More Video on Roskam Opponent Ben Lowe

On November 4, 2009, in Ben Lowe, Congressional Elections, Peter Roskam, by RSR
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Thanks to RSR reader Matt for pointing out this video which is a little more recent than the first one posted. Ben talks about care for the environment in a faith context. I’m really starting to like this guy. Not ready to endorse him, but I like him. Ben is a good reminder, to some progressives like myself who react reflexively to Christianity in politics, that not all Evangelicals are cut from the same cloth – not all have sold out to the Republican corporate establishment.

Ben’s concern for stewardship and for social justice is refreshing to one who has live through the reign of Henry Hyde and his political heir, Peter Roskam, in the 6th district. I’ll be watching closely to see whether Ben can translate his admirable impulse for justice and stewardship into a sound policy platform. I’ll also be watching to see how well Ben is able to relate to the diverse 6th District community (we’re not all Christians, we’re not all religious, some of us have been marginalized by organized religion) and how he deals with the boundary between personal belief and public policy.

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Video from Peter Roskam Challenger Ben Lowe

On November 4, 2009, in Ben Lowe, Congressional Elections, Peter Roskam, by RSR
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Thanks to reader John for locating this video Ben Lowe did for his book promotion.

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Peter Roskam’s Challenger Ben Lowe an Environmentalist

On November 4, 2009, in Barack Obama, Congressional Elections, Environment, Peter Roskam, by RSR
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After some more poking around, it looks to us as though Peter Roskam’s 2010 opponent, Ben Lowe, comes from the evangelical Christian environmental movement and  has worked with an organization called Renewal. Here’s his author bio from IVP which published his book, “Green Revolution:Coming Together to Care for Creation“:

Ben Lowe’s views on creation care were shaped early in his life. Growing up as a missionary kid in Singapore/Malaysia, he often dealt with water shortages and bad air quality due to mismanagement and abuse of natural resources. Carrying these experiences with him, he eventually found his way to Wheaton College where he majored in environmental studies and helped organize Wheaton’s first national Climate Change Summit. His summers were filled working as an environmental educator with the Massachusetts Audubon Society and as a student researcher for fisheries projects in Corpus Christi, TX and on Lake Tanganyika, Tanzania.

Lowe currently calls Chicago home and works as the cocoordinator of Renewal, a grassroots network committed to equipping this student generation in the compassionate stewardship of all of God’s creation. Previously he served as outreach director for A Rocha USA, an international Christian conservation organization, where he helped to mobilize churches and campuses around creation care issues.

Renewal’s web site describes the organization this way:

Renewal is a Christ-centered creation care network that focuses on living in right relationship with God. As followers of Christ, we seek to follow His example of love, stewardship, and reconciliation. For us, this means taking care of everything that God so lovingly created- the earth and each other. With a heart for the poor and a commitment to following Jesus’ call to ‘love your neighbor as yourself,’ the students of Renewal seek to care for the earth so that all of God’s people and creatures, as well as future generations, can have a healthy environment in which to live.

“Heart for the poor” and “care for the earth” are music to my ears after two terms of Roskam’s screw the poor and exploit the earth mentality. I look forward to hearing more from young Ben about his aims as a candidate.

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Peter Roskam Challenger Ben Lowe Meets Filing Deadline

On November 4, 2009, in Ben Lowe, Congressional Elections, Peter Roskam, by RSR
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We don’t know much about  him yet but Peter Roskam now has a Democratic opponent in his 2010 bid for re-election. According to the Illinois State Board of Elections, Benjamin S. Lowe of Wheaton filed on November 2nd to oppose Roskam. Congratulations, Ben, and welcome to the race.  And a big thank you for stepping forward to take on Roskam who has failed to represent the interests of the majority of 6th District residents since taking office in 2007.

Ben has the beginnings of a web site here.  He also has a Twitter account and we encourage all our readers to follow him as Ben begins to communicate about himself. Ben is also on Facebook.

Update: Ben’s campaign web site has been updated with a bio and a letter from Ben. From what he’s written here, Ben sounds like a progressive fellow:

His years living overseas, coupled with a summer science-research grant in rural sub-Saharan Africa, nurtured another passion in Ben: a concern for a more nuanced foreign policy, and the renunciation of foreign adventurism and nation-building. He advocates the highest care for our troops serving bravely in the face of danger; one of the highest forms of care is a foreign policy which acts more judiciously before thrusting troops into danger. Ben supports an expeditious end to wars that have proven devastatingly costly in terms of both American soldier and local civilian casualties. Money saved from war could more usefully promote economic development abroad, so as to re-brand America’s image throughout the world, using our global position of influence to encourage peace, respect for human rights, and religious freedom.

The son of a naturalized U.S. citizen, Ben has spent considerable time interacting with both prosperous and impoverished immigrant communities. This experience drives home the need to reform our broken immigration system.

Yet another dimension of his life overseas – and his career serving with non-profit organizations – has been first-hand experience of the risks of being uninsured or under-insured. He advocates reform of our health insurance system to ensure that all Americans have access to adequate, affordable health care. Additionally, the recent economic downturn underscores the need to provide a safety net for those facing joblessness and homelessness, yet within the parameters of fiscal conservatism.

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