Meet the Trackers, part 1: Anthony Ash

By Adam Bink

We’ve gone several weeks here at NOMTourTracker.com covering NOM and all their crazy #FAIL. You’ve seen the video interviews with everyone from Larry Adams and Brian Brown to Monica Meyer and equality supporters across the country.

But what you (and I!) don’t know a whole lot about is who is bringing you that coverage. Where do those videos come from, anyway?

They come from this man:

But wait, you say: who is that man behind the camera? Where is he from? And what awesome product keeps his hair so upright, anyway?

We will answer that question today in a new series I’ve started called “Meet the Trackers”- an introduction between you and our tracking team on the road. Below is a series of questions I put together to help us meet our intrepid trackers and learn a little bit more about who they are, what they do, what makes them tick, and the crucial question, what occupation they think Maggie Gallagher would hold if she wasn’t with NOM.

Today’s interview is with Anthony Ash, the current NOMTourTracker.com videographer.

Where do you hail from?

From the bible belt of California, Fresno.

What brings you to Courage Campaign and the pro-equality movement?

I got my start at Camp Courage and I was so moved by the experience that I knew that Courage and this movement was where I belonged.

With the Courage Campaign, you’re the Central California Field Organizer. How long have you been with Courage, and what does that role look like?

I have been with Courage since May of 2009. As the Central California Field Organizer I find myself being a bit of a chameleon. The Central California region is very diverse with areas that are very developed and very rural. My organizing also takes many different forms from organizing a Prop 8 decision day rally to organizing voter actions for local and statewide elections.

Got any favorite California propositions you’re pulling for election or defeat of?

Well, I hope Meg Whitman goes back to eBay and leaves California politics alone. I am also rooting for the passage of Prop. 19 [to legalize and regulate certain marijuana-related activities].

Any predictions for what Ahnold will do upon leaving the governor’s mansion?

Lord willing RETIRE from EVERYTHING!

Tell us what a day in the life on the road with NOM looks like, from eye-open to eye-shut.

I don’t think I’ve gotten to close my eyes yet.

Best and worst meals you’ve had on the road during the NOM tour. Go.

Best- at a restaurant in Madison called “old fashioned.” REALLY good burger! But still not quite sure what a cheese curd is.

Worst- Indianapolis, Peppy’s grill. The only place that we could find on Yelp that was open late. I had to wring my French fries out and my burger was made the complete opposite of what I wanted, it included ONLY the things I ask to have taken off.

Tell us where you think the pro-marriage equality movement is going.

Well, regardless of where this movement is going, it is definitely going to be a marathon rather than a sprint. One thing that I have observed from being on the road with the opposition, is they are always looking for a new spin or new angle that they could use to strike fear and hate into people. As we learned with the Bush administration, fear and hate can be very motivating.

When you’re not working on winning marriage equality for same-sex couples and exposing NOM’s failures and falsehoods, what issues most interest you?

HIV prevention and advocacy- I have some very close friends and loved ones that is affected by this issue.

The NOM tour stopped in Lima, Ohio, where the hit TV show Glee is fictionally set. If you could quote Sue Sylvester to Brian Brown, what would you say?

“I’m going to ask you to smell your armpits. That’s the smell of failure, and it’s stinking up my office.”

Okay, you’ve wrestled control of the stereo from your fellow NOM Tour Trackers for the drive to the next stop. What’s on tap for the next couple of hours?

Well, I am a musical floozy and listen to all types of music. BUT on long road trips there is nothing that can make the time go by faster than my FAV Kelly Clarkson! If you see three Californians driving by and the guy is rocking out, that’s ME and I’m probably rocking out to Kelly (sorry gays that I didn’t say Gaga).

We all know Courage Campaign’s Eden James is a fountain of wisdom for organizers. My favorite nugget of wisdom: “On conference calls, silence equals consent.” Yours?

“Can someone mute themselves?” or “If it’s not written down, it never happened”.

Finish this sentence: When this tour ends, the first thing I’m going to do when I get home is…

SLEEP!

Finish this sentence: If Maggie Gallagher had any other occupation, she would…

A telemarketer- she’s used to rejection.

Last question: if you could have any three dinner guests, who would they be and what would you serve?

All I’m asking for is a one on one dinner with Ricky Martin, can someone out there make that happen?!

Got any closing message for our readers here at NOMTourTracker.com?

Keep fighting for equality! As we make these stops across the country following NOM, it makes me so proud to be doing what I am doing out here on the road when I see so many people fighting for equality show up to these events. In Madison, when I saw nearly 500 equality supporters coming down the road, I had a hard time filming because the tears wouldn’t stop coming.