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Interview with Pete Ashdown

Interview conducted by Bryan Catherman
(The questions of this interview were e-mailed to Pete Ashdown. He responded via e-mail. Neither the questions or the answers have been altered other than for formatting.)

On August 1, 2005, �An Interview with Pete Ashdown� was posted on Utah Politics (http://www.utahpolitics.org/archives/010177.shtml). Ashdown is a candidate for U.S. Senator in 2006, running against a long entrenched Republican Senator, Orin Hatch.

Here is a follow up interview, six months later.

1. Mr. Ashdown, the last interview you did for UtahPolitics.org was four months ago. How has your campaign changed over the past four months?

That was prior to the launch of the Wiki. Before that time I felt like I was spinning my wheels on the campaign. Beyond having built a successful business and having a grip on technology, not much more of a message was getting out. Using the Wiki has been a remarkable experience. It began as a way to get people more involved with the campaign, but now I see a much brighter future for government if it embraces this style of collaborative technology. This is what I’m espousing as “Democracy 2.0”. Most people believe that it is summarized by online-polling and although that is a small component, the collaboration of the Wiki is a powerful problem solver.

2. You will be facing off with Senator Orin Hatch, which has a war chest large enough to campaign against a small country. How is your fund raising coming? What is your strategy for neutralizing your opponent and his large war chest?

We are at about $20,000 now. Out of that $20,000, I have one maxed out contribution of $2,100 and no contributions from PACs. The majority of that is $20-$100 contributions. I launched this idea of getting people to contribute $20/month towards the campaign. Although a handful of people have done that, it has been a resounding failure. Instead, I’m asking people for $100 by default now. However, whatever they can afford is welcome.

On the other hand, I’ve only spent about $18,000 of that. Aside from the fact that I own the building the campaign office is in, I think that has been spent effectively. Yet, my campaign manager is on deferred salary right now and if I want to accomplish anything, I want to pay him for his tireless work.

“Democracy 2.0” has garnered a bit of national attention from Slashdot, Linux Insider, API, and DailyKos. It has not broken the dam on major national media yet. I believe that if most Americans hear about this, they’re going to want to support it.

3. Blogs have become a very popular part of the Internet. You have a blog located on your website (http://vote.peteashdown.org). How has your blog been an effective communication tool for your campaign? Do you know what the size of your readership is?

The blog received about 3000 visits in January. What has been especially useful has been my pagerank has shot way to the top due to the blog. Before the blog, when you Googled “Pete Ashdown”, my campaign site was buried down somewhere between tips on weighting a record needle and comments on exim mailing lists.

4. While you have had many interviews in the major papers, on television, across the radio dial, and in all corners of the Internet, do you feel your message is reaching the people of Utah? How are you going to make “Pete Ashdown” a common household name?

I frequently run into people who don’t know who I am, don’t know I’m running, or don’t even know I started XMission. There is the hope to break some national attention that will create more buzz in Utah, but aside from that I’m depending on networking to a large amount. I have some other ideas on how that can be done virally, but that’s the special sauce right now.

5. Imagine that twenty years from now, a local Utah filmmaker shoots the movie, “_______________: The Pete Ashdown Story” for the Sundance Film Festival. What will the title of this film be? Give us the basic synopsis of this movie?

There is actually a couple of young film makers attempting to do just that right now. Although it focuses on the struggles of this campaign. I would hope that twenty years from now, the film would be more about effecting positive change in America.

6. Four months have passed since I asked you about Iraq. If given the opportunity, what would you like to say to the troops, some of them now on their second tour? What would you say to the military leadership? How about the folks in Washington D.C.? And how about to President Bush?

To the troops again I thank them for their service and loyalty. I promise to support them not only now, but when they return as veterans. I want to ensure they and their families are taken care of today and tomorrow.

To the military leadership, I say to continue their mission and to keep communicating their needs to Washington in an open and public manner.

To our elected leaders in Washington D.C. and President Bush, I believe we need to exercise the democracy of Iraq and have a referrendum on whether the U.S. should stay or not. The best judges of the situation in Iraq are the Iraqis themselves. If they want us to stay, we should stay but consider repayment of the cost of the war. If they want us to leave, we should withdraw to countries like Kuwait, Turkey, and Qatar and keep an eye on the Iranians.

I realize that in my last interview, I stated we should get that opinion from the troops. An anonymous individual suggested a referendum on the Wiki and I think its a great idea. In my opinion, the order of decision should go Iraqis, Troops, Military Leadership, American Citizens, then Washington.

7. What do you see as America’s role in Iraq over the next five years?

Supporting the Iraqi people. How that is done depends on what they really want.

8. What CD is in your CD player right now? Or maybe you are a digital music guy. If so, what songs are playing on your MP3 player these days?

I’ve been going through the old CD collection and ripping to MP3. I bought an iPod for the first time about six months ago and it has really allowed me to rediscover my collection. It�s also pushed me towards some new albums too. Here’s what I’ve been enjoying:
Pop Will Eat Itself - “This Is The Day…This Is The Hour�This Is This!”
Elton John - “Yellow Brick Road”
Williamson - “A Few Things To Hear Before We All Blow Up”
The Police - “Message In A Box”
Blue States - “Nothing Changes Under The Sun”
Ulrich Schnauss - “Far Away Trains Passing By”

9. In your opinion, what did the state, local, and federal government do wrong during (and following) Hurricane Katrina? What was done right? What actions would you have taken, or be taking right now, if you were presently in the U.S. Senate?

I think the evacuation was botched by the locals. The federal government was too slow to respond. I had a long discussion with a friend in the military about the military’s role to “keep the peace” and whether martial law is required or not. Bryan, you could probably tell me more about that. In any case, I think it would be worthwhile to consider an “emergency force” either an independent or related branch of the military that would be charged with keeping the peace and rescue operations in disaster areas.

I’ve heard conflicting information as to who was responsible for the levee problems. However, considering the poor state of infrastructure across this country, I would not put it past all levels of government to ignore them until it becomes a disaster.

10. What do you believe will be the single most pressing issue for the U.S. Senate in 2007, the year you will begin should you win? What do you think will be the big issue of 2006?

Transparency of the government and privacy of the citizen. I look at Washington and all the stomping around the Democratic party is doing about Abramoff, talking about new rules on lobbyists and signing ethics declarations. It doesn’t take new legislation for our elected representatives to document themselves to us. I have promised to post details about my meeting schedules and phone calls to the Internet if elected. The Democrats could do that now and lead by example.

Yet, we have a government that intrudes deeper and deeper into private lives in the name of security. I believe the Fourth Amendment should be interpreted broadly instead of narrowly. There is much work to be done rolling back the erosion of our rights.

11. There has been speculation about so many potential candidates for president, if the election were today, who would you like to become the U.S. President and Vice?

When our country started the vice-president was person who came in second place. I really like that idea because it gives the opposite party a seat at the table in the White House. Negating the 12th Amendment aside, I like Joe Biden for the sole reason that he was 30 years old when elected to the Senate against a longtime incumbent. After him, I think Jon Stewart would make a great president. Seriously.

12. Last question. Recent poll indicate that the public’s confidence in the presidency and congress is lower than it has been in years. What do you believe is the cause for this? Do you have a plan to increase the public’s confidence? With people feeling the way they presently do, being a U.S. Senator is almost comparable to being, say, a cigarette dealer. Why on earth do you want this job?

I look back at the great politicians of the 20th century and I see people who were not afraid to be out in public. They didn’t run agenda past marketers to figure out how to sell them. They spoke from the heart and wrote their own speeches. The problem we have now is that we are being sold our leaders along with government and Americans are tired of being marketed to. They are cynical of democracy and feel completely disconnected from the process. Americans can smell insincerity a mile away and that is what we get from Washington most of the time.

Why do I want this job? Because I believe I can do it better. Because I believe I can stay grounded to who I am and make America a better place for all of us. Cigarette dealer or not, they’re making decisions that affect our future. We should all have a greater hand in those decisions.

Mr. Ashdown, thank you for participation in this interview. I wish you the best of luck in your upcoming campaign. Pete Ashdown’s website is located at http://peteashdown.org

*** In the spirit of equal time, I am sending an invitation to Senator Hatch�s office to answer the same questions (some will be altered being that they were targeted at Pete Ashdown�s campaign).

[Senator Hatch, I also invite you to respond to Mr. Ashdown�s answers. You may answer in a the comment option; although, with the simplicity of false impersonation, our readers may not accept your response as being really from you. If you would prefer, you may contact me. After verifying that your communication is indeed you or someone from your office, I will post your response in the main body. Your challenger will be afforded the same opportunity to respond. I look forward to hearing from you.]

Posted by catherman on February 6, 2006 08:22 PM

Comments

Posted by: Bryan Catherman at February 7, 2006 09:43 AM

Posted by: Bryan Catherman at March 15, 2006 07:35 AM

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