Posted on 03/25/2010 12:43:43 PM PDT by ConservativeDude
I had an opportunity last night to spend 30 minutes on the phone with a very impressive GOP candidate for the MI-1 Congressional seat currently held by Bart Stupak. Yes, THAT Bart Stupak, who other than his 2nd Amendment credentials and former pro-life stance has not had all that much in common with his district.
Dan Benishek filed and announced his candidacy March 15. It seems he knew Stupak better than some of us did. Six days later, he suddenly found his phone and his Facebook page going crazy, the very minute Stupak made his fateful announcement on national TV. He's hardly had a dull moment since. In 48 hours, he's received over $60,000 online, and gotten over 14,000 new members for his Facebook page "Benishek for Congress" (now at more than 19,000 members. And the Monday mail should be hitting today with checks from motivated Americans everywhere. His fully functional campaign website should be up today.
So who is Dan Benishek?
He's a 57-year old career practicing surgeon in Crystal Falls, where he lives with wife Judy, with whom he shares 5 kids and 2 grandkids. He's an NRA member, and like everybody in the Upper Peninsula (UP), he has a great appreciation for the outdoors, and both the beauty and unbelievably rich natural resources of the area.
So who is Dan Benishek, politically?
He's outlined a very conservative agenda on his FB page. You should read that now, in the left column, then come back and finish here. In our conversation I found him to be particularly dedicated to:
bringing spending under control -- Stimulus, the Healthcare bill, and seemingly everything coming out of Congress is tremendously irresponsible, reckless, and thoughtless, spending our nation's future citizens into unsustainable debt. getting serious about border security -- he said he could hardly blame a person for coming over and making the best of wonderful opportunities here, but hospitals and schools are burdened beyond what they can bear. While America sits at 10% unemployment, it's undeniable that the illegal undermarket takes away jobs from Americans. And the Democrat-led government has done nothing. energy and mineral independence -- responsibly but actively taking advantage of America's extraordinarily rich natural resources. In the UP, people are personally familiar with the business-killing, job-killing efforts of the far left. They've fought tooth and nail with nuisance lawsuits to hinder or stop any development of oil, copper and other mineral mining, logging, and pretty much anything that Michiganders can do to make a living. The unemployment in that area of Michigan is now at 15%. Such things would not be true if not for the damaging policies of the left. Outside of Michigan, Lake Erie and the Dakotas are the source of tremendous, largely untapped oil reserves. Tapping them would generate lots and lots of jobs for Americans, simultaneously freeing us from foreign energy dependence. moving the GOP caucus rightward -- when I asked Dr Benishek what he would do first upon hitting Washington, he spoke of his desire to bond with other freshmen (one expects quite a crowd -- yours truly has promised 80),possibly form an official group [didn't the famous 1994 freshman class do that?], and try to influence the GOP caucus to chose bold conservative leadership. The district
This district went 50-48 for Obama, but it went for Bush in both 2004 (53-46) and 2000 (52-45) (data courtesy of Swing State Project). It's already a swing district, leaning red. The overall Republican-friendly polling nationwide, coupled with Stupak's betrayal, make this district ripe for an easy takeover.
And if we're lucky -- very, very lucky -- maybe Obama will reward Stupak by coming to the UP to campaign for him. :)
Many thanks to Steve Foley and Andy Miller for making my interview with Dr Benishek possible
I see that (pro life) Dr. Dan Benishek has filed. I also think there is a late filing deadline in MI, correct?
And is the August 3 primary to select the GOP nominee?
Bottom line, we all need to know if we should just get behind Dr. Dan NOW, or should we wait until MI primary voters decide? PLEASE ADVISE!!!
Another Stupak, probably.
We can’t flip the house if we don’t support the candidates, eh?
does he have any opponents in the primary??
I like that he seems to understand how important cheap energy is to the economy.
see tagline
I just made a contribution to Benishek for Congress and I’m hoping you will do the same. You can donate by going to https://www.icontribute.us/benishek.
Stupak spelled backwards= kaputs
Cool!
All, Linda Goldthorpe is an attorney, homeschooling mom, and solid conservative! (I especially love her 2A stances!).
It looks like this is a real primary with two excellent candidates. I think its great that freepers choose a candidate and help them.
But come August 3, everyone in the entire country needs to get behind the winner and DEFEAT STUPAK!
(are there other candidates, also?)
I sent him a 10 spot.
yeah, sure thing, champ. Gawd knows how much good republicans have done to converatism and to America so far.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.