Orrin Hatch, the entertainment industry-affiliated Republican who made it a federal crime to play a DVD on a Linux computer and tried to enable copyright holders to destroy the computers of suspected copyright infringers, is accustomed to representing Utah in the United States Senate.
After voters head to the polls on Nov. 7, he will most likely continue to do. But it won't be because there was no young, straight-shooting, idealistic, tech-savvy candidate there to oppose him.
His name is Pete Ashdown, and if anyone can clue Congress in to technology before it legislates the internet into a bunch of pneumatic tubes, it's Ashdown, who breathes bytes and exhales bits. He founded XMission (the first and largest ISP in Utah), deejayed raves and posted a Wiki version of his campaign platform for anyone to edit. One contribution to that Wiki formed a cornerstone of his platform: that the Iraqi people should vote through a referendum on whether U.S. troops should stay in their country.
In an age where energy magnates meet behind closed doors with elected officials to determine policy, Ashdown posts a calendar showing every meeting he takes in a day, and thinks other politicians should do the same.
This political transparency comes as a breath of fresh air to Ashdown's supporters, many of whom reside outside the state of Utah. The New York Times pegged Hatch as the "overwhelming favorite" there, but that hasn't stopped Ashdown from fighting for every last vote in a state he considers to be full of Democrats who just don't know that they're Democrats.
(This interview has been edited for clarity and length.)
Wired News: Your opponent said in a debate with you that the Democrats want to dictate every aspect of our lives from Washington. How does that line up with his support for the DMCA and the Induce Act?
Pete Ashdown: I find it interesting that Republicans like Senator Hatch repeatedly want to deregulate businesses but regulate the individual and it proves time and again that this is not the government conservatives espouse as being small and limited. It's "We want to be in control of your daily lives to the extent that we're watching what you're doing on your computers, we're watching whether you're violating any corporate copyrights. We're going to be the unpaid copyright police for the corporations."
WN: So it comes down to individual rights versus corporate rights?
Ashdown: Yeah, and I think it comes down to civil rights as well. The erosion we've seen of the Bill of Rights over the last couple of years regarding American monitoring – the Patriot Act, the Detainee Act that came out in the last couple of weeks. (It) brings government into our own homes and allows them to monitor what are doing and (what) we see. There are other abuses as well, like the call-records monitoring by the NSA and the tapping of international calls without warrants.
WN: You created a Wiki of your campaign platform that anybody could edit. How has that experiment worked and would you continue to let people participate that way, if elected?
Ashdown: It's worked very well – I've received some great input and taken some of it on the road with me on the campaign trail, talking to people. I still don't know who contributed this idea, but having a referendum in Iraq (on whether the United States should leave) is what I've been advocating.
I presented the idea to Democrats in Washington, and they resisted it, and the national press has not really picked up on it, but there was an editorial in the L.A. Times last week by a conservative columnist, who was advocating the exact same idea. It's an extremely powerful way to collaborate with the American people, and of course I'll use it after I am elected into office.
WN: Your campaign jingle is available as an MP3 ringtone. What do you think about cell-phone carriers that prevent people from using MP3s as ringtones? Do you think we need Fair Use legislation?
Ashdown: There's enough competition among cell-phone carriers that if people are upset with their carrier charging them for every modification they make to their phones, they can switch to another carrier. If there were no options for people, then I would advocate for legislation.
I think the free market is going to work itself out on this one. We are seeing new phones with USB ports, easily modifiable, giving people more freedom, and I'll bet Apple is going to cook up something that will blow the whole market away. So I don't see the need for additional legislation at this time.
WN: In a – video of your appearance at the Democratic State Convention, you played one of my favorite pieces of music, "Peter and the Wolf," by Prokofiev. What was the inspiration behind that?
Ashdown: "Peter and the Wolf" was a suggestion my older brother made, since this battle sounds a lot like Peter and the Wolf. All these politicians inside the Democratic Party have tried to unseat Senator Hatch, and have been unsuccessful. It's going to take some creativity and somebody with a new approach to deal with the situation.
WN: How would your experience as the founder of XMission inform your work in Washington?
Ashdown: Right now, there is nobody I can point to in the entire Congress that has a good grip on technology. I think the majority of them depend heavily on their interns for their messaging and e-mail needs. None of them know anything about computers beyond turning on the power button.
Having somebody in there with technology expertise will provide immense clout for Utah and good leadership for this country, because what we've seen in countries like India and China is that when you get technocrats into office, you get better, more advanced public policy. You get an eye toward the future.
Right now in Congress – and especially Senator Hatch – is grappling with the last 30 years and trying to understand it. Dennis Hastert comes out and says, "Well, we don't understand how to monitor instant messaging." It's ridiculous. We need people there that have the expertise, ability and knowledge to push this country forward on technology because it's such an important part of our lives.
WN: You say you want American kids to have a world-class education. Do you buy the theory that learning music helps kids develop in other ways?
Ashdown: Absolutely. I looked at some of these programs worldwide, and in China, every child learns how to play the piano. Studies have shown that if a child has an education in music from an early age, they do better in math and science and eventually engineering. These are all areas in which our country is sagging, so I believe music education is an essential part of public education. I also believe things like learning Latin are essential. I think we need to get back to some of these fundamental ideas (for) a robust, rigorous and disciplined education.
WN: In Washington, would you make copyright reform one of your priorities?
Ashdown: One of my priorities in writing legislation would be to reform the Digital Millenium Copyright Act. I think it's anti-fair-use for the consumer and it puts the right of the corporation and the media holders over the individual and I want to reverse that pyramid (so) the individual is at the top of government – all decisions are made for the benefit of the individual, and business comes second.
I also believe there is a high public value in having copyrights expire into the public domain after a reasonable time. We've seen that companies like Disney have benefited from works in the public domain, and they've expanded upon works in the public domain like The Little Mermaid. I think also things like software ... falling into the public domain after a reasonable amount of time would benefit our society.
WN: You raised about a fifth of the million dollars you set out to raise in donations. Did you receive support from the National Democratic Party?
Ashdown: None at all. I have gotten quite a few donations, probably about 30 percent, from around the country. That's been very gratifying ... but the national Democratic Party has ignored this race to the point of being rude. I talked to people in Washington about this race, and it was, "good show, old boy, but we really can't help you." I'm not asking for millions of dollars, and I think money spent here is much more effective than money spent in New York – Hilary Clinton has enough money. Plus, we have a media market where $10,000 buys what $100,000 can buy in California. So, I think it's short-sighted of the Democratic party to not only ignore flyover states like Utah, but other states around the country that may have long-shot races. People out there are building the party, and we have to look at the long term instead of what's going to happen in the next election.
I considered forming a PAC after this race and actually I was thinking about doing a technology PAC. I'd really like to see some of these open-source advocates get out there and form their own PAC and be more active in the political process.
WN: Your favorite movie is Brazil – I was thinking it might be Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.
Ashdown: I wasn't inspired to get involved in politics from the movies – usually the politician in the movies is the one who is being paid under the table and is not the hero. I was more inspired to get into this race by watching what's going on in our country ... the ignorance about technology, and out of concern for my three children who are growing up in an America that's vastly different from the America I grew up in.
WN: It's an interview cliché, but what's on your iPod?
Ashdown: I have a 30-gig iPod, and over the past year and a half, I ripped my entire 4,000 CD collection to MP3. I listen to my IPod in the car, and it's got everything from Johnny Cash to Boards of Canada – I like lots of different kinds of music.
WN: And some Orrin Hatch, of course.
Ashdown: Yeah I've got to get some inspiration in there.
