Businesslike Ashdown says 'the little guy' comes first

Buying media time with television, radio or print ads make up the bulk of a candidate's campaign costs, but Ashdown said the Internet is the "great equalizer in that area."

He has made use of various technological trends to spread the word of his candidacy and bolsters his campaign through chats on his own Web site, www.peteashdown.org to a page on Wikipedia, a popular Web site where page users can edit or update content as they see fit.

"The Internet is so much more powerful than a TV ad," Ashdown said. He has been using the person-to-person approach, saying that the word-of-mouth way of spreading his political views is the "most effective way" of advertising.

The Internet and other advances in information-sharing and communication have changed the way people live or do business all over the world, but Ashdown sees a disconnect between the lawmakers who may not understand the technology and regular people who use it daily.

His favorite recent example is Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, calling the Internet a "series of tubes" in a recent debate about Internet fees. Stevens is head of the Senate Commerce Committee that oversees federal regulation of the Internet.

"I believe that technology is the underpinning of our daily lives," Ashdown said.

Having a Congress full of elected officials whose staffs read their e-mail or who still cannot grasp even the basics of how the Internet works are holding back the country while the rest of the world moves ahead, Ashdown believes.

Electing someone who is not afraid of the latest technology and who is up to speed with what the Internet and computers can accomplish would help Utah and the rest of the country, Ashdown believes. It's not just about electing someone who knows how to use an on-line chat or email. Instead, it is about electing an individual who knows how to use the available resources to truly reach out to constituents and make Congress more in touch with what the people want.

People over profit

Once elected, Ashdown says, he plans to carry over the "people over profit" plan he used when he started XMission. He says he wants to really talk to constituents to see what they need. He wants to take the advice of the people in Utah to best serve them and "make sure other needs are met before my own needs"

"I want to put other people's needs first," Ashdown said. "Right now the American people come last and the special interests come first."