The nail that sticks out gets hammered.
Sam Slom, the lone Republican in the Hawaii state senate, reciting a Japanese proverb he says encapsulates the attitude of Hawaii. As a Republican in a state dominated by Democrats, Slom sticks out.
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Posts tagged Hawaii Senate
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Where ‘Republican’ is a dirty word
Sam Slom, an affable guy who looks like a handsome, less bat-like version of Ross Perot, is the only Republican state senator in Hawaii. Everyone else — every senator but him — is a Democrat.
Maybe that shouldn’t be surprising in such a blue-blue state like Hawaii, land of the unions and home of President Obama. But I still was taken aback when I heard that statistic. So I met with Slom at his office park east of Honolulu on Thursday because I wondered what that’s like — to be literally the only person in his legislative body representing an entire set of political philosophies and ideologies.
It sounds like you need a strong personality to pull it off.
