On the day that the Democratic Party of Hawaii opened its three-day convention at the Sheraton Waikiki, the Hawaii Republican Party issued a blistering attack.

Excerpts:

(Spokesman Chuck) Freedman’s and Hawaii Democrat leadership’s destructive behavior has allowed their message of divisive politics to seep down into their own ranks to the point where their own Democrat candidates can’t even agree on a debate schedule!

In fact, the Democrats cancelled a debate and in an outrageous and unprecedented move, candidates for the Hawaii Democrat Party were told that if they want to address party delegates, they would have to pay for it – by the minute. Honolulu Civil Beat reported that state Democrats were imposing a $500/minute speaking fee for candidates wishing to directly address the delegates. Unsurprisingly, the only candidate to accept this offer was Mazie Hirono, who plopped down $4,000 to address the convention delegation for a mere eight minutes. Even more unsurprising, today it was announced (by Mazie herself) that the outrageous rule regarding the speaking fee was rescinded. This is par for the course with the Hawaii Democrat Party. Time and time again they are forced to go back on their own rules and decisions.