Benson for Congress Blog

7/2/2008
The Song of Diane Benson
I heard this historic woman sing yesterday.

She smiled. She didn't cry. Others listening and watching did both, understanding the power and beauty of the song.

U.S. House Democratic Party candidate Diane Benson has always been a combination of modesty, pride and assertiveness. These elements have often played out in an environment where she either was fighting for sheer survival on an Alaskan scale, or raging against injustices commonly undergone by Alaska Natives. Even now.

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7/2/2008
Diane Benson endorses Clean Elections
"As a grassroots candidate with a history of running against the establishment; I'm well aware of the effect special interests can have on politics. This nation was founded on the principle that government should be by the people and for the people. For too long, special interests, lobbyists, and big business have controlled the political landscape in Alaska. It's time that we had less corporate representation and more Alaskan representation and Clean Elections are the perfect way to get there."

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We have kicked off our volunteer nights here at the Benson for Congress campaign! We have some excited supporters here helping us put together material to send to supporters all over the state. Here are some pics of

We want to thank all the volunteers who came out tonight to help the campaign spread our message of change.

Diane appeared on KUDO 1080 AM today with CC on The Cutting Edge to give her thoughts on the racist and sexist comments made by disc jockeys Greg Wood and Chris Wilcox of KBFX-FM 100.5. Diane spoke to the divisiveness of these comments an the need for an increased awareness of the cultural and ethnic diversity in Alaska.

Greg Wood and Chris Wilcox of KBFX-FM 100.5 have since been suspended without pay and will be taking cultural sensitivity classes led by Anchorage Healing Racism and Alaska Native Heritage Center.

Diane's interview on Anti-War Radio has been posted online! Here is a decription of the interview:

Diane Benson, an antiwar Democrat running for Congress in Alaska, discusses the stop loss and severe injuries suffered by her son, the invisibility of the tens of thousands of wounded American soldiers from the Iraq war, the unfairness of the stop loss system, the cowardice of all those who “support” the war with stickers on their truck while others fight for them, the belief of young soldiers that they’d be off to fight bin Laden, the VA’s directing of soldiers to other welfare programs for medical care, the true cost of war in human and financial terms, her son’s partial recovery from his injuries, economic worries, the premium she puts on dialog over military action to deal with terrorism problems and the danger to al Qaeda in Iraq if the U.S. withdraws.

You can listen to this interview by viisiting http://antiwar.com/radio/2008/04/14/diane-benson.

Diane Benson will be appearing on Antiwar Radio tomorrow, April 14th at 12:15pm EST. Diane will be speaking about her views on the ending the war and bringing our troops home. She will also speak about her son Latseen's experience being stop-lossed, and how the strength her son showed while recovering from tragic injuries he suffered on his second tour of duty inspired her to run for office.

To learn more about Antiwar Radio and Diane's interview, visit www.antiwar.com/blog/2008/04/13/diane-benson-on-antiwar-radio.

Diane Benson has always been an advocate for transparency, honesty and integrity in government. Diane has lived this motto in her personal and professional lives, and will do so as Alaska's next U.S. Representative. To show her dedication to this, Diane has taken the Change Congress Pledge, a pledge to give power back to the voters of Alaska and all across America.

Diane Benson has taken the pledge to:

1. not accept contributions from registered lobbyists or PACs.
2. support reform to increase transparency in Congress.
3. support public financing of public elections.

In Diane's official statement, she says:

The story of my candidacy in 2006 is like that of so many progressive candidates from around the country; so many of those that stood up for the American people against corruption and tyranny to create a new generation of bold, visionary leadership for America. Those of us running have to be elected to make the differences in campaign finance reform we wish to see. Therein is our challenge.

The survival of democracy requires we change. But, to do so the American people must be engaged in our government. The good news is, more progressive candidates help to inspire that. The trick is, keeping good candidates in the game. Progressive candidates must get elected and to do that, the people must act.

Change Congress, a project started by acclaimed Stanford Law School professor and founder of Creative Commons Lawrence Lessig, seeks to give power back to the people and take it away from special interests. The organization asks candidates to pledge not to take campaign funds from Corporate lobbyists and PACs, to support transparency in government, and to support comprehensive campaign finance reform. The initiative is also asking voters to only pledge to support candidates that will take the pledge.

You can reach the entire statement at bensonforcongress.com/speeches/change-congress-pledge.

In keeping with her previous staunch support for the construction of an Alaska Gas Pipeline, Diane Benson is pleased to congratulate BP and ConocoPhillips on their announcement yesterday regarding the start of construction of the pipeline.  The pipeline will bring thousands of jobs, and economic growth to Alaska, especially Alaska's vibrant small business community.  In addition, the pipeline promises increased energy stability and security for the United States. 

In response to BP and ConocoPhillips April 8 announcement, on April 9, Diane Benson sent a series of letters to Gov. Sarah Palin and to the chief executives of BP, ConocoPhillips and TransCanada raising important policy proposals and concerns which must be included in the pipeline planning process. 

Alaska is greatly encouraged by this development and Diane welcomes discussions with industry leaders, members of the Alaska government, and Alaskans on this issue. 

You can download this file in it's entirety by clicking here.

Following the Kodiak debate, Diane appeared on KMXT to weigh in on the campaign and the issues facing Alaska. You can hear the full interview here:

http://www.kmxt.org/?q=node/4023

Last week, Diane was selected as the recipient of the BuzzFlash.com Wings of Justice Award. She was nominated by Mark Peters of Brooklyn, NY, who met Diane at a fundraiser held for her last week.

Mark stated in his nomination letter:

"I nominate her for the courage it takes to challenge the status quo in her home state. May she succeed in 2008 where she fell only a little bit short in 2006. Alaska deserves better than Don Young."

We thank you, Mark, and BuzzFlash.com for the award and support of Diane. You can read the announcement of the award at http://www.wingsofjustice.com/08/03/woj08012.html.