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| The van in which Kawika Crowley lives. |
An unlikely candidate for Congress has emerged out of the blue and is campaigning for a House of Representatives seat in Hawaii's 2nd District this coming election. The man to note is Kawika Crowley, a homeless but self-made handyman, who is trying to increase the state's interest in politics especially with his eccentric personality and unconventional views. The beginnings of Crowley's involvement in politics is equally surprising: a smoking ban enacted in 2006 for restaurants and bars in Hawaii compelled him to stand up for his views against big federal government. And ever since, Crowley had been campaigning out of his car for radical issues such as pro-smoking, anti-taxes, anti-commuter rail and pro-freedom.
Earlier this year, Crowley even managed to edge out a better known candidate in his district, Matt DiGeronimo, during a Republican primary. Curiously, in a recent poll of the Hawaiian congressional race, Crowley captured a sizable 18% compared to nearly 70% for the Democratic candidate, Tulsi Gabbard in the heavily Democratic state of Hawaii. In a state with traditionally low voter turnout, Crowley is causing quite a buzz for politics in the Aloha State. Maybe it takes someone as unique as Kawika Crowley to stem new interest and encourage more varied opinions to take root.
Should Crowley be someone to watch for as a legitimate candidate, or is he just leading another conservative grassroots movement?
2 comments:
Crowley certainly presents an interesting candidate for Congress, considering the great extent to which he goes against the norm that politicians are members of the upper or upper-middle class. However, it seems unlikely that he will actually turn out to be a legitimate candidate, since his movement seems too founded in "unconventional views" that the majority of the electorate will most likely remain wary of. He does present an intriguing alternate to traditional political ideas, but those traditions will most likely prevail and prevent Crowley's movement from making a large impact.
I suppose that trying to involve the typically uninterested residents of Hawaii in politics is a clever tactic to try to gain votes in a Democratic state; however, I also think that Crowley will emerge as a legitimate candidate for Congress because his ideologies are either strangely specific ("pro-smoking") or extremely vague ("pro-freedom"). At this point, it seems as though Crowley is receiving support and attention solely because of his odd character and lifestyle, not because of the content and quality of his political views.
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