Republicans Head To Waikiki To Work On Strategy

A high-tax, big-government Democratic bastion for five decades and President Barack Obama's birthplace, Hawaii would seem a curious place for the Republican National Committee to hold its winter meeting. But riding high after Republican Scott Brown's surprise victory in last week's Senate race in another Democratic stronghold, Massachusetts, 168 RNC delegates are arriving Wednesday unconcerned about this isolated island state's past political proclivities.

The gathering at one of Waikiki's most prominent beachfront resorts will be a first for the RNC, which for years sidestepped requests by its Hawaii members to bring its winter meeting to a warm climate. "The concern was appearances," said Travis Thompson of Maui, an RNC member from 2000 to 2008. The lush, exotic locale doesn't cover up polls showing that Republicans fare as poorly as Democrats at a time when candidates' ticket for success with voters is distancing themselves from both parties. Conservatives backed by the anti-establishment "tea party" movement are challenging favored Republicans in House and Senate primaries across the country.