The excise tax is not a problem for local residents.
Hawaii residents do not complain bitterly about the tax they pay at retail stores, groceries etc.
Therefore even if you were eliminate it. It would not change anyone's life.
Republicans have clung to this issue because they have no other issues to promote: they arent in favor of raising the minimum wage, they arent in favor of promoting higher education to local teenagers and adults, they arent in favor of created an environment for high wage jobs to be created in Hawaii, they arent in favor of lower rents and mortgages as well as affordable housing.
They have no tangible economic issues-other than the excise tax.
The reality is that Republicans dont work for working people and since they have no economic alternatives, they lose in election after election here.
Clearly the mainland GOP way is not the way to go here in Hawaii.