The Hawaii Republican Party is criticizing Rep. Mazie Hirono for inviting outgoing Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., as a “special guest” to an April 13 fundraiser for her U.S. Senate campaign on Maui.

Hawaii GOP Executive Director Nacia Lee Blom described Frank as “ignorant” at best, and potentially self-serving in his pre-recession approach to regulating the housing market.

“For someone who was so willfully ignorant of how his actions were precipitating such an enormous catastrophe, it is truly astounding that Mazie Hirono would invite him to Hawaii to ask local residents for money on her behalf,” she wrote. 

Taking a cue from Arizona Sen. John McCain‘s 2008 presidential campaign, Blom recalled remarks from former President Bill Clinton about how Democrats had resisted “efforts by Republicans in the Congress, or by me when I was President, to put some standards and tighten up a little on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.”