Pete Ashdown: The Internet-generation politician

When a ballgame starts the score is always 0-o and from there anything can happen. The samme thing can be said in Utah senatorial race between incumbent veteran republican Senator Orrin Hatch and the rookie Pete Ashdown, running for public office for the first time in his life.
Pete Ashdown is the founder of the internet provider Xmission, which acording to their website is "the leading independent Internet service provider in the State of Utah.", a company that was founded back in 1993.

But the comparison to the unpredictabilty of sports ends here, because this election is an uphill battle for Ashdown. The fundraising tells a great deal about the two opponenets strengt. Orrin Hatch has more than 2 million $ in his war chest, Ashdown has so far raised a little more than 20.000 $. The republican state party is also running in a whole different gear than the Democrats.

Utah is a Republican stronghold that gave President Bush 72 % of the vote in 2004 and Orrin G. Hatch is an institution in the state like a Robert Byrd is it in West Virginia and Ted Stevens in Alaska.

Pete Ashdown grew up in Bountiful, a suburb of Salt Lake City. His father Robert stated as a machinist and worked himself up to become teacher at the local community college. Petes mom Greta left Esbjerg in her native Denmark after World War II. Pete still have contact to the familiy in Denmark, he has an aunt in Arhus, the second largest town in the country and one his moms cousins live in Esbjerg.

I asked Ashdown why he is running for senate, what is his issues, about the War on Terror, what he thinks about the Muhammed cartoon controversy and about his danish heritage.

David Troels Garby (DTG): Why should the votes in Utah elect a unknown newcomer when they can rely on a stable politician like Orrin Hatch, that is sure to bring back important federal funding for the state?

Pete Ashdown (PA): Seniority grants a lot of power in the Senate, but it is important that his power is used to benefit the constituents of a senator. I first took interest in this race because I felt the technology industries
inside Utah were coming in second to media interests outside Utah. I have a vision for America in this century and more people are concerned about our future than seniority.

DTG: What is that vision and what is the message that you want to bring on to the voters?

PA: I believe the foundation of Democracy is participation. Obligation to my family, my community, and my country is what made me do this campaign. The message that I am delivering to Utah and America is that through communication and technology, we have the opportunity for everyone to participate in government, not just the entities with influence and money. The best ideas come directly from the people, with modern collaborative software and the Internet, the people can present those ideas to their representatives and be heard.

DTG: Wouldn't you have a better chance if you ran for a lower office, the state house or state senate and gained some political experience and learned "the game", before running against one of the most experiencered politicians in the nation?

PA: This question is asked of me frequently, but ironically, Senator Hatch had no prior political office when he ran for the first time in 1976. Any political office should be open to all comers, not just those who have climbed the ladder. I wish there were hundreds of people trying to run for this office and not a handful.

DTG: How is for a Democrat to run for office in a state that, according to polls, is the most pro-Bush state in the country and does it put some restraints on what you can say or do in the campaign?

PA: Utah as a whole is dominantly conservative. However, one of our three national representatives, Jim Matheson, is a Democrat. Although Utah voted 70% Bush in 2004, it voted 43% for a Democrat (Jim Mathesons brother Scott) for the governor's race the same year.

I am running this race respecting the office of the President and my opponent. Although there is room for disagreement, I am weary of the fighting and the bitterness between political parties in America. I never want to participate in that.

DTG: What is about Jim Matheson that makes it possibly to win in the arguble most red state?

PA: I admire Jim for his political sense and it is something I wish to emulate. He is always the only other politician I see when I visit rural areas of the state. He is more of a political centrist because he makes an effort to represent his constituency. I believe it is not a matter of giving up your personal beliefs but holding your constituents needs above them.

DTG: Democrats have gained some grounds in some of the small northwestern states in the last few years, with victories for Dave Freudenthal in Wyoming and Brian Schweitzer in Montana. Do you think that you can use some of their experiences to boost your own campaign?

PA: I had the opportunity to meet Governor Schweitzer last April and was pleased with his advice. He emphasized letting people know you as an individual rather than drowning them in policy. He believes as I do, that most people vote on the individual rather than the party. As a
result, my efforts are focused on introducing myself to the Utah electorate.

The danish connection
DTG: Your mother is danish. What is your, if any, relations to Denmark. And do you understand or speak danish?

PA: I have visited Denmark three times, twice as a child, once on my honeymoon. Sadly, my Danish grandparents, my mother, and my uncle have all passed on. I still have an aunt who lives in Arhus and a cousin of my mother who I hear from yearly who still lives in my mother's home town of Esbjerg. As far as my language abilities, they are very poor. I won't attempt to write Danish, but I can thank you for the meal if you feed me.

DTG: Utah has the largest portion of people with danish roots (almost 7 %). it is my knowledge or assumption that the danish immigrants in general is among the most staunch conservative, is this a correct assumption and do you have som thoughts on why it is so?

PA: My mother was very liberal, so much that she used to wear a shirt with the word "Liberal" to neighborhood functions. I have met a number of Danish immigrants in Utah throughout my lifetime, but not a lot on this campaign, so I can't assess how their politics are.

DTG: If i came to Utah how would i notice the danish community, besides from meeting people called Larsen, Petersen and Hansen?

PA: There are a couple of Scandinavian businesses and festivals in Utah. I do not know of any formal organizations (The Rebild National Park Society has a large chapter in Utah, dtg). So I don't think you would be amazed at the presence of the Danish community here, it seems to be very subtle. My mother made a great effort to speak English without an accent. She was proud of her heritage, but she was also proud to be an American. I think that is a common sentiment amongst immigrants of her generation and probably the reason she never taught the children Danish.

The Muhammed-cartoons and the War on Terror
In these times it is difficult for any dane to meet (or in this write) a foreigner and not ask about their opinion regarding the famous drawings, and i'm not all that original so i also asked Pete what he thinks about the issue and i think that his response is very much in line with the official american response to the whole matter.

DTG: The big issue in Denmark is the publication of the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed which has lead to wide spread anger in the muslim world, torching of danish embassys and boycot of danish products. What is your opinion of this issue?

PA: Holding an entire country accountable for the actions of their press is where I believe the Muslim world is overreacting. On the other hand, the insensitivity of Jyllands-Posten is also irresponsible. I hold dear the ideals of free speech, but it also carries with it great responsibility.

DTG: Democrats in Washington calls for a timetabel or an exitstrategy for the troops in Iraq. What is your position and this and the whole situation with the War on Terror?

PA: Through my collaborative campaign Wiki (http://peteashdown.org/wiki) an anonymous individual made the suggestion of having a referendum in Iraq on the topic. I hear so many conflicting reports of whether our presense is an aggravation or a benefit to the people of Iraq, that I do not know the truth. So I think this anonymous suggestion is a good one to get to the truth. If the Iraqi people want us to stay, there should be some consideration for the financial cost of us doing so. If they want us to leave, we should withdraw to nearby countries and keep an eye on the Iranian border.

My concern in the war on terror is that by using military force to
execute it, we are expanding resentment against the United States, and therefore creating more terrorists. If the United States put as much effort into wars on hunger, disease, and poverty, I think we'd be better off in the long run. It costs about $2500 to deliver clean water to a village. If we slapped an American flag on the well, it would win far more "hearts and minds" than a single bomb dropped on the enemy.
America needs to return to being a beacon for the good of humanity.

With these words i would like to thank Pete Ashdown for spending some time to explain him self. Now its up to him to convince the voters that it is time to send the Internet-generation to Washington D.C..