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'''Steve Beren''' (born September 9, 1951, [[New York, New York]]) is a speaker, writer, and political activist from [[Seattle]], [[Washington State|Washington]]. He is a pro-liberty conservative citizen activist in support of the U.S. led war against [[terrorism]], and is actively involved in the [[Tea Party Movement]]. Beren attended the [[Tax Day Tea Party]] on April 15, 2009, as well the September 12, 2009 National Taxpayers [[Tea_party_protestsTea party protests#September_12_March_on_WashingtonSeptember 12 March on Washington|Tea Party March on Washington, D.C.]]<ref>[http://www.steveberen.com/taxdayteaparty.html Tax Day Tea Party], SteveBeren.com.</ref> Steve Beren has run twice for Congress against Jim McDermott, campaigning for the 2006 and 2008 elections.<ref>Aaron. [http://www.rlc.org/2009/02/05/economic-stimulus/ Stimulus – Wasteful, harmful, job-killing, and a threat to liberty], RLC.org, ''Republican Liberty Caucus'', February 5, 2009.</ref> Beren was the 2008 Republican candidate for [[U.S. Congress]] in Washington State's 7th Congressional District against incumbent Democratic Congressman [[Jim McDermott]].<ref>[http://neo-neocon.blogspot.com/2006/10/steve-beren-changer-extraordinaire.html Steve Beren, changer extraordinaire: from Socialist to Republican]</ref> He had also been mentioned as a possible conservative candidate for city council in the Seattle 2007 elections.<ref>Neil Modie. [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/296534_seattlegop20.html GOP seeking unlikely victories in Seattle], ''seattlepi.com'', December 20, 2006.</ref>

==Personal information==Born in [[New York City]], Beren states that he was raised in a non-religious, secular [[Jewish]] home and later became an [[atheist]]. From 1968 to 1990 he was an activist for the Socialist Workers Party and a defender of [[Fidel Castro]]. By 1990 he quit the SWP. After that he became a supporter of the Democratic Party. In 1995 he converted from [[atheism]] to [[Christianity]]. He became a Republican at age 52, during the 2004 Bush-Kerry campaign. The [[September 11, 2001 attacks]] was influential in his turn toward the [[Republican Party]]. <ref name=rams09>Bruce Ramsey. [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2003184531_rams09.html McDermott challenger knows a little something about the left], ''The Seattle Times'',August 9, 2006.</ref>  Steve Beren became a [[Christian]] in 1995. He and his [[wife]] live in the Seattle area where they are members of [[Christian Faith Center]].<ref>[http://www.steveberen.com/biography.html Steven Steve Beren biography]</ref> Furthermore, Beren has lived in Seattle since 1987, and is currently director of production operations for an internet marketing company.<ref>Scott St. Clair. [http://crosscut.com/2008/04/28/2008-election/13760/ GOP journal: Report from a county convention], ''Crosscut.com'', April 28, 2008.</ref>

Born in [[New York City]], Beren was described by Seattle's "two dailies" newspapers as raised in a former non-religious, secular [[DemocratJewish]] home and later became an [[liberalatheist]].<ref name=rams09/> But from From 1968 to 1990, Beren he was an activist in for the [[Socialist WorkersParty]], the a party inspired by [[Leon Trotsky]] and a defender of [[Fidel Castro]]. Steve Beren was a [[socialist]] and [[Vietnam War]] protester in the 1960s and '70s. Later, after After settling in Seattle and marryingin 1987, he quit the SWP in 1990 and became a Democratin 1992, voting twice for [[Bill Clinton]] and once for [[Al Gore]]. But after Seattle's two daily newspapers described him as a former [[Democrat]] and former [[liberal]].<ref name=rams09/>  In 1995, Steve Beren converted from [[atheism]] to [[Christianity]]. He became a Republican at age 52, during the 2004 Bush-Kerry campaign. The [[September 11, 2001 attacks]] were influential in his turn toward the [[Republican Party]].<ref name=rams09>Bruce Ramsey. [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2003184531_rams09.html McDermott challenger knows a little something about the left], ''The Seattle Times'',August 9, 2006.</ref> After the [[9/11|Sept. 11, 2001]], [[terrorist]] attacks, he said, he "[I] came to see that the Republican Party was far superior on foreign policy."<ref>Emily Heffter. [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008112747_mcdermott14m.html McDermott faces 5 challengers but no real re-election challenge], ''The Seattle Times'', August 14, 2008.</ref> Since then he has become an evangelical Christian, a patriot, and a [[conservative]] Republican.

Beren is an outspoken defender and advocate of the [[United States military|U.S. military]] commitment in [[Iraq]], as a strong supporter of the Iraq war, the [[Patriot Act]] and the [[Bush administration|Bush administration's]] use of wiretapping effortto disrupt terrost networks and activities.<ref name=postmanpolitics02>David Postman. [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003034269_postmanpolitics02.html Sacrificial lamb or GOP star?], ''The Seattle Times'', June 2, 2006.</ref> His campaigns emphasized the issues of foreign policy, immigration, the economy, and social conservatism. His goal is to start rebuilding the Republican Party in Seattle, and to get dialogue going on major issues.<ref>Joel Connelly. [http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/seattlepolitics/archives/121513.asp Beren for Congress], ''seattlepi'', September 10, 2007.</ref>

Steve Beren was the 2008 Republican challenger for U.S. Congress in Washington State's 7th Congressional District against incumbent Democratic Congressman Jim McDermott.<ref>Bruce Ramsey. [http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/edcetera/2008/11/03/the_challenger_to_jim_mcdermot.html The Challenger to Jim McDermott], ''The Seattle Times'', November 3, 2008.</ref> For the 2008 elections, candidates [[Dino Rossi]] and Steve Beren both tried to unseat McDermott; Dino Rossi took the approach appearing on the primary ballot as a party designation that read "G.O.P.," for [[Grand Old Party]]. Steve Beren was the contender for as the Republican Partycandidate trying to unseat McDermott, where he said it was is a mistake to ditch the party on the notion that the Republican brand doesn't have the luster it used toParty label.  He stated, "Have bold colors, wave the Republican [[flag ]] boldly. Wave fiscal conservatism, social conservatism, immigration conservatism -- boldly."<ref>Dan Springer. [httphttps://www.foxnews.com/politics/elections/2008/06/24/washington-state-republicans-ditching-party-labels-to-compete/ Washington State Republicans Ditch Party Labels to Compete], FOXNews.com, June 24, 2008.</ref>  Beren's 2008 campaign website said, "Steve Beren is promoting conservative values, free market solutions, constitutional principles, and Republican policies right in the heart of Seattle and King County. Steve Beren stands for the GOP - the party of [[Abraham Lincoln]] - the party of [[Teddy Roosevelt]] - the party of [[Ronald Reagan]]. Steve Beren is running to help the overall effort of GOP campaigns in King County ([http://www.kcgop.org/sitemax/ www.kcgop.org]), [[Washington]] ([http://wsrp.org www.wsrp.org]), and nationally ([http://gop.org www.gop.org]). While the 7th congressional district is heavily Democratic, even a small incremental increase in the [[GOP]] percentage will make a difference in the overall GOP effort."<ref>[http://www.berenforcongress.com/boldcolors.html Steve Beren on Special Report with Brit Hume]</ref>

Similar to As in the 2006 elections, Beren acknowledged the difficulty of getting elected as a Republican in Seattle. The 10-term Jim McDermott is a liberal Democrat who has never gotten less than three-quarters of the vote in a re-election run. Despite the challenge, Steve Beren still ran a 30-second radio ad, urging Seattle's heavily Democratic voters: "C'mon, vote Republican for a change!"<ref>Emily Heffter. [http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/politicsnorthwest/2008/10/02/cmon_vote_republican_for_a_cha.html 'C'mon, vote Republican for a change!'], ''The Seattle Times'', October 2, 2008.</ref> Beren also stated , in his plan to drill more domestic oil, "I'll help [[John McCain ]] and [[Sarah Palin ]] shake things up."

For Beren, his race wasn't about winning or losingin the short term. It was about creating an atmosphere in Seattle's Seventh Congressional District which is encouraging enough to get some of the Emerald City's closet conservatives out to the polls. On elections night, Beren said, "We're sewing sowing the seeds for the future."<ref>Don Ward. [http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2008/11/steve_beren_on_election_night.php Steve Beren On Election Night], ''Seattle Weekly'', November 4, 2008.</ref>

==See Alsoalso==