SPEECHes

#6:  Energy from two Campaigns and China. Delivered at the "Rock the Ballot" Rally at the GOP Hawaii Headquarters on Tuesday July 20, 2010.

Hello, well, Dan Inouye has never been beat, the best anyone ever did in the past 40 or so years is 31%, so we have the energy of two campaigns put together to gang up on him.  And you talk about pork.  Like he feels like we in Hawaii need 'handouts' or something.  Well, Wo shi shuo GuoYu de.  That means I speak Chinese; I did business in China.  Now if we just increased our tourism with China, and if we just got the same number of Chinese tourists as we have Japanese tourists, we would never have had any furloughs!  They have our money anyhow!  Thank you!


 
#5:  My 250 Word Statement to Hawaii.Gov Office of Elections; no-ones statement or photo to  be put on web do to 'spending cuts.' Completed on July 12, 2010.

.           I am the 75¢ servant.  Why?  I do not charge $200/plate, for just few to send me on election.  I serve all, rich or poor, anywhere in middle.  Call me, email me, or if you really want me read, write letter.  44¢ for stamp, 31¢ for envelope, and find paper, recycled fine.  I treat all the same, justice.  Why?  I do not take donation = Equal Access.  I am the 75¢ servant. 

            My Call to Arms?  Obama denigrated small towners, “cling to guns or religion.”  Every Sunday I go church.  Blake Pierson taught me to shoot.  He went to the United States Air Force Academy, flew missions over Iraq.  I Played football with Brian Cothran.  He practiced Skeet Shooting, represented United States of America in 1984 Olympics, taught Koreans for 1988. 

            I decided to run the day lost election.  In Indie film GB2525, I was Filipino Fighter.  My cousin Raul Roco wrote Philippine laws protecting women and children from sexual harassment.  He was frontrunner one year prior 2004 Philippine Presidential election, got cancer, incumbent ran, and Raul died August 5, 2005.  I have taken Raul’s cause, protecting who needs it most.

I am the 75¢ servant.  Will fight for what is right.  No matter who, I will meet you.  Rich or poor, or somewhere middle, all same to me.  Goliath of government taking you, David, is not right.  Power to People.  No Big Tax, Taking and deciding on your money.  Join this fight.  Thank you.

#4:  Obama denigrating small town people as "clinging to their guns and religion" is why I am a Candidate for the U.S. Senate for Hawaii.
Delivered on Oahu July 6, 2010 in small group setting.  

"Hi, my name is John Roco, and I really became involved in the Republican Party on the day that Obama became elected.  I was at Aloha Tower, no Ala Moana Mall with my kids at Burpees?  is it Burpees? or what is it?  That Shrimp place?  Oh, Bubba Gumps, I knew it was something.  Now I had been a Republican for a while; that's just what I was, but I never got involved, that's what some other people did. 

But when Obama said that thing about "small town people clinging to guns and religion?"  Oh, that really got under my skin.  Because I am from a small town and I had a lot of friends who cling to guns.  And one of them was in the 1984 Olympics for skeet shooting.  He skipped school all the time to go hunting and eventually he went to the Olympics.   And my other friends who clinged to guns went into the military. 

So when Obama said that, it ate at me, I just had to do something.  So for the first time in my life, I got involved in a campaign.  I made calls for the McCain campaign.  My kids thought I was crazy, as I never before was so passionate over a campaign.   And I would do all these postings on the news sites and blogs and do comments.  And for the first time, I used my name, John Roco. 

And on the night we lost, the McCain campaign, and Obama won, November 4, 2008,  I decided I was going to run for office.  I didn't know which one, but i knew that I was going to run because Obama was pulling things over on people.  I knew that, and I wasn't going to stand for that; I knew I was going to run for office.  

And so it turned out to be incumbent U.S. Senator Dan Inouye.  And I am very happy to say that even though I have been called a "no name" or the "wrong senate candidate," in a poll released on June 29, 2010, I received 20% of the vote with 47% not even knowing who I am. I received 3% from the sample of 500 as feeling 'very favorable' about me, and 16% 'somewhat favorable' with 35% feeling 'unfavorable' about me, probably because I say it like it is.  I make a stand like defeat 444 or pro-life.  

But what I  really feel my impact has been, is that in the three months that I have been campaigning on accountability for all actions of our leaders, Senator Dan Inouye's 'very favorable' rating  went down by 6% from the poll done on March 24, 2010 to the poll done on June 24, 2010.  That happened during a time that he was actively campaigning, that his ratings went down.  

And so that is the impact that I have had, and that's the reason why I am running for office; it all started with Obama.  He is the reason why I am running for office, because I knew that he was not presenting his true colors and I had to do something about it. 

 

#3:  Inouye's Pork, Your money and Business from China
Delivered in Honolulu on June 24, 2010 to a group familiar with promises of no tax increases, while allowing tax cuts to expire (thus, formulating 'tax increases' without calling them 'tax increases'). 

"Hi, my name is John Roco, and I am running against Senator Dan Inouye, now in terms of Pork, I know that some say, "Oh, he brings the money in," to different things here in Hawaii, but what is he really doing?  Inouye thinks that He should decide what to do with your money.  He wants to increase your taxes, so he can have more of your money because he thinks he can make better decisions than you about what to do with your money.  


Now I know what it's like to  pay taxes.  I am a business man and I know what its like looking at tax increases.  In fact, I did business in China.  "Wo Shi Shuo Guo Yu de."  That means I speak Chinese.  I did business in China and I know what its like to pay taxes.  And what I say is, you know, if we just increased the amount of tourists from China as we have from Japan, we would never have had any furloughs (laughter).  


We borrow, our federal government borrows money from China, well they have all the money, why not increase the tourism with China and get some of that money back? (laughter)  "Zhongguo ren, Qing lai, Qing lai Zheli."  What I just said is Chinese, please come here, please come here and visit Hawaii, our tropical Paradise.  Yes. (pause)  And so, I am for no tax increases from the Fed, I am for no tax increases from the state.  I am for no tax increases at all.  Thank you."



#2:  Missions of God, Prayer and Obedience in the Philippines
Two mission groups from Youth With a Mission Honolulu are leaving on July 14, 2010, one group going to India and one to the Philippines.  Donate to these missions and offer direct by typing:  'flosingasia' or 'teamphilippines2010' then adding '@gmail.com.'  Given June 19, 2010.

"Hi, my name is John Roco and it was in 1986 about 25 years ago when I was 20 years old that I, just as Yela, Jimmy, Jaspar, Ian, Madison, Liz and Frank, felt my call from God to go to the Philippines.  But I went alone.  Of course I had relatives to stay with, but by and large on a day to day basis I was on my own.  You are so blessed to have brothers and sisters, each other, and a community for when you go.  And, of course, when I went there for 6 months and came back, it was just like what Jimmy said, 'Culture Shock.'


But, just as some of you, I went back in 1988 at the age of 22, and it was in the Philippines being alone and in the quiet that I for the first time really learned how to pray to God, the time when it was just me and God, and in that quiet time, I truly for the first time in my life committed to obedience on a daily basis to whatever it is God wants me to do that very day, just like FLOS, and Obedience, what you are going to do. 


I was alone and for the first time in my life I felt what it was like to be hungry.    And it was my 40 days in the desert.  I was a stage performer, a stage actor, and the late evenings, I was rehearsing and performing for the off-Broadway 'Baby,' a wonderful story of couples and the process of having babies.  I was in Repertory Philippines, where Lea Solonga came from, and was paid 100 Pesos per performance, so by December I was paid for 31 performances, 3100 Pesos, but I had run out of money in about mid-October, November.  But since I was staying with relatives, I could eat very early in the morning, and then very late in the evening, what was left over from what they had had.  


 It was my mother who first told me what happened to women in the Philippines around the U.S. bases.  And I had no idea until I saw it.  And I was so young just a 20 some year old, and did not know what to do or how to react, but little did I know that some 25-30 years later that you would have a mission that specifically addresses the same problems that I had no idea what to do about at that time.  Blessings on your mission to the Philippines and to India, Blessings that you have each other, and a community to go with you, and Blessings on Youth With a Mission."

#1: Protecting Women, Daniel Inouye, and Pacquiao 

to a group familiar with the Philippines, Pacquiao's "unexpected" Dela Hoya win (wins over Hatton, Cotto, Clottey), "unexpected" congressional victory, given in Honolulu June 13, 2010

“My name is John Roco.  And, as many of you may know, it was five years ago that my cousin,  Raul Roco, died.  He was running for president of the Philippines, in 2005 in the May election, and it was just a few months later on August 5, 2005, that he died.  He was a senator in the Philippines, and he was the author of laws that protect women and children, and still protect women and children in the Philippines.   


And at that time, I never knew that I someday would be running for office.  Well, I am running for the U.S. Senate, and I am adopting his values.  I want to help those who don’t have money to contribute, who don’t have any power, who are disadvantaged.  I want to help those who need help.   


And you know, if I win, I will become the first Filipino to win a U.S. senate primary, and to my knowledge, I am the first Filipino ever to enter a U.S. senate primary race as a candidate (applause).  But you know, if I win the primary, I face Inouye (pause).   


Well it just so happens that at the same time of this campaign, Pacquiao seems to be doing things.  I started following him in 2005 for the second Morales fight (laughter) after his first loss.  And we were all watching to see what was going to happen, and he won.  And he kept on fighting, and he won again, and he won again, and he won again.  I take Pacquiao as my example.  Thank you.”