What's up with Djou?

[WindwardOahuRN]

Re: What's up with Djou?

he has a skinny face & REALLY BIG SHINY WHITE TEETH!

Which might be considered weapons, if we were at war. Or even if we were engaged in a street fight.

:::envisioning canines embedded in a shoulder:::

Dental issues aside...the guy just plainass creeps me out.

Again, open to alternate opinions...

[WindwardOahuRN]

Re: What's up with Djou?

Adri - you are right. He does make good arguments, its just that they seem only that - arguments. Kind of like - If you say yes, I'll say no. If he is just playing "devils advocate", he is doing a good job. Bjut my feeling is he would be more productive if he showed support for the majority. Right now, it seems he is only trying to position himself for a run at higher office.

He seems like a "player," aiming for bigger game. I don't like what I see as a calculating, game-playing tendency.

JMHO, of course.

[anapuni808]

Re: What's up with Djou?

an opinion we definitely share!

[craigwatanabe]

Re: What's up with Djou?

I actually like the fact that he isn't one of those follow the sheep kinda person. If he's gonna ruffle the feathers of another council member or the Mufi admin, that's good because it puts everybody on guard that someone may not just rubberstamp their vote without some meaningful arguement. Call it Devil's Advocate or being an opportunist, but I feel there needs to be a thorn in the side of the political process so there is no complacency.

That's why I voted for Neil Abrocrombie long time ago in his initial bid for congress. He was the renegade long-haired hippie (dope smoking?) anti Vietnam protester in your face young democrat that I thought would shake up the old boy network. When he cut his ponytail off for the sake of fitting in with the proper DC Democrats I lost faith in him.

We need people like Djou to stir the pot occasionally. Right or wrong he get's people thinking.

[TuNnL]

Re: What's up with Djou?

So far, everyone here has kind of danced around the core of this debate. Is Djou creepy and a slippery politician? Yes. Does he enjoy bucking heads and going against the grain? Yes. But those two things in itself would not sway me. Frankly, I like that he has been the voice of dissent.

What really matters to me, are the facts. One thing that I know to be a fact, is that Charles Djou is absolutely, unequivocally, an opportunist. He is looking for any and every opportunity for a photo op, a television appearance, a quote in the newspaper, etc. Doesn't every politician, you ask? This guy is definitely above and beyond typical when it comes to this stuff.

No, he will say anything and do anything, if it means the lens is focused on him. And that's why he is destined to get burned by his own vanity. Case in point: the mass transit debate. Here is a situation, where he opposed rail so completely (ala timkona's “politics of no”-style), he was willing to do whatever it took to “derail” it, including going against the majority of the city council, Mayor Hannemann, and U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie.

The problem is, his complaint was completely bogus! He claimed there was favoritism in the contract process. So the complaint went all the way up the chain, and a federal investigation concluded, there was no merit to his grievance. So he verbalized an apology on all the t.v. news stations (again photo-op, photo-op). But what still hasn’t been really discussed is: was he doing a special favor for Honolulu bigwig Kitty Lagareta, who was the sole individual who felt wronged by the city’s transit contract process? Who else does Djou owe favors to?

Ahh, yes. The plot thickens.

[1stwahine]

Re: What's up with Djou?

he has a skinny face & REALLY BIG SHINY WHITE TEETH!

Dey wen alter the picture! Dang! I no can sleep. I gotta find one picture of Djou's Real TEETH!!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Too Funny

Wat? I going get scolding (schadenfreude) foa dis too?

I get a Big Nose.

Ainokea

Auntie Lynn

[pzarquon]

Re: What's up with Djou?

2nd post with this same question.... I guess I wasn't happy with the way the question was avoided in the first place....

Once again, we're informed by Manoa that our submissions are inadequate, and we've failed to meet his high standards of discourse. Gotta love the leading questions, too. Fear! Jealousy! Instead of just coming out and saying, "Hey, I kinda like the guy."

I think TuNnL articulates what I generally think quite well. As a big fan of Fasi, you can imagine that I can appreciate a voice of dissent (if that's all there was to him). And I concede, the dude is articulate, smart, quick on his feet... the media probably love him 'cause he can give 'em a sharp soundbite about anything on a moment's notice.

My problem is that he does. I don't see him as a "voice of dissent" as much as I do a "voice of a cold, calculated opportunist." Honestly, it's a talent... the guy has an uncanny knack for picking up where the wind's blowing and then getting a press release and calling a press conference first. I don't believe he has a genuine opinion about anything -- he just surveys and sniffs the landscape every morning and stays in front of whatever people are talking about over lunch or on KSSK.

But, yes, it's going to be his downfall in the end, and the whole flap over the transit bid is a perfect example. He figured out what people wanted to think about that whole project, and filed a complaint. But not where it would make sense. He went where it'd make a splash, with the feds, ensuringhimself the headlines. And, I think you'll find, most of the outcry over his actions were over his methods, not his supposed underlying concern. Being worried about funny business is normal. Firing a false warning flare into Washington D.C. is not. And he had to dine on his footwear in the end.

So, I don't like him. It's not "liberalism" as our fine minority representative Mel claims. I know lots of great conservatives, and have been accused of being one myself. It's just that Djou smells fishy... like Case... a guy who is only out for himself, on the backs of everyone.

And I didn't mean to start a whole tangent about the guy's teeth. Sheesh! I was commenting on, primarily, his TV ad, which opens with a Ken Burns-like pan-and-zoom of his face. It was just a little more of his dental work than I cared to see over dinner!

[anapuni808]

Re: What's up with Djou?

(removed by poster)

[damontucker]

Re: What's up with Djou?

Actually my initial post was in another form.... It got magically started here as another thread...

(once again...NOT STARTED BY ME INITIALLY!)

It just seemed that in another thread...there were some things being thrown around...and I was just wondering why that may be...

And as far as liking the guy.... I really don't have an opinion on politics in General so I don't know one thing or a not about the guy...

I just noticed that there were some posts about him...and I was wondering why so that I could be more informed about the guy

[scrivener]

Re: What's up with Djou?

That's why I voted for Neil Abrocrombie long time ago in his initial bid for congress. ... We need people like Djou to stir the pot occasionally. Right or wrong he get's people thinking.

Yes, I have thought this since I first became aware of Djou -- he reminds me a great deal of Abercrombie, a guy I always liked until, as Craig says, he became part of the problem.

I'm a politically cynical guy, but Djou never came across to me as especially opportunist or slimy, so it surprises me that he does to so many. I was hoping he'd be one of the ones to throw his hat in the ring for Case's Congressional seat. I'm still hoping he does someday.

[jdub]

Re: What's up with Djou?

I was hoping he'd be one of the ones to throw his hat in the ring for Case's Congressional seat. I'm still hoping he does someday.

actually, i've been hearing it bandied about that the reason djou took out that tv spot was because if jerry coffee wins despite withdrawing from the race, djou is hoping to get the call...makes sense to me, as i believe he's running unopposed for the council seat...why else pay for the air time?

as far as his character goes, he was in my graduating class...never struck me as slimy...i'm with scriv on this one...i like that he took on the hannemann transit thing...i'm not happy about having that jammed down my civic throat...djou's protestations were doomed from the start, but he did have the stones to say the emperor has no clothes...

i see brian schatz being more of an opportunist...i don't believe he thinks he can actually win...i figure he's just getting his name out there for when the time comes that he'll have a serious shot at winning...what do they call guys like that? "a comer with sharp elbows"? i think both djou and schatz have long careers ahead of them...

[pzarquon]

Re: What's up with Djou?

"Charles Djou. Remember that name." I hate that.

[anapuni808]

Re: What's up with Djou?

When Djou took on the Mayor regarding the transit "thing", there were 2 companies that were awarded those contracts - not just Kitty Lagareta's company. I wonder why the 2nd company did not take part in the lawsuit? or, at least to the best of my knowledge, they did not. Could it be because one of the officers of that other company was appointed chair of the C&C Planning Commission in 2005? and another question: who awarded those contracts in the first place? The second contract was relatively minor in scope compared to Lagaretta but even so - it would seem like there was some insider wheeling & dealing going on. Of course, this is just my own very cynical viewpoint. and of course, I'm a nobody & have no connections to famous people so what could I possibly know?

[cezanne]

Re: What's up with Djou?

I dunno... what's up wid djou?

Sorry couldn't help it.

[WindwardOahuRN]

Re: What's up with Djou?

I dunno... what's up wid djou?

Sorry couldn't help it.

At least you didn't make a crack about religion.

("Funny, he doesn't LOOK Djouish....")