Certainly.  

The illustrious Bart Stupak was a politician's politician, so invested in the Democrat political philosophy that he advocated for a more expansive government, a more expensive government, and a more meddlesome government.  Stupak would have been completely content to herd every one of his constituents into a corral if it meant that they would do exactly as he, and his government, wanted them to do.

Do I think that Dan Benishek would more accurately represent my desires as a citizen in the 1st District of Michigan than would his past and future Democrat opponent, Gary McDowell?

Certainly.

Gary McDowell is a firm believer of the individual rights of citizens as long as the citizens themselves band into a collective and bludgeon the rest of us who resist the majority's view of the collective good. Other than that caveat, we individuals can pretty much go screw ourselves with Mr. McDowell's blessing.

On the other hand, do I think that Dan Benishek has represented me in the way that I hoped he would entering into the last election?  

Absolutely not, at least on budget issues.

Dan Benishek certainly has the backbone to resist the flamboyant desires of his Democrat opponents in Washington, (spend more, tax more, and assume more power) but he has illustrated on several occasions that he either lacks the backbone to resist the flamboyant desires of his Republican compatriots to essentially do the same thing, or he is spiritually aligned with much of the spend evermore agenda.  His capitulation to John Boehner in the budget process is testament to either an authentic Boehner-like tendency or spinelessness.  

Whatever the case, it was not enjoyable watching our once gung-go conservative freshman Rep. get snookered at the outset by dipsticks such as Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid regardless of whether John Boehner was the one leading the charge.