spoken out against continuing the Iraq disaster and who has proposed a Second Front on the War On Terror that would promote international understanding for future generations.

Finally, on September 23, the voters of the 2nd Congressional District will have a chance to elect a Congressman who has called upon the President and the Congress to stop strangling our babies in “national debt” — to Stop billing the babies and to stop Congressional pork barrel addiction. It always gets billed to your children and grandchildren.

On September 23, you get to vote. Only you can decide what issues are most important for you.

We’ve added a new feature to the site: see the map of Hawaii with markers showing where Joe’s been sharing his ideas for a Common Sense Congress.

On August 10th my Race for a Common Sense Congress will come to Maui for a four-day run from the highlands to the coast.

Kauai Airport…Just finished five days running my ideas for a Common Sense Congress around the island of Kauai. During those five days I suspect that I interacted with approximately 30,000 persons. Actually who is counting when the temperature is blazing hot and the sweat is poring down your face. Simply stated thousands of residents and tourists learned that a Race for Congress is under way in Hawaii.

I cannot begin to describe the kindness of the many people who I met while on the road. In my mind, the residents and tourists of Kauai are some of the kindest people I have every met. I do not begin to think that they were all supportive of my ideas for common sense in Congress. With luck they will eventually learn about my proposals to end wasteful (pork barrel) earmarks and my ideas for a Second Front on the War on Terrorism. But for now I simply think that they appreciated my effort at getting out on the road in the hot sun and my act of holding up my Joe Zuiker For Congress sign while running down their roads.

For my part I think people and tourists on Kauai love adventure and are independent enough to appreciate individual effort. And I know that the many persons who did learn of my Campaign Finance Reform ideas of running for Congress without taking special interest money were really enthused by my efforts. Those folks like independence and they had no trouble understanding why taking special interest money leads to Congressional candidate “business as usual”.

Finally the many persons who I talked to on Kauai had no trouble agreeing with me that there are no “family values” in forcing our children and grandchildren to pay for our national lack of budget discipline.

As I leave Kauai I have to admit that I am very tired and my legs hurt after five days of hitting the pavement. But as long as the good people of Kauai and the Second Congressional District give me the number of smiles, Shakas and “right on Joe” that I received during the last five days, I will keep running and running in my Race for Congress. One thing is very clear to me…As long as I get the support of the people at ground level, I am in this race to stay.

If it is Friday, I must be on the road again. I try and balance my day job and my Race for Congress as best as I can. So I assist injured workers and their families throughout the Hawaiian Islands Monday through Thursdays and hit the road in my Race for Congress on Fridays and weekends.

Yesterday I took my ideas for a common sense Congress from the Castle Hospital junction to the end of Waimanalo. As usual I met wonderful people, saw the beauty of Hawaii and had a great time. Here are some impressions from recent runs:

Sad and Powerful - Last week - Waimanalo

Most of the people I meet on my runs are hard working supporters of their families, with plenty of bill paying common sense. They live in a real world that includes fear of forgetting to pay bills on time, concern over their personal credit ratings and the knowledge that they could lose their cable connections, autos or homes if they do not pay their bills on time.

When I meet these people on the road, I give out campaign information that includes a replica credit card bill that tells people about our government’s failure to pay its bills. The bill states that our current Congress has increased the federal deficit by $3 trillion dollars, from $6 trillion to $9 trillion during the six years of President Bush’s time in office.

When I give out copies of this credit card bill to adults, I remind them that the U.S. budget deficit is nothing more than a gigantic credit card debt and that Congress will be making their children pay for that debt in the coming years. The usual reaction that I get from Hawaii’s residents is sad and powerful.

Last week I gave the information to a very nice young man who was ordering breakfast for his family at Keneke’’s. I told him about the federal deficit and handed him a credit card bill from Congress. As I told him that his child and my grandchildren will have to pay this huge deficit, he looked over to his small child who was next to him in his auto. The man then looked at me and said, “How can it be that my child has to pay this bill?” He said it with utter disbelief that his child could be stuck with the federal deficit mess made by Congress.

It is those powerful experiences that motivate me to hit the road, get sweaty and dirty and bake in the noonday sun while racing for Congress. (more…)

Laie area … Today I had the pleasure of greeting residents of the Laie area. The country was beautiful today with bright skies and green trees everywhere. I stood on the side of the road for three hours just past the Polynesian Cultural Center and Brigham Young University. Motorists were courteous and drove slow. In the country you can take things at a sensible pace.

I am left with two impressions from this afternoon’s visit to Laie. (more…)

On Memorial Day I visited the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific to pay my respects to our fallen veterans and their families. The thousands of lei and the flags placed on each grave were powerful reminders of our respect for these veterans and their families and a reminder of the sacrifices that each of them made to our Nation.
(more…)

Be the first athlete in your neighborhood to wear one of my bright red Race for Congress “bibs” as you jog, walk, hold hands, bike or whatever. Soon these beautiful racing bibs will be seen all over the islands. Help show that there is an alternative to excessive special interest money in our Congressional campaigns.

Get your bib today, and hit the road with Joe.