Being on the trail has left little time for blogging or even catching up on my email. Sporadic availability of the Internet and my fickle MacBook Pro hasn’t made it any easier. Here are a number of quickies.
The wheels have come off this campaign, literally. While I was returning back from my last day of appointments in Washington D.C. I received the call that the left two rear wheels had come off the motor-home while Field Coordinator Justin Daniels was driving it to Saint George for the Lions Round-Up I was going to attend on Saturday. My father arrived on the scene at “Point of the Mountain” in Salt Lake County and jacked up the motor-home and put the wheels back on. Miraculously, nobody was hurt and although the axle had dragged, the motor-home did not have major damage and was able to get back on the road again.
The reward for catching and prosecuting sign thief is now up to $1550, thanks to a friend in Holladay who woke up one morning this week to find his sign gone. I condemn all sign theft, regardless of party or candidate. I can’t speak for the other pledges, but my $500 will reward anyone who catches a prosecutable sign thief regardless of candidate or party.
My meetings in Washington D.C. were enlightening if not immediately rewarding. One of the best was a 90 minute discussion with Senator Durbin’s chief of staff, Ed Greelegs. His surprising comment was over campaign finance reform when I suggested shared donation pools, “You’ve really thought about this haven’t you?” Isn’t that what Senators are supposed to do? Ed was also crucial in getting us to our next Capitol appointment via the hilarious Senate Subway and Brazil-like steam tunnel passages in the bowels of the complex.
It would seem that 90% of D.C. is 20-something. The fact that most elected officials in congress can’t find their way to the door without a staffer pointing them to it gives way to rampant speculation as to who is actually running the country.
The Lincoln Memorial is awe inspiring. My previous visit to Washington did not afford time to visit many of the sites, so this was the first time I have seen it. I was hoping to be able to conduct the scheduled chat from that location but could not find a wireless signal. A group by the name of Open Park has been trying to establish free wireless on the mall for the last two years. Looks like an opportunity for me to help them.
Marshall Thompson is a former military journalist who served in Iraq. He is walking from the top of Utah to the bottom in October to call for peace. Check out his website here.
The Lions Round-Up in Saint George is quite an event. It is one of the numerous timeless scenes that I have had the good fortune to gaze upon throughout this campaign. Today I am going to spend some time in Zion Park. Be sure to track the progress of the Blue Eagle online at the new Campaign Trips tracker. If you live in an unvisited spot, let me know! Organize a “Meet the Candidate” and I will be there!
As of today 21 of my campaign signs have dissapeared. Four were taken, but were found placed on the property of another man named Miller.
21 signs from my orginal 100. 21% of my signs have been stolen. Does that mean I can assume that I will lose close to 500 signs in the coming months?
Great report Pete. The wheels are falling off of Hatch too.
You called the Senate subway hilarious. I actually thought it was fun. Given the fact that the Senate subway cars were donated by Disney, they make a great ride for the kids — and who’s to say that Senators act like adults?. Perhaps I’ll post pictures of the subway (and other DC sites) on the web when I have time.
Washington DC has a lot to see — at least for the person that has the time. Perhaps you can make your next visit something for just the family. However, after 5 months in this area, I’ll be glad to get back to Utah. One more trip to the capital this afternoon — and back to Utah next week.
Theft of signs is part of the game. The only way to stop that is through legislation and heavy advertised fines. I have a friend that run with the Republicans during the primary. His signs were constantly disappearing and being replaced by his opponent’s signs. Unfortunatly, most folks don’t study the issues… they vote for a name that sounds familiar. We need better legal methods to discourage sign theft.
Let’s look at the bright side here. At least there hasn’t been mass emptying of City Weekly newsstands! 😉
Good point Jim.
Although a mass emptying could be a good thing.
Hello and a great day to you all!
I received my sign today!! It looks great and I could feel the energy as I staked it into mother earth. (After we win don’t forget to recycle.) I am considering posting a town crier near it as a theft deterrent. ROCK ON…
What I’d like to know about the soldierspeace.com is who is funding him? His website is made by a professional company that lists several big-name customers (Marriott, Nokia, and Coca-Cola). They can’t be cheap, and it seems like there would be a bigger “thank you” portion if they were doing it pro bono. While I admire his goal, I fear that maybe he’s really just a pawn in the hands of much bigger political machines, rather than the “lone soldier” he’s advertising.
Since you’ve been on the campaign trail for almost a year and it appears tht the goal post is still far way, how about taking a stand on an issue for a change. The travel-log blog is really just too cute, and I’m sure you’ve avoided offending more peolple than any other candidate for senate it he history of the state, but there are people dying in a war Hatch keeps pushing, the environment is being left less protected, ridiculous scare tactics continue to be pushed with false connections a “the terrorist threat”, and civil liberties are being attacked, but you lost two tires, were inspired by the Lincoln monument, and love the Lions Club in St. George! Great!!
I grant you there are peole raising these same issues and perhaps to no avail, but when are you as the alternative candidate, going to try to raise the consciousness of the people of Utah who are sleepiing so soundly? Even if you can’t win you can cause people to questions whether their senator is telling them the truth. So what if your lawn signs are stolen. you’ve given so little input to what should be a debate of significant issues, that the space they occupy in the campaign is wasted. I’ve given you 10 months to see if your ‘raise no offensive hackles’ appraoach would work. It seems to have merely coddled the opposition. I’ve waited for a feeling of connection with an idea, statement, or effort other than your dad’s great support. I am pretty sure I have no idea what your stand is on so many questions. I know many peole hate Hatch, and for many good reasons, but you can’t win on that animonsity and silence alone. If you are the great innovator then have an innovative idea for avoiding the disaster of the past 5 years. I feel like you as candidate have yet to make a significant contribution to the debate on any issues of substance. True, Hatch has refused to debate, but you have refused to take him on. Quit wasting the lawn signs and make Hatch accountable for the loss in our surplus, the loss in lives, the loss in freedoms, and the loss in international respect, or something else that you care about! you can only lose. take him on!
I don’t even no where to begin on this…If you believe Pete is trying “to raise no offensive hackles” you clearly have not been paying close enough attention. There is no issue Pete has shyed away from, no issue he has ducked or spun away from. The website lists more than 40 issues, find me another candidate with more than a dozen. If you are stricktly interested in Pete shouting at Senator Hatch in a negative manner, go look somewhere else, you won’t find it here. We (Pete and his staff, supporters, family and friends) are trying to change the game, our objective is to make people want to vote for Pete because he is Pete, not want to vote against Hatch because we called him a name.
It is true that many of us believe Utah’s senior Senator is not serving the people of Utah (or America), that he has been in office far too long and that he is far from a true representative of Utah. Our blood boils when we hear him speak in divisive attacks and ignorant rants, but we will not stoop to his level. If you find this to be unacceptable behavior for a United States Senator, do not vote for Pete, you are better served voting for the more common self-serving politicians you find readily available in so many slots on ballots nationwide. If you are ready for bold leadership that will work hard to reform the system through innovative solutions and open the processes of government to the accountability of the people, vote for Pete Ashdown.
There are many basis for which people choose who they will vote for, that is part of the greatness of a democratic system, for those that choose based on who not to vote for, there are plenty of reasons to choose Pete over the rest of the field, we are not going to waste our time and energy in that direction. We are going to put a great deal of energy telling people who Pete is, and why we think he will be Utah’s greatest Senator. We do encourage you to contribute whatever you believe you can, throught the collaborative wiki, email, phone, volunteering, etc…please feel free to use the contact page on the website
I worry about that vehicle without seatbelts. All you need is an accident that
#1 Injures someone
#2 Causes the opponent to call into question the judgement of a person using such an unsafe vehicle.
I was down by the courthouse chanting with Rocky and I’ll admit that it felt FINE to give some vent to all the frustration I feel. However, I’m not sure that would be the right thing for Pete’s campaign right now. I might long for him to stand on the corner raining righteous fire and lightning on the Connecticut carpetbagger’s head, but that would give the opposition an opening to say “ewww, look at the rabid Democrat.”
I feel much the same about Matheson’s middle-of-the-roadness (and, incidentally, whoever advised Jim to run that Prescription Part D ad should be flayed). I want to see some starch. I want to see the candidates rear up and yell, “I am a Democrat,” but it’s like a mile and a quarter race: no point running the fastest first quarter in history and the slowest last.
Got my letter from Mrs. A today and am headed over there to put a little in the kitty. I certainly do apologize that it can’t be more.
utahgirl
Bob, the vehicle has seatbelts. My father bolted them into the frame. We use them. Thank you for your concern.
September 18th, ’06
It’s too bad people are stealing the campaign signs for “Pete Ashdown for Senate.” Prosecuting the appropriate sign thief? Don’t want to point fingers…on the other hand I’m not sure I actually care about this factor since so much of it goes on even needlessly…but I’d start keeping a wary watchful eye on the Hatch campaign.
Senator Hatch is bound not to last much longer in the U.S. senate! He’s been in office far too long (since 1976), is egregiously corrupt which I can testify to first-hand because of his stealing five Social Security numbers from the Social Security Administration for wayward lawyer David McConkie who wrote these false SSNs on a TRW/Experian credit report in my name and so knows he can’t keep up his fraudulence forever, and I’ll bet he doesn’t even know that yesterday September 17th was Constitution Day and the 217th birthday of our U.S. Constitution James Madison and the rest of our Founding Fathers adopted into law September 17, 1789.
My guess is–my instinct tells me–the campaign sign thief most likely will be found among the ranks of the Hatch campaign. That is…of course…unless a (or more than one) Hatch campaigner(s) has/have infiltrated the Ashdown campaign ranks and is executing his/her criminal mischief from within.
Sincerely,
Kathy Caudle
Salt Lake City
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Steve Alder,
If you don’t know by now where Pete stands on the issues, you must be deaf, dumb, blind and stupid…all he’s done is lay it out for the whole world to see in his wiki.
On the other hand, if the problem is really just that Pete is too moderate for your taste, then just say so. Far left whackos like you need to identify with similar extremist views, and that’s not Pete Ashdown. Try the Green Party or the Libertarians. They need you.
Is it just me or is this campaign being run like a re-elect Orin farce? I keep on getting invitations to events that are already over, with no coverage by the mainstream media (liberal? oh please)the election is only a few weeks away and we have heard nothing about Pete in Salt Lake from the papers, tv or people looking to return america to what it once was. Perhaps it is too late and the why try attitude has taken over. The word run implies a little more effort than we have seen. Sacrificial lamb for dinner again!!