 I'm Marcia Joyner, and we are navigating the journey. For those of you that are with us, have been with us for the last couple of years, today our journey is just a little different. We're going to talk about the Democratic Party of Hawaii, which, of course, has been since we have been a Democratic Party of Hawaii since, what, April 30, 1900. However, my guests today don't go back that far. Today we are going to talk to Richard Port, which most of you know, and Richard is not old enough to have been with us in 1900. And Tracy Tacano, of course, everybody in the Union knows Tracy. And then our live wire, Mark Dane. Mark is the live part of the Democratic Party. Oh, that sounds like you're jinxing me, a little bit of watching. But first, Richard is a former chair of the Democratic Party and really breathed life into the position of the chair. Up to that point, I don't even remember who they were, or since then, you know. But Richard was alive and doing things and made the party exciting. And Tracy and Bart were part of that. So we want to talk today about that part of the party. So Richard, tell us about Richard. When did you come to Hawaii? I came in 1967 and attended, not as a delegate, but as a guest, the 1968 convention. Fatsimeek was running Bobby Kennedy's presidential campaign. And we were allowed to walk in and walk right out again with signs for Bobby Kennedy. But my first real convention was 1980. And one of the things that I feel most satisfied about in that 1980 convention, we did something that everybody was telling me at the time we could not do. We changed the rules of the party to require that half of the delegates beginning in 1982 would be women. And that happened. And eight years later, in 1990, we were able to change the rules so that half of the leadership of the Democratic Party would be women. And probably that's what I feel most satisfied about. Well, let me just tell you this little caveat. I live in East Honolulu. And at that time, when you made the change, all of the district chairs, everybody in East Honolulu was a woman. And so sisters said, we've got, what do you mean, we're already women. So now we've got to give up a seat for a man. That's true. That's true. That actually happened. And initially, there was not a big problem with half of the delegates to the convention being women. But when we came to the change to make half of the leadership, it went down in 88. But it was revived in 1990 with a swell of about 20 women standing behind the microphone and only one or two men standing in opposition. So it passed overwhelmingly. Yes. Now, as chair, no, it was before you became chair. That's when you two show up in the Rainbow Coalition. So tell us about the Rainbow Coalition. Well, the Rainbow Coalition of Hawaii. Yeah, the Rainbow Coalition of Hawaii started when Reverend Jackson came here. He was going to Korea. Interestingly, he was going to mediate something with North and South Korea. But on his way back, he stopped here and he asked to organize some events. So we did. And when you bring somebody like Jesse Jackson, it's like everybody knows him. Everybody wants to help. And good people and some people that just want to be around. So that's the first time I met Richard, because Richard, we had an event. I forget which one it was, but Richard came up and he introduced himself. And somehow, among all the people that came and said that they're the one, he really was the one. He came up and he said he wanted to help run the, be the chair for the campaign. And he drew Richard's guidance. We were able to register a couple thousand new members. Oh, goodness, yes. The numbers well, yes. And a lot of people so active. In 1988, Reverend Jackson got half of the delegates from Oahu and slightly less than half of the delegates on the neighbor islands of pledge to him and his presidential campaign. And I can still remember vividly Governor Waihe coming into the Democratic headquarters that night and looking up at the board, which showed the results. And Governor Waihe said, well, it just goes to show. When the governor speaks, not everybody listens. That was that was the night. As I remember it, we were waiting on the results. And this was Jesse versus Dukakis, correct? Right. And in the first congressional district, which is urban Honolulu, Jackson was ahead at one point towards the end. There was one last precinct that hadn't reported its results. And I won't say who lived in that precinct or where it was located. Let's just say that there was a vote, a non-vote. A non-vote, yes. Although we didn't fight that. Because essentially, we were getting half the delegates. But we didn't fight the. But there is a tradition in the Democratic Party. You have to count the votes. And you have to verify. And you have to make sure that the count is accurate. And that was one night when it was a little suspicious. Jesse was ahead. And then one results came in very, very late. And then the other guy pulled ahead. That's right. But in good Democratic form, we didn't challenge the last precinct. But we still got the number of national delegates that we needed. But what I remember, because I didn't know a thing about the Rainbow Coalition, other than, I mean, locally, until I got a call from Richard saying, we need somebody in your district. I said, I'm in. OK, count me in. Yeah. I have to tell you that Tracy McConnell played a tremendous role in that campaign. And all through the next 10 years or so, played a great role in the Democratic Party to democratize the Democratic Party. That's an interesting phrase, democratize. Well, there are a lot of people. I mean, Richard brought a lot of new people in. Oh, he did. And really, true believers. So it helped the party. Oh, yeah. And you know, the thing about Richard is he didn't. Richard, he wasn't about bringing more people in, but he wasn't about moving other people out. He said, as long as you're willing to work together, let's work together. I can rely quite a bit on that. I think, for me, there was more energy all around with all these new people. And it was just a lot. That's what I'm saying about the energy, why we remember you as a chair. And I don't remember. I guess I could, if I thought about it, remember all the others. One of the others was his wife, Joan. Joan played a major role in that campaign, too. But as you point out, there were others without going into the name, but there were a lot of good people. Yes. I mean, that was such a joy to be a part of the party. And this young man was my, yes, Central Committee man. I was originally elected on the Central Committee from Palo Alto when I lived in Palo Alto. And then you moved out. And that was another election. I ran against someone with that position who was an attorney who had worked in Inouye's office and was favored by the old guard. And when the election results came back, that other person was announced as the winner. And I was going over to congratulate him. And then Tracy came running over to me. He said, don't concede yet. They went and they counted the ballots. And there had been a clerical error. The votes that went to me were reported as going to him and vice versa. And so again, it reinforces my skepticism that within the Democratic Party, there are people who feel the end justifies the means. And it's important that their side win. So we have to have integrity in the election process. And that often requires safeguards and to ensure that it happens. I should add that that happened in 1980 on Ted Kennedy's presidential campaign where the person who ran as a delegate for Kennedy, office at me, was announced as the winner. And there was a young minister by the name of Ted Frichel who went up instead. That can't be right. And went up and churned out. They had reversed the numbers. Yeah. Well. Accidentally, of course. Yes. But you know, we hear a lot about that. And I feel, though, after all these years, and I'm not going to say how long, but usually, usually, somebody does exactly that. So wait a minute. Hold on. Let's get it right. As a rule, are you doubting it? I think, actually, there's a real struggle going on now. We have to push back to make sure the Democratic Party is internally Democratic. Now, Richard was National Committee Man at one point in addition to being chair. And I'm National Committee Man now. And when I went to the DNC, I was committed to a program of reform because the 2016 presidential election was very divisive. It was allegedly rigged for one of the candidates. And there was a lot of basis for that. So this time around, the new chair, Tom Perez, has dedicated himself to cleaning up the image of the DNC and has reformed a lot of things. But inside the local Democratic Party, there is a group of people who want to exclude the newcomers. They want there to be barriers to their participation. Really? Yes. It's very powerful. It happens everywhere. I mean, it happens in Communist parties. It happens in Democratic parties. It happens in Republican parties. It happens all around the world. Incumbents want to hold on to their power, and they want to exclude newcomers. And we have to fight against that here. Now, we've mentioned a couple of times about National Committee Man. What is a National Committee Man? What is it? It's a glorified title. It's allegedly, it's like a senior statesman, or there's a woman also, National Committee Woman. And you are members of the DNC, which is the governing body at the national level for the Democratic Party. The Democratic National Committee. And it sets policy. And at the head of it is the national chair, which right now is Tom Perez. And some news about that position is usually it is veteran people who have worked all the party for a period of years. And while it's botany, I know, do not feel that the National Committee is an absolute good thing, it does provide some experience to the national party as to what's going on in the particular states. Now, I remember Arayoshi was, at one time, National Committee Man. That's right. They've been a role, but in fact. John White, he was, and Russell Elcato was one. Yeah. So when you, now as a committee, National Committee Man, you go to DC to the meetings? Is that what happens? How does that work? Yes, there's usually three or four times a year. There'll be a national meeting. And you go to those meetings. So all 50 states show up? 57 states, we're saying now. The territories. The territories, the Democrats abroad. Total of 57 parties. 57 people. We call them 57 state parties in the DNC. Probably the most memorable one. And if people watch this show, they will remember this. There was a famous meeting in, when President Clinton was getting ready to run for his second term. And he invited the state democratic party chairs to come to his Oval Office. And at the same time, there were a few other guests. One of them turned out to be Monica Lewinsky. Oh my. Oh, that was the early part before, before, yes. They show pictures of that went all the time, yes. Yes. I should say one more thing about Rainbow Coalition because the high point of the Rainbow Coalition, I think was as late as 1996, when everybody who was running to be state-centered committee person, man or woman, when they were running, they all went to the microphone and said, I am a member of the Rainbow, Hawaii Rainbow Coalition. So Tracy did a good job. Yeah, yes. But there was, yes, there was this time that I remember that if you were not a member of the Rainbow Coalition, it was to get elected as a delegate to the convention. You needed to do that. Well, the important part, of course, was we were all involved in making the party more progressive, making it also ethically progressive. It wasn't only about just being liberal policies, it was also about doing the right thing. And I think that to me, that was a shining part of the Hawaii Rainbow Coalition. Yep. I don't remember the years, so you don't remember this, but Richard was on the phone. He called every, what is it, 52,000 members? Well, I didn't call all, but I tried. I must have called 12,000 members. He was on the phone talking to everybody that answered the phone. And I would leave a message if they weren't. Yes. Yes. And he asked them questions. It wasn't just hello, send a donation. He actually asked questions about what they wanted, how they felt about what was going on with the legislature. He really wanted to know what it was that was. And I would go up and testify. And one rather senior senator who still was on the Senate referred to me as a scold. Okay. Well, we wanted them to do the right thing. Yes. That carries on today. I think I've written twice this legislative session in the Honolulu Star Advertiser indicating my displeasure at the way they've handled minimum wage. Right. Oh, that was the one you called the- Republic Cracks. Republic Cracks, yes. Those are Republicans who get themselves elected as Democrats. Yes, well, we know there's a lot of that. There's certainly some. Yeah, there's no way we could have 25 or 24 out of 25 people as Democrats. If some of them weren't, just cross over, put the D so they can get elected. I think what we need to do is ask all of our citizens to ask questions when people come to their door and wanting to be elected. Well, how do you stand on this or that and get an answer from them and a pledge from them that they will do something about some of the issues and the problems that we have in Hawaii? What is the relationship between the Democratic Party as we know it and the legislators? Okay, so they sign it, they put a D next to the name, but what's a connection or is there a connection? Well, okay, they really don't get much from us. So from their point of view, they got elected on the basis of their friends that helped them do campaigning, their relatives, their schoolmates, the special interests that fund them or the unions that endorse them and provide volunteers. And all the party does is allows them to use the D next to their name. And the only time they hear from the party is when we're either going to ask them for a donation or one of our members has filed a complaint against them and wants to get them kicked out for not living up to our platform. So what we have to do is, I think the real challenge is find some way that actually they want to be on good terms with the Democrats that live in their district, if not with the statewide organization or the county organization, at least with those who are active members of the party in their district, which calls upon us as Democrats to organize within those districts and make them vital so that if there are a dozen, just dozen active party members in each house district and the representative knows these people are monitoring the legislature and they care about the issues and they testify, but also they will stuff envelopes or do sign waving, that will incentivize I think the elected official to want to remain on good terms with the party people. So you mentioned districts, how is the state divided? How many districts, house districts and Senate districts? 51, 51 house districts, 25 Senate districts and Democrats are 24 out of the 25 senators and I think there are five Republicans or no. So the problem is we dominate. And so we are the party no longer of challenge and of change, we're the party of the status quo and within the party you've got a bell curve, you've got a spectrum of people's opinions, but in general, most of them try to line up with the leadership in both chambers so that they can get committee assignments, they get capital improvement projects for their district and they don't want to make waves. Oh, okay. So, and then we have what, two congressional districts. Yes. Two. So it's urban Honolulu and the rest of the state, huh? It's CD2. Right. Yeah. And so. Those are always Democrats. Those are always Democrats. Since 1960. Let's see. We had a special election and Charles Dijoux was congressman from the first CD. For a minute, Democrats split. Essentially, the two states that almost never elect Republicans to Congress are Massachusetts and Hawaii. And so you are both? I've been both. And now you're originally from Massachusetts? That's correct. And I've always voted Democratic in both states, except the first time I voted, I did make a mistake and I voted for one Republican. But that person will remain unnamed. Okay. But when did you come to Hawaii? 1967. And so as. What brought you to Hawaii? Well, I had a professor at Columbia University who took a liking to my wife and I and decided to invite us here to work for the university, well, for the Department of Education at the University of Hawaii. And it turns out that was very fortunate for me. And the only other thing I would add to that is my dad played ukulele and guitar. And so he said one time, when I go out to Hawaii, well, he never lived to get here, but I'm living his dream. Oh, yeah. So Richard's not just from Massachusetts, he is a Kennedy Irish Democrat in that whole Kennedy camp. And so he and his wife were the first married couple, right, who joined the Peace Corps. That's correct. Jack Kennedy put out the call for volunteers, they stepped up. It's how old were you at the time? I was 23 and they gave me five days to get from Massachusetts, give up my job and to give up her job, get rid of our furniture, get rid of our rental apartment and go to Berkeley, California. So that was an extraordinary event to do the preparation and got to send off at the Oval Office with President Kennedy. And where did you go in the Peace Corps? In Ghana, West Africa. And... Wow, so you go from here, one side of the country to the other and then back. And all the way to Ghana? Ghana, yeah. How long were you in the Peace Corps? Two years. And most satisfying years of our lives, both of us believe they were the two best years of our lives. Well, we need to take a break and then we'll come back and talk some more. We still have to talk about who you are. We'll be right back. Aloha, I'm Jane Sugimura, and I'm a host here at Think Tech Hawaii, a digital media company serving the people of Hawaii. We provide a video platform for citizen journalists to raise public awareness in Hawaii. We are a Hawaii nonprofit that depends on the generosity of its supporters to keep on going. We'd be grateful if you'd go to thinktechhawaii.com and make a donation to support us now. Thank you so much. Hello, I'm Sharon Thomas Yarbrough, a host here at Think Tech Hawaii, a digital media company serving the people of Hawaii. We provide a video platform for citizen journalists to raise public awareness in Hawaii. We are a Hawaii nonprofit that depends on the generosity of its supporters to keep on going. We'd be grateful if you'd go to thinktechhawaii.com and make a donation to support us now. Thanks so much. Aloha, I'm Marcia, and we're back. And we are talking to an illustrious group of Democrats. And see, now everybody that watches knows I'm a Democrat, so we always, this is not something new. Richard Port was the former chair. How many times were you chair? Twice. Twice. Well, once for two elections. Two elections. I believe I'm the last chair to be elected and then re-elected by this convention. I was gonna say, but didn't you stop and come back? No. No, okay. I then became Democratic National Commitment. Oh, okay. Tracy Tecano as IELWU, is that correct, the union? Well, yeah, I work for the union, but I'm just here. No, no, I know, but for most of us, that is the connection to the union. That's when you think IELWU, this is what we think of. And Bart, Bart everything. Bart is now the National Commitment and he is the life of the party. No, no. There's a lot of truth to that. Yeah, and there are a lot of people who object to that. So, one thing in the early, in the first part, we didn't talk much about Tracy, because Tracy is actually a very modest person who does stuff silently and effectively. But he is effective. Behind the scenes. Yes. And I don't know how you can draw him into this discussion a little more because he knows an awful lot of stuff. One thing I would set it up with, I think the Rainbow Coalition benefited in Hawaii in its historical context. So there was a lot of social movements, community struggles that were going on during the 70s particularly and into the 80s. And I know Tracy was rooted in that stuff. Yes. In particular, some of us benefit a lot from learning things through the Ethnic Studies Program and its commitment to engagement in the community. And I think that strengthened the work of the Rainbow Coalition and enriched it. And prepaid healthcare. The unions were needy in getting us that. Well, that legislation was written in IELWU also. Yes. And that's one of the things that now today's people have no idea what the unions did with the unions. And the legislature was both Democrat and Republican at that time. And everybody worked together to get us that prepaid healthcare. So tell us more about what does IELWU stand for? Let's start there. What does that mean? Well, I'm not here to represent the union. No, that's okay. But it's the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. So it started off... In Hawaii, it was the union that organized the workers on the dock. The dock workers from there went to the urban pineapple plantations. And then it kind of went a lot of different. Because Hawaii is still small. So a lot of people, when they... When the union was able to really significantly help people on the plantations and the docks, then a lot of the friends and family said, hey, we need some help here, too. So it grew into a lot of different industries. Tourism, hospitals, automotive. So now it's really the... It's the largest private sector union in Hawaii. I would like to add one thing about IELWU when I came in 67, we had to each year get funding for something called the Hawaii English Program. And we would be called down to IELWU headquarters prior to the legislative session to tell the committee why we should be funded. And it was regarded as a very important event and made sure that we were able to defend the programs that we were trying to get funded. So I have great admiration. And there was a... And there at that time no longer a living, but Dave Thompson. And he would go up to the legislature for IELWU and he would talk about children of workers. And I got to tell you, I was almost in tears when he would speak so profoundly about the needs of our children of the workers in Hawaii. So I have a great love for IELWU and I might add that when there was an effort to save the two newspapers here and subsequently the two airlines, but in particular the two newspapers, the IELWU arranged for a meeting at which I was asked... I was invited to attend. I was held with former Lieutenant Governor Tom Gill, former Lieutenant Governor Gene King, Aqwan Makorah, the great... The great Aqwan Makorah, yes. Great person in Hawaii. Two or three others. And it was that group that spurred the effort that initially was quite successful in saving the two newspapers. I remember you, though, really campaigning to save... When I left the meeting, I left it early and I got a call later saying, you're in charge. Oh, that's what happens when you leave her. That's right. You, after the Peace Court and you came to Hawaii, you were in the Department of Education for how long? 25 years. Oh, my. So I retired there. But in between time, I should mention that I also was in Nigeria for two years with the Agency for International Development. And so I... Part of my experience was... And my efforts was motivated by what I saw, both in the Peace Court and in Nigeria. And to me, the need to do things for poor people and people who don't have others to... In some ways, workers, public workers and private workers are often very lucky to have unions here in Hawaii that can support their efforts to increase their wages. The problem is the people at the very bottom don't have that. And they require people like us and others to go up there and to try to make the legislature make, you know, see the needs of these people. I remember when I first went to work with Brian Fosse and, you know, when you fill out all the paper and they asked me if I was going to join the union. And I said, well, why am I going to join the union? And they said, well, whether you join or not, you get all the benefits that the union fought for. I said, yeah, put me down. Whatever the dues, yeah, put me down. So, of course, you know, what else would I do? I knew there was a reason I liked you, Marcia. Of course, why not? So something what Richard says is triggering in my brain is how do we overcome this dilemma of having the Democrats control almost all the legislative seats but when something that affects working people like the minimum wage comes along, it doesn't pass. It fails to pass. And they represent the interests of corporations much more effectively than they do of working people. And I think what the Rainbow Coalition was trying to do in Hawaii was trying to draw people from the community involved in their community, rooted in their communities into the party and have the party become a vehicle for their demands, for their aspirations, as well as giving them practical skills so they could be more effective in influencing people getting elected and passing legislation. And that effort still has to continue. That was my next question. How do we do that again? Because, yes, everybody was upset about the fact that they got a pay raise and they couldn't raise the minimum wage. It was just an incredible... I don't understand how it is that we, not just Democrats, but people, ordinary people, and when they talk about the homeless, they never talk about the fact that you're making $10 an hour and the rent is $1,800 a month. They don't match. So what do we have to do to get people again like the Rainbow Coalition to come and really push the legislature? Well, obviously there are some good people who are members of the Democratic Party. We really have to find a way to be able to step forward and really see this problem through. One of the efforts made this year that was very sad was the attempt to reduce the health care benefits of the people who were going to get an increase in the minimum wage, and that's what ended up making it fail. For 40 years now, one of the great benefits that being a member of the Democratic Party has been to provide health care for all our full-time workers, and unfortunately, this year, the bill that got killed was attempting to reduce the amount of an increase in the minimum wage if a company provided health care, but it didn't affect legislators or government workers or even private workers, but it only would affect the people who were getting an increase in the minimum wage. It really takes a lot of work. When we organize a lot of people into the vaccine campaign and into the Democratic Party, we're going with the help of different people that were active in those communities. We went door-to-door in Waipahu and Elba and different communities like that. The message was, you want to join the Democratic Party or even you want to register to vote, but we're here wishing for Jesse Jackson that message of inclusion. Somebody is going to take up your fight and the people that were going door-to-door with some of those people involved in those fights. It really takes a lot of work. The end goal is not to... You spoke about people saying, introducing themselves as members of the Rainbow Coalition when they gave their central committee speech, but that wasn't the goal to get people into positions. But it was really to... We wanted the Rainbow, we wanted the Democratic Party to be a voice for people. They were really locked out up to that point. I think the need is there, the desire is there, but people need to see a concrete vehicle used to get to where they want to be. Well, we are... Are we still... This is you. Are we still divided between the Bernie people and the other people? Is there still a wedge there? There is a division within the Democratic Party and it's inevitable in the Democratic Party between those people who are more committed towards working-class perspective and those people who are more interested in their careers which are benefit from aligning the corporations and the lobbyists. That is a permanent thing. In 2016, I felt they expressed itself, Richard worked for Clinton, supported Clinton, I supported Bernie, so we disagree on this, but it expressed itself around the personalities of Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. But the fundamental underlying conflict is between a more progressive and a more corporatist sort of vision. The progressives have to root themselves more in regular working-class people, though, to become effective. They cannot be just sort of floating above and... What is the definition of a progressive? What is a progressive? I think it depends on who you talk to. I think it's those people who believe that we have to make a society that is more small-D Democratic, that serves the needs of the vast majority of people and the government can be an instrument towards that end. I think that's what a progressive is. I would say one word would be justice for all. And we're not asking that billionaires and millionaires don't make... People are going to... That's the part of the Democratic system. Some people are going to make more money and they're going to be richer, but at the bottom level, there has to be a sense of justice. And that's not... Even in Hawaii, as wonderful as Hawaii is, we're not there. Yeah, this morning's paper was scary about the depression of so many people. Yeah. Did you see this going? No. And the headline, it's just a look at it. It's the people that are suffering. Yeah, right here. And we tend to think this is paradise, yet there's a huge amount of people suffering. Ironically, what I think legislators may not totally understand is they're providing a lot of money, and I'm glad, for the homeless, but they're going to create more homeless unless they do something about people who work full-time. And there's a variety of solutions to the issue of minimum wage, that it doesn't have to be exactly what, as I recall, standards was for $17 an hour, and Clinton was for $15 an hour. The point really is, how do you provide adequate, whether it's through tax system, or through minimum wage, or in fact other means of providing for those who are working in our society, but not gaining the benefits? It's amazing. Well, of course, you know, you don't have little children, I don't either. But you look at the cost of a box of cereal that little children love, and it's $5, $6, and it's like... Tracy has a daughter. That young? Not young, but as a daughter. Yeah, but when you look at the cost, just the daily cost of groceries, and you're making $10 an hour, $12 an hour, how do you do that? Well, what really the legislature needs to do is go around and see what companies are currently paying. I can hardly find any company that's paying less than $11.25 now. And the ones that are at that level are usually restaurants. And restaurants, of course, the workers do get tips. So, but if you look at other kinds of businesses, they are paying more than that. So to even think about $10 an hour is ridiculous. It is, it is. And, you know, you're right, that if you look, even zippies is $12 an hour with benefits. Right. They're ad with benefits. Right. But then zippies will always be zippies, you know. It will always be there. So, now, tell me, what are you going to do now that you have retired from the DOE, retired from the Democratic Party? Well, I'm not reading, we've never retired from the Democratic Party. Just when you think you're up. I am, as alive as can be until the day I die, I will be a Democrat. Now, I won't say that I will never vote for a Republican, but it's probably very unlikely. But, see, the difference is that not all Democrats are good. That's right. I thought Martin said that. What I probably should say is that when I was chair, people came to me to defend a couple of senators and I said, hey, I'm not going to defend that kind of conduct. So, I won't mention names here on the air, but there were a couple of instances. One was a male and one was a female, and both of them didn't win the next election. Now, I will tell this story. We only have a couple of minutes. I was one of those, called Richard, and I said, we have a senator we won't mention, and I won't even say what district, but we have a senator that really isn't in to what we want. Can we support the Republican? And Richard said, if you could do it quietly, but you girls are not very quiet. Fortunately, there was another Democrat running against the sitting senator. So, that helped. But he said, you girls are not very quiet. He said, if you could do it quietly, and I don't know about it, but you all are not very quiet. One other thing that should be added, I think, about that is that once in a while, I appreciate a Republican getting on the floor at the end of session and talking about some of the bills that really don't make a lot of sense. And we do have on occasion a bill that gets passed in the legislature that really shouldn't. So, on occasion, it's good to have one or two voices of Republicans who are pointing out the misadventures of the Democrats. The failure to have a two-party system here actually weakens the Democratic Party. So, the kinds of social divisions that are going to occur anyways are expressed in themselves along lines of faction and other stuff that probably it would be better if they express themselves in different parties so that people can actually articulate their views with more freedom. It's difficult for a Democrat to speak out against some of the shenanigans of other Democrats. Well, now, we only have 30 seconds left. So, let's go around real quick. Richard? I'm so proud to be here today with Tracy Takano and Bob Dane. You lived the Democratic ideals. I'm just here because Marcia told me we were going to say goodbye to Richard. So, that's all right. You know, Richard has done so much that he deserves this anymore. And let me say that when she invited me to be on, I said, no, no, no, the person you need to be have in here is Tracy Takano. So, there's great aloha, and I haven't seen him for a while, and I'm very glad to see her. And I haven't either. I'm so glad to see you. But you're right. He did so much work that we don't... And it just sort of happened. We didn't know all that he was doing to make all of us here today. So, Richard, again, we are so happy to have you. Thank you. And have enjoyed all the years we've spent with you. Thank you. And going back to the cold country. Well, at least it's a Democratic state. Okay. And you're going to keep it that way. Yes. Again, thank you all so much for doing this. Thank you, ma'am. Aloha. Aloha. And let me read this one last quote. Bart said, we are stewards of the party, not its owners. I love that. Of all the things you said, I kept that one. Okay. Yes. Aloha, and we'll see you next time.