Hip Hop Republican.com did an interview with A.J. Otjen, a self-styled Teddy Roosevelt Republican running for Congress in Montana. Below is their interview.

HHR Blog: Tell the readers of HHR Blog a little about yourself…where are you from…where were you born…where were you raised?

A.J. Otjen: I was raised in Enid Oklahoma by a Republican family. My grandfather William John Otjen was the Republican candidate for governor and senator for Oklahoma. I remember wearing “I like Ike” buttons as a small child and my mother being a “Bellmon Bell”. My parents were divorced when I was 15. I think Mom was my hero as she paid for all of my college but always told me I was on my own the day I graduated and she meant it. She had the greatest friends that had parties and played bridge. The day she died I was able to tell her that she had been the best mom. That is all she wanted to know. That she could be proud of what she left behind. She also gave me a love of horses and a believe that I could do anything I wanted. Her name was Eva and I am named after her mother Agnes.

HHR Blog: How have your feelings about the City and the State you currently live in influenced you’re decision to run for office?

A.J. Otjen: The job I have of teaching has influenced me quite a bit. My students seem to ask me my opinions and what they think their future will be like. And Montana has such an incredible environment and so many resources that should be used to the benefit of all of us. The fact that we live in such a transformative age is staring me in the face and the current Republicans are not saying the right things or having the right influence. But I’m getting started a bit late. I fortunately have had deep principles developed over a long time, and just need to apply a few details to them.

HHR Blog: What is your current job and what are your duties in the current job you hold?

A.J. Otjen: I’m on the faculty of marketing at the college of business at Montana State University in Billings. I teach people how to make a profit in a market economy. I did it for 25 years, successfully. Then I retired to become a professor in God’s country. I worked in agriculture, technology, sports, tourism, real estate, the marketing of those things. And now I have horse property. I understand the limits of water and pastureland. I think this should all be of benefit to Montana.

HHR Blog: What type of family were you raised in, and how has your upbringing shaped your political views?

A.J. Otjen: I grew up in a typical middle class difficult family. I made my own living immediately after graduating with a bachelors and paid for my own MBA at night, and eventually made it to the VP level of a fortune 500 company. I was the head of a household, and currently support myself successfully. As a woman this shaped my political views from conservative to moderate to progressive moderate. I would say that my parents were upper class in their child hoods or had upper class manners. But had middle class values. Two wars did that to them. I have extremely liberal views when it comes to human rights.

HHR Blog: Where did you attend College and what was the highest degree you attained?

A.J. Otjen: I have two graduate degrees or a terminal degree (doctorate). I attended Mizzou, University of Colorado for the MBA and back to University of Missouri but in Kansas City for the Doctorate. I worked for Sprint Corporation at the time. The HQ was right across the street from the KC campus so I seemed silly not to cross the street at night to study and go to class. It was writing the dissertation that was the hard part. I had been writing memos and emails for many years by then.

HHR Blog: What were your experiences like as a College Student compared to your experiences as a Professional in the work-place?

A.J. Otjen: I must confess it is easier to write an email than a term paper. And two of my degrees were earned before the invention of personal computers. The doctorate was much easier thanks to Microsoft. But I love the smell of a campus. I think it is the green grass. And great corporate moments are fleeting. Plus I love to sleep in late. But doing the job in real life is more fun than learning it in the classroom. I think that is why I try to give my student as much actual experience now that I teach. It took years to reach a level where I was experienced enough to be a good manager of people in the corporate world, where it took about three years to be a good teacher….granted after 25 years of working. Still, now that I’m a professor, there are times when I wish I could just pick the students I want to teach like I could pick the employees I wanted to manage. Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way.

HHR Blog: If you have traveled throughout the United States, please share with our readers what you were able to ascertain about the various cultures of The United States?

A.J. Otjen: I traveled the best way, working for the Potato Farmers of America, having them show me the land and the best historical sights in the area, or travelling for them and getting to eat at their expense. Food and music is usually the best way to experience the local culture. The best part about New York City, besides the theatre, is its different neighborhoods from Harlem to China Town. The South has the Cajun dancing and food, and architecture, Savannah and Charleston, and Jazz Jazz Jazz. I prefer the Gulf to the Atlantic in terms of the breeze. I like Main’s lobster the best. And Pennsylvania’s farm land is about the prettiest in the country. In Colorado, a hidden jewel is the San Luis Valley soaked in sunlight and brisk air and hardly a soul, where there is the international crowd in Vail just a hundred miles a way. If you really want to understand America, you need to meet our natives from the SW to Montana to Seattle and listen to the drums. I have friends on the east coast who have gone to Europe several times but have never seen our American west. As for California..,,,head north. No offense LA. But those trees will make you cry.

HHR Blog: How do the various cultures of The United States compare to the dominant cultures in your home state?

A.J. Otjen: Many in Montana think you have to be born here. It is not true. Just like in all America. We are all immigrants. I’m a daughter of the American Revolution…can you believe that. And a first family of Virginia..what a snob. My nephew just married a Cherokee/Choctaw and I say it is about time we had some Oklahoma native blood in our family after having been part of the family that helped bring that state into the union. NUTZ I say.

In fact Cherokee and Choctaw are from Florida and North Carolina and part of the Five Civilized Tribes. We are all immigrants. Talk to the Crow and Cheyenne in terms of who belongs to Montana. The more we all mix it up the more beauty I see in our skin and hair and healthy figures. Maybe the dominant culture in Montana is farmers and ranchers. But there are Germans, and French, and natives and Mormons that settled this land. There is big money and poverty. I don’t think anyone dominates here any more. We all want good things for each other if we think about it.

HHR Blog: What do you like the most about The United States?

A.J. Otjen: The constitution. The land. The history. The sacrifices made to get to where we are today. The potential of our future. The bravery of most of its citizens.

HHR Blog: What would you like to change the most about The United States and how would you accomplish this goal?

A.J. Otjen: I want to change the ugly rhetoric. I want the populace to be educated with the truth. I want the populace to be healthy. I want our economy based on green energy and technology that makes us more healthy and educated. I want information available to the entire world that is honest.

HHR Blog: What attracted you to your current political party? Did some occurrence in your life influence you in your choice of your current party affiliation?

A.J. Otjen: Yes, it was a part of my family when I was very young. Teddy was great. And now I want it to be good again. It makes me mad that everyone says there are no smart Republicans. It makes me mad that there are so many that make us look like fools.

HHR Blog: If you served in the Military which branch of the military did you serve in, and how has this shaped your views as a politician?

A.J. Otjen: No but my grandfather and father and nephew served in the army proudly. As a politician, it makes me want to stand up and fight for the constitution and not let fear tactics work in our politics. We are a brave nation. How dare we give up any of our rights in the name of fear of terror. Too many have died to protect our rights.

HHR Blog: What does your political agenda for both your constituency as well as the Nation consists of?

A.J. Otjen:I go into most of it on my website.

HHR Blog: What are your views on Gay Marriage?

A.J. Otjen: I am for it. I have many gay friends who deserve to be happy and have been together for a long time. I do not judge people based on their sex lives and I don’t understand people who do. I believe that all people have a right to privacy and a right to pursue happiness. If I have a right to marriage than every one does. In fact, Republicans should agree on this issue as something with which the government should not interfere as it is our creed to protect individual rights.

HHR Blog: What are your views on abortion?

A.J. Otjen: I believe that a woman is a human that is being, a human being, and that she is the one with the right to privacy. The unborn is dependent on the mother. The government has no right to intrude upon this woman’s right. The best way to reduce the number of abortions is to prevent unwanted pregnancy in the first place.
In terms of third trimester medical terminations, I can’t imagination that a pregnant mother wants to lose their child. It must be an incredible medical tragedy. A horrific situation. Has anyone ever known a mother that must lose their child in the third trimester, it is horrible. God bless the doctors still available to these poor mothers in those horrible private situations. Anyone who calls them killers is a disgrace.

HHR Blog: What are your beliefs and policies regarding Healthcare?

A.J. Otjen: The plan should work on health first. Such as taxing products or industries with high fructose corn syrup or saturated fats first. And then giving that money to support inner city vegetable gardens and back paths and more recess in school systems. Then I want to keep the health care providers in a free market where users can see the prices and shop around. Once they shop for MRIs as an example, they choose the cheapest. If the doctor says the hospital costs $5000 but the clinic down the street costs $500, then they should get their MRI down the street. Then they can pay their bill via a collective payment system that is a single payer system supported by the public.

HHR Blog: What are your views about the economy and effective ways to pull the United States out of the current recession it is in?

A.J. Otjen: Like Richard Nixon, I am a Keynesian. I believe in government spending us out of a crises. I explain this much more on my website.

HHR Blog: What do you think about the United States’ involvement in both Iraq and Afghanistan?

A.J. Otjen: I want to get us out of Iraq and Afghanistan and go after criminal swith intelligence and law enforcement and allies. I only want to be in a war as a defense, not offense.

HHR Blog: What are your policies concerning housing, financial assistance, and education for the low-income poor of the United States?

A.J. Otjen: The problem with capitalism is that it concentrates where there is profit. There is little investment in the low income areas because there is little profit in these areas. Jack Kemp had a good idea about enterprise zones. We need to find a way to get a good return on investment in these areas. For everyone involved. People need to be able to buy a home, enjoy property gains, own businesses, educate children. How do we end the cycle: is it drugs and health that prevents a return on investment? The native Americans have said they need their own banking system. Maybe that would make a difference.

HHR Blog: What do you believe to be the future of education for our Nation’s children and our youth (18-22 yrs. Old)?

A.J. Otjen: It must be great. We have to get it there. We have no option. I am for an expansion of public education. I am a professor. And I am against performance pay for teachers. I don’t want teachers to compete against each other and there is not a good way to evaluate them.

A.J. Otjen: I see myself back as a professor. I am hoping to start a movement for younger progressives proving that we can win.

HHR Blog: If you were to run for President of the United States who would your ideal running mate be and why?

A.J. Otjen: One of you. Somebody young.

HHR Blog: Finally, Why do you call yourself a Progressive Republican? Is not progressivism an ideology more in line with the Democrat Party?

A.J. Otjen: No, look at Teddy. And Democrats are not very good at getting things done with the government in terms of the budget. They are good at passing social law issues but they usually mess up the end game.

HHR Blog: Who is your favorite Republican President and why?

A.J. Otjen: Teddy….saw the future of capitalism and tried to fix it and loved our national parks

HHR Blog: You voted for Barack Obama for President why did you do this?

A.J. Otjen: I think he is the right man for the right time. He has vision, he seems honest. And I think he will make the world love us again. I trust him with our foreign policy.

HHR Blog: Are there things in which you disagree with President Obama on?

A.J. Otjen: I am not sure anyone quite understands the banking finance issue. I have lots of degrees on this and I can’t quite get what he is doing. Or what I would yet. I thought we should have input more cash instead of more credit into the market. And I don’t get what any of them are doing on the health care plan. But we should give him a chance, it is early. I believe in a loyal opposition. And our Republican leaders are being really silly.

HHR Blog: We wish you much success in your campaign it was a pleasure. Thanks for sitting down with HipHopRepublican.com

Thank you for your time.