Marquette, MI – October 16, 2014 – Dan Benishek made one point very clear in his campaign for re-election in Michigan’s 1st Congressional District: He is not a politician. While branding himself as “Dr. Dan” in several ads showcasing his expertise in the medical field, Benishek put an additional hat on his head last week: “Scientist”.
In an interview with ABC 10’s news director Greg Peterson, Benishek claimed “I am a scientist,” followed by a claim that climate change is not man-made, a statement proved false by 97% of peer reviewed literature by climate scientists.
Technically speaking, Benishek is qualified to label himself as a scientist. Anyone with a Bachelor of Science degree can consider them self a scientist, in the same way anyone with a doctorate can consider themselves a doctor. But you wouldn’t expect a biologist to be an expert on climate change any more than you would trust a lawyer to perform an open heart surgery.
But then again, what qualifies a doctor to be a congressman? Yes, Benishek has decades of experience “helping families and the community”, but what convinces voters that a medical professional can be of more value to Congress than an experienced politician? The idea of branding himself as “not a politician” makes sense in a society where politicians are the least trusted professionals, but a lot of people also don’t trust banks, and a loan officer telling you he’s a firefighter won’t give you any more confidence in the bank.
What could convince Benishek to disagree with 13,950 peer reviewed climate articles that provide strong evidence of man-made climate change? The same thing that convinces you an 8 hour shift in the office is a better idea than enjoying a sunny day on the beach: Money. With Oil & Gas listed as the third highest contributing industry to his 2013-2014 campaign, Benishek has approximately 58,550 reasons to side with the 24 climate articles that reject global warming.
Will Benishek’s comments hurt his campaign? It’s hard to tell. His Democratic opponent, Jerry Cannon, has been relatively quiet in comparison, and maybe that’s a good thing. As long as Cannon can avoid any bad press that would outshine Benishek’s global warming denial, he should receive plenty of “anyone but Benishek” votes.
