Benjamin Marc Dachman
Benjamin Marc Dachman III
Ben Dachman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| United States Senator from Connecticut | |
| Assumed office Jan 3, 2035 Serving with Chris Murphy | |
| Leader | Chuck Schumer |
| Preceded by | Richard Blumenthal |
| Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2035 | |
| Preceded by | Ron DeSantis |
| Chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2035 | |
| Preceded by | Chris Van Hollen |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut's 4th district | |
| In office January 3, 2033 – January 3, 2035 | |
| Preceded by | Jim Himes |
| Succeeded by | John Richardson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Benjamin Marc Dachman October 29, 1999 New York, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | Wesleyan University (BA) Yale University (JD) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Air ForceCT ANG |
| Years of service | 2025-2029 (active) 2029–present (reserve) |
| Rank |  Colonel |
| Unit | Judge Advocate General's Corps |
| Awards | |
Benjamin "Ben" Marc Dachman III (born October 29, 1999) is an American politician serving as the junior United States Senator from Connecticut since 2035. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He has amassed a net worth of about $15 million.
Currently, Dachman serves as the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and also as the Chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. At age 35, Dachman is the youngest serving member of the United States Senate. Furthermore, although generally regarded for his social democratic tendencies, his moderate appeal has helped to cement him as one of the most popular politicians in the United States.
As a member of the United States Air Force Judge Advocate General's Corps, Dachman has been deployed to various American military installations throughout the world. Eventually, he attained the rank of colonel. Today, he still serves in the United States Air Force as a reserve officer. Born in Manhattan, New York, Dachman was raised in the nearby suburb of Fairfield, Connecticut and attended Fairfield Warde High School, a public school. Dachman is a graduate of Wesleyan University, and Yale Law School.
Early life and education edit
Dachman was born in New York, New York to Jill Amy Dachman (née Rand) and Gary Martin Dachman. When he was 2, the family moved from the city to a small rental house in Fairfield, CT. Eventually, after a couple of years, the family purchased home in which he ultimately grew up. Jill was a marketing consultant who held a variety of jobs, including for PepsiCo, Kraft, and Energizer, among others. Gary was an independent business person who, after years of working as an engineer, built his own mobile application development and marketing company. His paternal grandfather, Milton Dachman, was an Army veteran in the Second World War, having received 5 Bronze Stars and served on the staff of General John Thomas Taylor. Milton was the son of Russian Jewish immigrants, Morris and Anna, who arrived in New York in 1913. Morris himself would serve in the Army during World War I. Although initially poor, Morris built a successful garment factory and had 4 children. Milton would attend New York University on the GI Bill after the conclusion of the war, and would eventually become a successful commodity trader. His maternal grandfather, Lester Rand, who was the son of poor Austrian Jewish immigrants, was from Central Falls, Rhode Island, would also go on to serve in the Army during WW2, although not in the front lines in Europe. Lester's parents, Sigmond and Regina Rand, owned and operated a liquor store near the campus of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. During the era of prohibition, the family still managed to do quite well. Lester eventually attended Brown University, and enjoyed a career as an author and researcher.
As a child, Dachman initially struggled with speaking problems; which doctors, attempted to, but ultimately couldn't, diagnose as hearing problems. After some therapy and development, Dachman manage to acquire normal verbal skills, and excelled in all levels of school. He first attended Stratfield Elementary School, then Tomlinson Middle School, and eventually Fairfield Warde High School. Dachman played varsity tennis during his final two years of high school, along with participating in the varsity debate team, becoming President of the Model United Nations, and becoming a member of the National Honors Society. Aside from this, Dachman was also very involved in Fairfield's Democratic Party. He helped get State Representative Cristin McCarthy Vahey re-elected as a volunteer, and worked on Ned Lamont's successful campaign for Governor of Connecticut in the 2018 Connecticut gubernatorial election. Aside from these efforts, Dachman also interned for the office of Pennsylvania State Representative Kevin J. Boyle, the brother of U.S. Representative Brendan Boyle, during the summer of 2017 while completing a program hosted by the University of Pennsylvania. Although not yet old enough to vote, Dachman was a strong supporter of United States Senator Bernie Sanders, during the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries.
As a student at Wesleyan University, Dachman was heavily involved in the Wesleyan chapter of the Democratic Party. He also engaged in writing for the Arcadia Magazine, a student-produced political publication, in which he emphasized a stridently non-interventionist foreign policy preference, in addition to general social democratic views. As a junior, he completed a study-abroad program at Wesleyan's campus in Barcelona, Spain, where he perfected his Spanish literacy and lingual abilities. He graduated Wesleyan with a 3.9 GPA, magna cum laude, a double major in government and Spanish, and was eventually elected onto the Phi Beta Kappa academic honors society. After graduation, Dachman was admitted to Yale Law School, where he also did quite well in a very academically competitive environment.
Military Service edit
As a law student at Yale, Dachman formally received a commission to the United States Air Force Judge Advocate General's Corp in 2025. Admitted as a second lieutenant, after completing his studies at Yale Law, Dachman was stationed in Germany at an American military installation in Ramstein, Germany for nearly 6 months. He attained excellent prosecutorial skills in the court room, arguing cases in front of a court martial. He gained a particular fondness for learning more about international military conduct and rules of engagement, in addition to basic environmental standards and territorial claims.
Eventually, Dachman received multiple promotions as an Officer in the Air Force. Before long, he attained the rank of Captain, after having served in South Korea, Panama, San Diego, and Italy. He was generally regarded as a highly skilled and charismatic defender or prosecutor who had an impeccable knowledge of all laws and legal systems along with an impeachable wit.
Once he completed the minimum required 4 years of Active duty service for commissioned JAG officers, Dachman decided to and was ultimately awarded an honorable discharge from the United States Air Force, and opted to continue serving in the Air Force Reserve Command as a Judge Advocate General, along with serving in the Connecticut National Guard.
Still, he appears at a number of training sessions and Air Force related events as a reservist.
General Domestic Policy Views edit
Dachman is one of the most liberal members of the Senate, having voted in favor of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013 comprehensive immigration reform plan, and confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, along with having advocated for transitioning the United States to a single-payer healthcare system under the provisions of HR 676 (Medicare-for-All). He would like to see the United States implement universal paid-maternity leave, re-implement a modern version of the Glass-Stegall Act, pursue criminal justice reform, end the War on Drugs, make the Social Security Tax (payroll tax) apply to high-income earners, increase the Federal Minimum Wage to $15 per hour, re-authorize the Violence Against Women Act, and increase the Estate Tax. In foreign policy, Dachman is stridently non-interventionist; he publicly criticized then-President Barack Obama for not sufficiently withdrawing American forces from Afghanistan, and for the American-led intervention in Libya in 2011 that led to the downfall of the Libyan government. In terms of trade policy, Dachman believes the United States should attempt to formulate fair-trade bilateral trade agreements and include stringent intellectual property protections, anti-currency manipulation statutes, along with rigorous environmental and labor standard stipulations. For these reasons, he vehemently opposes the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Civil Liberties edit
On issues of civil liberties, he has sided quite strongly with libertarians, such as Kentucky Senator Rand Paul. He seeks to completely repeal the Patriot Act, legalize marijuana, and legally discontinue bulk meta-data collection by US Intelligence agencies. He has publicly called upon President Obama to pardon Edward Snowden, and offer asylum to Julian Assange, because he believes that their work was "essential in revealing the extent of corruption and unconstitutional malfeasance occurring within the United States Government and its various members." Aside from this, he also co-sponsored Representative Ron Paul's legislation to audit the Federal Reserve.
Environment edit
Recently, he has taken increasing interest in environmental issues; he would like to see some form of economic stimulus and infrastructure package, akin to the "Green New Deal," take shape. He believes the United States can sustain energy independence and security for centuries by rejecting the usage of oil and natural gas, by establishing a comprehensive energy plan that includes reliance on hydro-power, wind power, solar power, thorium-based nuclear reactors, wave power, and tidal power. Dachman thinks that moving the United States towards biofuels and specifically more ethanol in gasoline would be a good short term way to reduce carbon emissions. He also considers protecting public lands essential, and would like to see the President add more acreage to federally-protected forests and monuments.
Social Policies edit
However, on many social issues, Dachman has demonstrated moderate tendencies and a willingness to work with Republicans. For example, he has co-sponsored Right to Try legislation, supports a partial-birth abortion ban, has agreed to a raise in the Social Security Eligibility Age in exchange for ensuring that the cap on FICA taxes for high-income earners is repealed, and also seeks to increase border security measures along the Southwest border. Furthermore, although in favor of closing the gun-show loophole, the 72-hour loophole, and implementing a universal background check on all firearm purchases, he is opposed to both banning assault weapons and instituting a ban on high capacity magazines. He also believes in legal immunity for gun manufacturers in situations where firearms used in shootings are not defective. He has frequently cited support for the verdict reached in the DC vs. Heller Supreme Court case. In addition, he accepts the need to deport undocumented people who have committed violent crimes since entry into the United States, wants to cancel the existence of the Export-Import Bank, and invest more in developing and researching thorium-based reactors, a type of nuclear power. In addition, Dachman claims he would have supported the confirmations of Supreme Court Justices John Paul Stevens and David Souter, two self-identified Republicans who were nominated by Republican presidents. He said he would have also supported the confirmation of incumbent Chief Justice John Roberts, although he vehemently disagreed with his rulings in the cases of Citizens United vs. FEC, Shelby County v. Holder, and McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, claiming the outcomes of all three cases significantly undermined American democracy. On top of that, Dachman prefers to see a lesser regulatory and tax burden on small businesses, and a significant increase on taxes and regulations on large corporations to protect the environment, labor conditions, and worker's wages.