Michigan's 1st District

Dr. Dan Benishek. First elected in 2010, Dr. Dan pulled fifty percent of the vote against Gary McDowell. In 2012, they both ran again, but the final vote was much closer: Benishek had 48.1 percent, to McDowell's 47.6. Now he faces former Kalkaska sheriff and former General Jerry Cannon. But who deserves the victory in this district? Let's look at Dr. Benishek's record. He has voted to cut off funding for Planned Parenthood, which provides health services. Yes, abortion is included, but it's only three percent of what they do. He voted to keep money from being used  to oppose the Defense of Marriage Act, a discriminatory piece of legislation to keep from recognizing same sex couples. In essence, he has supported the prevention of extending dignity to a group of people. Whatever the reason may be, to me it is irrelevant. He did in fact vote to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, which is in fact impressive. What isn't impressive is that he has joined the GOP to vote 50 times to repeal ObamaCare, even going so far as to shut down the government, in a stunning display of partisan hackmanship and a clear case of not representing his constituents. Speaking of, he has voted to delay the mandates of the bill, which is fine. But it would be even better if he vote to repeal them. He has voted for the Offshore Energy and Jobs Act, which reforms operations of the Department of the Interior and basically just a push for offshore drilling. (More Deepwater Horizons, anyone?) Dan Benishek has voted to extend FISA Amendments Reauthorization, in essence allowing them to continue, unchecked, to monitor all of us.Speaking of, Benishek has voted to extend the PATRIOT Act.  He has voted against repealing Indefinite Detention for enemy combatants, thus destroying the ideal, if they are captured here or in one of our territories, that all are presumed innocent until proven guilty. His site has no issue positions, but I'm willing to bet, from these few things, that he is closer to the right. He's no friend to the LGBT community, no friend to the environment, to civil liberties. He's no friend to unions or reasonable gun restrictions. But what's the alternative? Alan Arcand, a former service member and business owner who is even further right. Arcand should therefore be discounted for his extremism. That just leaves Jerry Cannon. Cannon's listed a belief in the minimum wage, though to what he doesn't say. He's making a pledge to oppose the Privatization of both Social Security and Medicare, two systems that all people pay into and that all should have. Mr. Cannon is for paycheck fairness and expanding childcare and preschool. While he does not completely support ObamaCare, he does not with to repeal it. Instead, he has opted for a third road: fixing it. This is the best choice; however, I do not believe he will support the things needed to fix it. He too is a "supporting of the Second Amendment" which means that more than likely he too will be against regulations that are common sense and might help. Mr. Cannon has chosen to follow in the President's steps: by following an all of the above approach to energy. It sounds great on paper; in practice, we may never be truly energy independent until we cut oil and gas use to bear bones. By doing so, we can save money, fuel, and cut the carbon emissions that are slowly killing us. He has labeled himself a fiscal conservative, which is quite worrying when you see what happened the last time we saw a fiscal conservative in power. (Hint: we went from major surplus to major deficit.) However, he does have an interesting propsal: cutting Congressional Pay during shut downs, banning raises until balanced budgets are passed, and cutting congressional perks. While these are unlikely to pass, it is a bold statement, and if he actually does try it he will deserve reelection based just on that. Mr. Cannon will face charges of liberalism, which might be true when compared to Dr. Benishek. However, given his proposals, he is actually closer to the center, center left. While he isn't a perfect candidate, he's a much better alternative. Please vote, volunteer, donate, and otherwise help Jerry Cannon reach Congress. Go to the following sites: http://action.jerrycannon.com/page/s/volunteer-signup , https://jerrycannon.ngpvanhost.com/donate