McCranium.org

Candidate Interview – Peter Goldmark – Washington’s 5th CD

[Ed.  When the opportunity to do this interview came about, I was up to my ass in alligators busy.  But a good friend and former blogger Douglass was willing (sucessfully recruited that is) to act in my stead.  Thanks Douglass and thank you Peter Goldmark! - Jimmy]

Interview With Peter Goldmark – United States Congressional Candidate in Washinton’s 5th District. 

D: We’re here today with Peter Goldmark, who is running for the congressional seat in Washington State’s fifth District. Peter has graciously agreed to do an interview with us to post on McCranium.org. I will start things out by asking the classic question: Why are you running for Congress?

PG: I’m running for Congress because we need to change things in Congress, and we need to change the direction of our country. We need look no further than the price of gas, no further than the corruption and problems in Congress, no further than the agricultural crisis in eastern Washington, no further than the escalating cost of health care, and no further than the fact that nobody seems to be paying any attention or taking care of those issues. It is my intention to go back to Washington, DC and address those issues. People out here need a representative that we will work on these issues on their behalf.

D: For 32 years the seat was held by Tom Foley, who was Speaker of the House in 1994, when he lost to George Nethercutt. Democrats really haven’t been competitive in the fifth Congressional District since then. Can you tell me what’s different this time?

PG: Well, there are two obvious things that are different. I think the first and foremost difference is exactly what I’m feeling and that many people throughout the district and indeed many people throughout the nation are feeling. I want to use a word that is even stronger than disgusted. People are very, very upset and dismayed about the direction of our country, and this includes Democrats, independents and Republicans that I talk to. Across-the-board there are many issues that upset people, and I think one of the major ones that I find across party lines is the lack of attention of Congress to the needs of everyday people and the abject lack of any spending discipline there that has us spending between $250 and $300 billion a year more than Congress is willing to appropriate. There is this deficit that is piling up the alarms many people.

D: My next question was going to be whether you thought this election going to be decided on issues, and if so which ones, but could you just elaborate on what you think is key in this race. Is it just this sort of general feeling of disgust, or is it more focused toward specific grievances?

PG: I should backtrack for a moment here. I only got to the issue of why this election is different, and that was the national mood and the mood within the district. Because really the failure of the Bush administration and the failure of the Republican Congress to deal with issues that people in this country care about is the first issue. The second real issue is that I’m a different kind of candidate. I have real roots in the district. I’ve lived in the district my entire life and I have already served the public in a number of different capacities mostly on a volunteer basis, including agriculture and education both K-12 and higher education and also served as director of agriculture. So I understand the needs interests of the district. That’s what sets me apart. Now as to what issues are going to be important in the election this year, it’s just what I talked about. Congress’ deaf ear to the needs of this district that the voters of this district, and, in particular, the incumbent’s blind ear and blind eye to the needs of our district, following the direction of Tom DeLay and the rest of the leadership in Congress at the expense of the voters of Eastern Washington.

D: While that leads nicely into my next question, what is the biggest difference between you and the incumbent?

PG: We’re different in many ways. I’ve been in agriculture my entire life. I’ve served on my local school board, and I’ve served on the Board of Washington State University in the educational system. I’ve run a business for 33 years. I’ve written my name on a payroll check, many, many times over that period of time. So I’ve been an employer, and a husband and a father. Understanding what it takes to raise a family to put kids through school and then on to college. There are whole wide array of differences between myself and the incumbent. I’m not a career politician. I’m a career working person, and a family man, who cares a lot about the district and has experience that has helped me understand why people are having problems here.

D: Let’s broaden it out and look at the bigger picture. In your estimation, what’s the biggest mistake that the Bush administration has made?

PG: The biggest mistake that the Bush administration has made was to go into Iraq under false pretenses, under trumped up reasons, and with no plan, and not being able to follow through on an ill conceived invasion to start with. I think we see the fruits of that now. We’re bogged down. We have absolutely no idea how we’re going to reach success or what success will look like. And this is draining the financial resources of this country horribly, while killing some of the finest citizens on almost a daily basis. Not only that, but hundreds of Iraqis, innocent Iraqis, who are being consumed in a conflict at the same time. I know it is hard to get exact numbers about how much spending is going on over there, but it is at least in the tens of billions on a monthly basis, and that money could be much better put to use here in this country to keep it strong, to increase our own national security, to solve our own security problems at the borders, and at the ports, so we are indeed safer, because it would be harder for terrorists to get in here. I’m concerned about national security on a continental basis here because I think were exposed. So, to put it in a nutshell, it is the expenditure of all our precious resources overseas, instead of here locally where we need them.

D: The war in Iraq is obviously ongoing, so the question is, what would you do differently from your opponent to end that situation?

PG: Well, I call it an occupation of Iraq, because in all deference to our fine military, they did what they were trained to do very well in the first 3 to 4 weeks in the sense that early on, in 2003, they went in and eliminated any significant opposition. The Republican guard, the Iraqi army, were essentially decimated and destroyed by our fine military. That was a war. But what has followed has been a period of occupation of our forces in Iraq, which they really have never been trained to do, and which is a very difficult mission. What I would do differently is I would not, as the president has said and my opponent has supported, just stay the course indefinitely. I think that sends the wrong message to the Iraqi government and the Iraqi government needs to understand that it’s their country, that they need to take responsibility for it and provide for their own security. It is like a 26-year-old Johnny who’s got back to mommy and daddy after going to college and just hangs out in the bedroom, because they don’t need to do anything on their own. They’ve got mommy and daddy taking care of things, paying the bills, and it’s kind of like the Iraqi government. They are in the Green zone. We are protecting them and they’re not making the effort to form a government that is effective in protecting their country and dealing with the ethnic problems which are continuing because of the conflict over there. So we really need to put the boots to the Iraqi government to let them know in no uncertain terms it is their responsibility, they need to get on with it right away, because we are going to leave soon.

D: Let me pick up on your theme of keeping people’s feet to the fire. How would your presence in Congress keep the Bush administration honest, and what changes would you like to see in how the legislative branch interacts with the executive branch?

PG: I would be my hope that I would go back and turn the House into a different majority, a Democratic majority, where we can start to hold public hearings, have the power of subpoena and look into a whole host of domestic and international issues which the current Congress has been unwilling to deal with. The current Congress has been basically passive, and a rubber stamp for the Bush administration at the expense of the American people. I just hold up the examples of Katrina and all of the wanton excesses in Iraq. There is no accountability. Congress, which represents the American people, is doing nothing to provide accountability and the surety that our resources are being well spent and our policies are wise and are carried out in the best interests of the nation.

D: For the last decade or so, the right wing, particularly the right wing AM radio, have demagogued the label “liberal” to the point where a lot of Democrats will run from it. Would you call yourself a liberal, and why or why not?

PG: I don’t call myself a liberal because I don’t think I fit into any sense of the term. As I’ve already said, I’m very fiscally conservative. I’ve run a business, and I’ve had to support of family for a long period of time, and I know you have to be very careful with precious financial resources. I am a family man, I care a lot about family. I’m also a rancher, and in that regard I might have different beliefs than people who call themselves liberals. I believe in the rights of citizens to keep and bear firearms. We need firearms on the ranch. They are as important a piece of equipment as anything that we have around. We use it with respect and treat it with deference, but we use it, and I think it’s important that Americans continue to have the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. I also believe in the death penalty. I think there should be clear and swift punishment for the taking of an innocent life. So those are two examples of what would set me apart from what some would call a liberal Democrat.

D: Let’s follow up on your background as s a rancher. Are there any changes that you would like to see in the agricultural policy of the Bush administration?

PG: Well, I would hope so. The wheat farmers in Eastern Washington are struggling mightily now, in part because there is no effective voice in Congress to speak and work on their behalf. Right now the price of wheat is little different than it was when I started 33 years ago and yet the prices, particularly for fuel, have gone up over tenfold. And yet we still have a very low price for wheat. This is untenable to me. Not only is nobody doing anything about it, but nobody speaking out about it. None of our representatives, nobody in our government is saying this has gone on too long; this is unfair. We are treating these people like second-class citizens. We need to change our farm policy to give them a chance and to treat them like respectful citizens. That’s what I’ll do when I go back there. We also have some opportunities. In the middle of this agricultural crisis, we also have an energy crisis. I think that farmers can play a vital role in growing renewable energy resources such as canola and other oil-rich seed crops, or corn or other things that can be converted into ethanol, and we can really turn his depression, and I’ll call it a depression, in the Eastern Washington communities into an opportunity for them to reap the benefits of producing energy. Instead of shipping our dollars overseas for every barrel that we buy from Saudi Arabia, imagine if those dollars stayed in our communities and circulated through our families and businesses. That’s what I want to work for.

D: Wrapping up, is there any final message that you’d have for those who are inclined follow politics by reading liberal blogs?

PG: If I sound like a candidate that people want to support, they need to understand that the basic thing that I need in terms of help is financial resources. It takes dollars to run a campaign. I’m working really hard. I’m raising about 98% of all of my campaign funds from individual contributors. I don’t have any big corporations helping me, and I’m not getting lot of help from the PACS. I’m not getting any help from the national party, and I would really appreciate help from people, small and large dollar donors. Those dollars will make a huge at huge impact in my campaign, and I would very much appreciate their support. If they want to help transform the way Congress works, and help change of the direction of our nation, it is one very direct way that they can help that happen.

D: If I could just follow up on that very briefly. Some of the people reading this might not be following the race too closely. Can you give them an idea just how efficient you can be with their dollars in the Eastern Washington media market, and just how close this race is and how close you are to going over the top?

PG: The media market is a lot more reasonable here. Now in terms of the race, it’s a race where there is a clear opportunity. The polls show that the incumbent by no means has this wrapped up. But I have to be able to communicate with the voters to let them know who I am and what I stand for. If they’re listening to my message, which is a populist message, to represent the people here instead of the big boys back there, I hope it resonates with them. I will work for the voters here, and appreciate your reader’ s support.

D: You do have a television commercial running currently, is that correct?

PG: That’s correct.

D: And they can view that at your website, isn’t that right?.

PG: That’s correct. http://www.votepetergoldmark.com

D: Let’s end on that note. Thank you very much for your time, Peter, and we wish you the best with your campaign.

[The race between Goldmark and McMorris is an important one in the 5th CD.  Mr. Goldmark is going to need all the financial help he can get to beat back what I am guessing will be (the only think the McMorris campaign understands) a smear fest.  Peter needs his name and message out there and he needs your help to do this.  Please log on to http://www.votepetergoldmark.com and support the best candidate (and future Congressman) Washington's 5th CD may ever see.]