Demo says he represents values abandoned by GOP

An expert problem-solver is attempting to decipher one of the most difficult riddles in Utah politics.

Steve Olsen is an engineer who has spent most of his life finding solutions, and if his experience has taught him one thing, it's that there is almost always a solution.

That belief, first fostered on his grandfather's farm, led to Olsen's decision to run for the U.S. House of Representatives, as a Democrat, against a two-term incumbent in one of the nation's most conservative congressional districts.

After six months on the campaign trail, Olsen's optimism and perseverance have not waned, primarily because he is convinced that he knows the answer to the seemingly impossible question of how a Democrat can win in the heavily rural, northern Utah district.

It's printed, in fact, right on the pamphlet he wrote himself, titled "Why Most Utahns are Democrats and Don't Even Know It." He came to that realization only a few years ago, after decades as a Republican — an affiliation he did not so much leave as he feels that the party deserted him.

Even today, he cites President Ronald Reagan as a primary influence — on par with his political hero, President John F. Kennedy — and suggests that, in many ways, the Republican ideals of the 1980s are no longer the sole domain of the current GOP.

Instead, a new breed of "Western Democrat" is embracing values like a strong national defense and limited government, Olsen said. He points to people like New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer as leading the way.

"Their views more closer reflect what I believe," Olsen said. "I really believe that the guys in Washington have abandoned the principles of Reagan and turned our Congress over to special interests."

His frustration with Republicans is their lack of fiscal restraint, especially when it comes to deficit spending. He also is disappointed that their economic policies tend to favor the rich, forcing families who used to be able to survive on one income to send both spouses to work.

"The middle class is struggling, even disappearing," he said. "We have a lot of very wealthy families, but the people on the other end barely make it, even with both people working."