Diane Benson needs your help in a tough Alaska primary

Four years ago, Diane, with NO help from the state of national party organizations, pulled an astonishing 41% against Don Young, our knuckledragging GOP Congressional incumbent since 1973.

This year, Diane, who now holds a strong lead over Don Young in the polls, and who would be the first Native American woman ever elected to the U.S. House(she is Tlingit)is fighting hard for renomination, with the party pros actively trying to stop her by backing a former state legislature and failed candidate for lieutenant governor.

Diane Benson is a former Teamster truck driver.

Diane earned a Master's degree while raising her son on her own.

She has been a long-standing opponent of the Iraq War and Bush's whole militaristic program for the Middle East. She stands up for the rights of veterans, working people, the poor, and the Rainbow.

In Congress, Diane would be a fighter in the tradition of our great former senator Ernest Gruening, who cast one of only two votes against the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.

Katrina Vanden Heuven did an excellent write up on Diane and why progressives around the country need to get behind her.

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/edcut/340727/make_way_for_the_trucker

Our primary is August 26th. Diane's regular Democratic opponent has massive support from Rahm Emmanuel and the special interests.
Diane need the support of activists and the people to stand up for that.

Here's how you can help(you can also donate through DU, if you prefer):

https://www.bensonforcongress.com/contribute

The "pros" did what they could to stop her last time. We can't let them stop her now!

That *is* her opponents name, isn't it?

I notice that you didn't mention it.

Ethan is a savvy politician, a lawyer, a former state representative, who says all the right things, and most likely believes what he's saying, but in my experience anyway, he doesn't even begin to connect with the ordinary people of Alaska like Diane does. She has lived our lives, she knows what it's like to struggle and to overcome. She's a warrior, in the best sense of that word. I would do just about anything to see this woman elected. As JeffR said, she IS the real deal.

Ethan has deep-pocket endorsements, and that makes me and many others leery in this state where we've had such problems with public corruption. While Ethan likes to point to the speech he made in 2005 or 2006 about the undue influence of oil lobbyists in our legislature, the FBI was already in town snooping around. The indictments were about to come down. Where was Ethan for those eight years he was the minority leader? Why did he only speak up right before the feds made their move?

I'm really not impressed.

The AFL-CIO is still ossified in the Fifties in some places.

The other thing is, Ethan came up here from San Francisco.

You gotta think Don's gonna nail us with "Ethan Berkowitz, a SAN FRANCISCO DEMOCRAT, wants to be Alaska's Congressman" ads or something like.

Ethan would be adequate, but he's no great shakes. He's a cold fish and a hack.

against corruption until right at the end, but, of course, I'm not a legislator and wasn't there. Ken might be more informed on that since he lives in Juneau, closer to the capital.

What I do know, though, is that Diane Benson was way out ahead on Don Young's corruption, long before people here knew he was being investigated. She was not afraid to take him on when the Democratic party here thought he was invincible. She got no financial help, and no endorsement from Tony Knowles/Ethan Berkowitz (who were running for gov/lite gov in 2006). All the party money went to the governor's race, but they lost anyway. Diane fought a good, clean fight in 2006, on a fraction of Don Young's budget, she bloodied him up, and now the DLC/Rahm Emanuel types want to come in here and install their own candidate.

It just kind of pisses me off. The progressives always get the shaft every single time. Ethan talks a good line, but I can't help but feel that he's just politics as usual and that he will go along to get along if he's in Washington. Diane is a fighter.

It's just me, I admit -- but Diane inspires me. I've volunteered for her both campaigns, we've spent a lot of personal time together, and I trust her implicitly.

Those bozos endorsed Don Young for 33 years?

You don't have to be bound by them.

Diane is just as pro-labor as Ethan is.

The AFL-CIO just caved to the Rahmster.

And I can assure you that I didn't cave to Emanuel.

But why you've settled for the bland lesser candidate is a mystery.

Diane was a Teamster trucker. Ethan never held a union card in his life.

(BTW, I'm union too. Inlandboatmen's Union of the Pacific, Alaska Region, ILWU.)

It's called "Make Way for the Trucker." It might give you a new appreciation of where Diane is coming from. Ken is right. Diane is or should be the voice of the union -- at least the voice of the workers. Ethan is a lawyer -- he knows nothing about the plight of the working man, except second-hand. If somebody convinced the rank-and-file of the AFL-CIO that somehow Ethan is more pro-worker than Diane is, I think you were seriously led astray.

I will find out why Berkowitz got the endorsement, I have a feeling he did some favors for the AK state fed in Juneau when he was in the state house.

for having an open mind. I would be interested to know why Ethan got the endorsement, too. I suspect you may be right that it has to do with his time in the State House, name recognition, if nothing else. And then again the manly men of the AFL-CIO may just be reluctant to endorse a woman candidate. :)

Not sure how many favors you can do with that kinda numbers.

Let me know what you find out, though.

Nice meeting you. Didn't mean to chew you out for other people's choices.

A trusted friend told me so, and her word would have been good enough. But for the hell of it, I did some further digging, and it only confirmed what I'd been told. Diane Benson should be in Congress. And not just for her constituents, but for all Americans.