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The Conservative Caucus Podcast #07 – Eva Andrade

Published: August 20, 2025
Network: The Conservative Caucus
Analysis: Conservative Caucus President Jim Pfaff

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Pro-family advocacy Hawaii faces distinct challenges that set it apart from mainland conservative movements, according to Eva Andrade, executive director of Hawaii Family Forum. In a wide-ranging conversation with Jim Pfaff, president of The Conservative Caucus, Andrade revealed how Hawaii’s unique cultural dynamics—where opponents sit side-by-side at hearings and personal connections often transcend political divides—create both opportunities and obstacles for defending traditional family values. From battles over religious vaccine exemptions to the ongoing fight against assisted suicide expansion, pro-family advocacy Hawaii requires a delicate balance of firmness and aloha that mainland activists rarely encounter.

Topics Covered

• The Unique Political Culture of Hawaii
• Hawaii’s Long Battle Over Marriage Definition
• The Challenge of Church Engagement on Social Issues
• Religious Exemptions Under Attack
• The Good News Clubs Victory
• A National Perspective on Conservative Movement

The Unique Political Culture of Hawaii

Eva Andrade has been on the front lines of pro-family advocacy Hawaii since 1994, when she was first hired by the Hawaii Catholic Conference. Her journey through nearly three decades of policy work reveals a political landscape unlike any other in America. While Hawaii remains one of the most Democratic-controlled states in the nation, the culture of “aloha” creates unexpected dynamics at the state capitol.

“Even if you’re on different ends of the political spectrum, you’re going to find yourself sitting right next to the person. I was sitting right next to the lobbyist for Planned Parenthood and when she asked me what school I graduated from, we discovered we both graduated from Star of the Sea. There was a certain respect that came up because of that connection.”
— Eva Andrade, Executive Director, Hawaii Family Forum

This cultural reality means that pro-family advocacy Hawaii cannot rely solely on aggressive tactics that might work on the mainland. Andrade explained that activists must maintain relationships across political divides because they’ll find themselves working alongside the same people on different issues. The question “What school did you graduate from?” serves as a social connector that transcends political ideology—a uniquely Hawaiian phenomenon that shapes how policy battles unfold.

However, this cultural politeness doesn’t translate into legislative victories. Despite organizing one of the most successful rallies in Hawaii’s history during the same-sex marriage debate—with thousands of participants—the legislature proceeded with its agenda anyway. This pattern has repeated on issues from assisted suicide to abortion expansion, creating what Andrade describes as a spirit of discouragement among pastors and church members who feel their mobilization efforts don’t produce results.

Hawaii’s Long Battle Over Marriage Definition

Hawaii holds a unique place in the history of the same-sex marriage debate in America. The issue began in the state in 1991 with court cases that culminated in a 1994 decision. Andrade “cut her teeth” on this issue during her earliest years in pro-family advocacy Hawaii, when the battle lines were dramatically different from today.

Andrade noted a remarkable cultural shift that occurred over these decades. In the early 1990s, churches universally understood marriage as the union of one man and one woman, and even many in the gay community accepted this definition. Some advocated for legal arrangements that would provide hospital visitation rights and other benefits without redefining marriage itself. Hawaii responded by passing a “reciprocal beneficiaries” law that granted many of these practical rights.

Today, the landscape has transformed completely. Following the Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision, Hawaii went further by removing constitutional language that had given the legislature discretion on marriage policy. Pro-family advocacy Hawaii now faces not just federal precedent but state constitutional protections for same-sex marriage—a double layer of legal entrenchment that would be difficult to reverse even if federal law changed.

The Challenge of Church Engagement on Social Issues

One of the most significant obstacles facing pro-family advocacy Hawaii is the diminishing engagement from churches and pastors. Andrade identified several factors contributing to this trend, including the repeated experience of mobilizing congregations for rallies and legislative testimony, only to watch bills pass anyway. This sense of futility has caused many pastors to question whether political engagement is worth the effort.

The problem extends beyond discouragement, however. Andrade and Pfaff discussed the infiltration of progressive theology into both Catholic and evangelical churches—a phenomenon documented extensively in Megan Basham’s book “Shepherds for Sale.” This theological drift affects how churches approach core social issues, with some pastors now reluctant to preach against abortion or other moral issues because they’ve noticed that donations decline when they do.

“I have these conversations with people. I’m like, ‘Okay, so if you’re talking to an alcoholic and you know this person is suffering, do you treat it the same way or are we now taking what we’re calling sin and putting it into different categories when it used to be that sin was sin was sin?'”
— Eva Andrade, Executive Director, Hawaii Family Forum

The issue became particularly visible during Hawaii’s gambling debate. As one of only two states (along with Utah) with no form of legalized gambling, Hawaii faces constant pressure to introduce gaming for revenue purposes. Andrade expressed shock at how many Christians contacted her questioning why Hawaii Family Forum was fighting so hard against gambling expansion when “there are other issues out there you should be fighting.”

This attitude reflects what both Andrade and Pfaff identified as a broader problem: the church’s primary mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ has been compromised by concerns about finances, cultural acceptance, and avoiding offense. Without strong discipleship that teaches believers how to think biblically about public policy issues, pro-family advocacy Hawaii and elsewhere lacks the grassroots foundation necessary for sustained political engagement.

Religious Exemptions Under Attack

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed fault lines in religious liberty that continue to reverberate through Hawaii politics. During the lockdown period, many Hawaii residents opted out of vaccinations for religious reasons. This trend alarmed state leaders, including Governor Josh Green, a physician who has become a national figure in public health debates. The response from Hawaii’s Democratic-controlled legislature was to propose removing religious exemptions for vaccinations.

The reaction surprised even seasoned observers of pro-family advocacy Hawaii. While issues like abortion expansion, assisted suicide, and LGBT rights typically draw modest crowds of Christian activists to the capitol, the vaccination exemption issue brought thousands of people to testify. Andrade noted the irony: when government directly threatens religious freedoms in a way that affects families immediately and personally, citizens mobilize in unprecedented numbers.

Pfaff and Andrade agreed that the vaccination debate has created unnecessary polarization. Rather than allowing parents to make informed decisions about their children’s healthcare—including which vaccines to accept and which to decline, and on what schedule—government mandates have pushed people toward extreme positions. Some who were previously reasonable about vaccinations have become completely anti-vaccine, while others demand universal forced vaccination with no exceptions.

The hepatitis B vaccine for newborns became a particular point of discussion. Since hepatitis B transmits only through needle-sharing or sexual contact, mandating it for newborn babies struck both speakers as an example of government overreach that treats citizens as incapable of making basic health decisions for their families.

The Good News Clubs Victory

One area where pro-family advocacy Hawaii achieved a significant victory involved Good News Clubs’ access to public school facilities. The controversy began in 2013 but intensified during COVID-19 when Hawaii’s public school system became inconsistent in its policies. Some Good News Clubs were charged fees to use facilities, others weren’t charged, and some were denied access entirely. After COVID, when facilities reopened, schools began systematically denying access to religious clubs while citing separation of church and state.

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) attorney Jim Hoberg warned legislators repeatedly that such discrimination was unconstitutional and would result in a lawsuit if they proceeded. True to his word, when Hawaii passed a law forcing pregnancy centers to provide abortion-related information—including one center located on church property—Hoberg sued and won. The state was forced to pay a settlement using taxpayer funds.

“Jim Hoberg said one of the greatest feelings he had in his life was getting that check from the state of Hawaii. It was absolutely ridiculous that they passed this kind of law. But it’s very important that when you’re down at the capitol and you’re making these cases that you have all this documentation because now when the state is complaining about using taxpayer dollars, we’re like, we warned you.”
— Eva Andrade, Executive Director, Hawaii Family Forum

The same pattern repeated with Good News Clubs. Despite clear warnings about the constitutional violations, the state proceeded with discriminatory policies and ultimately lost in court. When critics complained about taxpayer money being used to pay the settlement, pro-family advocates could point to their documented warnings that legislators had ignored.

This case illustrates a broader principle in pro-family advocacy Hawaii and nationwide: the importance of establishing a clear legal record. By testifying at hearings, submitting written documentation, and explicitly warning about constitutional violations, advocates create an evidentiary trail that strengthens subsequent legal challenges and demonstrates that government officials proceeded with unconstitutional actions despite being fully informed of the legal risks.

A National Perspective on Conservative Movement

While much of the conversation focused on Hawaii-specific challenges, Andrade and Pfaff also addressed the national state of the conservative movement and pro-family advocacy more broadly. Both expressed concern about the unprecedented polarization in American politics, even among churchgoing people. The inability to have rational conversations across political divides has reached crisis levels.

Pfaff, drawing on his experience working on Capitol Hill for Representatives Thomas Massie and Tim Huelskamp, emphasized that most Americans don’t understand how deeply dysfunctional the federal government has become. He told voters in 2016 that if Trump were elected, “he’s going to kick over the trash cans and reveal what’s really going on in Washington DC.” That prediction proved accurate—Trump has exposed the extent of bureaucratic overreach and the administrative state’s hostility toward ordinary citizens.

Both speakers acknowledged that Trump’s approach has been messy and controversial, but they argued it’s necessary to address systemic problems that previous administrations—even Reagan’s—lacked the ability or willingness to tackle. Andrade noted that Trump “is not afraid to change his thought mid-stride” if something isn’t working, a flexibility that could prove valuable as various policy experiments unfold.

The conversation touched on the broader cultural shift away from American pride and patriotism. Andrade recalled the 1976 Bicentennial celebration and the sense of national unity that existed even through the Carter and Reagan years. “I don’t care whether somebody was Democrat or Republican, I felt like people were proud to be American,” she said. That pride has eroded significantly, replaced by a culture where even displaying the flag or standing for the national anthem has become politically controversial.

Pfaff emphasized the importance of reasserting the principle of popular sovereignty—the idea that citizens, not kings or bureaucrats, hold ultimate authority in American government. The Constitution begins with “We the People” precisely because the Founders understood that legitimate government derives its authority from the consent of the governed. Recovering this understanding is essential for pro-family advocacy Hawaii and nationwide, because it grounds political engagement in constitutional principle rather than mere partisan preference.

Key Takeaways

1. Cultural Context Matters – Pro-family advocacy Hawaii operates in a unique environment where personal relationships and cultural connections (like which high school someone attended) create both opportunities for dialogue and challenges for aggressive activism. The “aloha spirit” means maintaining respectful relationships even with political opponents.
2. Repeated Defeats Create Discouragement – Despite organizing massive rallies and mobilizing thousands of supporters, Hawaii’s pro-family movement has watched the Democratic legislature pass same-sex marriage, assisted suicide expansion, and other measures. This pattern has caused many pastors and church members to disengage from political activism.
3. Progressive Theology Undermines Engagement – The infiltration of progressive ideas into both Catholic and evangelical churches has weakened the theological foundation for pro-family advocacy. When pastors avoid preaching on controversial moral issues due to concerns about donations or cultural acceptance, they fail in their primary mission of making disciples.
4. Religious Liberty Mobilizes Like Nothing Else – While traditional pro-family issues draw modest crowds, the threat to remove religious exemptions for vaccinations brought thousands to the Hawaii capitol. When government directly threatens religious freedom in ways that affect families immediately, citizens respond.
5. Document Everything – The Good News Clubs victory demonstrates the importance of creating a clear legal record. By testifying at hearings and explicitly warning legislators about constitutional violations, advocates strengthen subsequent legal challenges and can point to their warnings when the state faces consequences.
6. The Church Must Reclaim Charity – Government has established a monopoly on welfare and education, but Scripture commands the church to care for widows, orphans, and the poor. Pro-family advocacy includes demonstrating that Christians say “yes” to caring for people even while saying “no” to harmful policies at the capitol.
7. National Reform Requires Disruption – Trump’s presidency has exposed the depth of dysfunction in the federal bureaucracy. While messy and controversial, this disruption is necessary to restore constitutional principles like the vesting of executive power in an elected president rather than unaccountable agencies.
8. Micah 6:8 Provides the Framework – “What does the Lord require of you? But to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” This verse captures the balance needed in pro-family advocacy: fighting for justice without compromise, showing mercy to individuals, and maintaining humility before God.

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About The Conservative Caucus:
The Conservative Caucus is a grassroots public policy action organization, formed in 1974. Headed by President Jim Pfaff, the Caucus is committed to advancing free enterprise, limited government, and traditional values.

Originally broadcast August 20, 2025 on The Conservative Caucus.