The private health insurance system has not been able or willing to meet the health care funding needs of all Americans. Studies show that by changing to a single-payer system like Medicare, we can cover far more people than are now covered, at roughly the same cost. One of the main reasons is that Medicare already insures the least healthy portion of our population. Every younger person who is added to the Medicare system costs much less money to cover than the seniors who are presently in the system. By increasing the number of people in the system, we would return to the concept of risk spreading and risk sharing that is supposed to underlie all insurance. Unfortunately, in their pursuit of profits, private insurers have opted to insure only a narrow group of people, which is the primary reason that nearly one in six Americans have no insurance and nearly one in three went without insurance during some part of the year.

Over twelve thousand physicians have endorsed single-payer plans. Nearly every industrialized country guarantees access to health care. The United States stands alone in denying health care to people who cannot afford the ever-increasing cost.

Mark Kirk opposes any meaningful reform of the health care system. He was a key supporter of Bush’s prescription drug program that gives nothing to senior citizens and protects the profits of drug companies.

Environment:

Lee Goodman is staunch and outspoken in support of environmental protection. He opposes drilling for oil in wilderness areas and supports efforts to promote clean land, air, and water. He supports increased research and development of wind, solar, fuel cell, and hybrid technologies.

Mark Kirk pretends to be pro-environment, but he has remained silent as President Bush has worked to undo environmental regulations and undermine the Environmental Protection Agency. The legislation to reduce mercury pollution that Kirk boasts of sponsoring was sent to committee in 2002 and hasn’t seen the light of day since. His solution to the danger of a waste incineration plant on the shore of Lake Michigan was to move it a mile north so it would be out of his district. But the plant’s pollution would still affect the district. Kirk supports the Yucca mountain nuclear storage plan that poses a substantial risk to the environment, and he voted to create a new generation of portable nuclear weapons that significantly increase the risk of devastating nuclear war.

Foreign Policy:

Lee favors a foreign policy based upon building relationships with the nations and peoples of the World instead of a policy based upon the threat of unilateral military invasion. The United States has much to contribute to the world. We are most effective when we reach out in the interests of peace. The Bush/Kirk foreign policy has done enormous damage to our reputation, which in turn detracts from our ability to protect ourselves and our allies. The way we have pursued the occupation of Iraq has needlessly alienated people around the globe who would otherwise be our friends.

Mark Kirk has supported all of Bush’s foreign policies, including the invasion and occupation of Iraq. He has voted for Bush’s military budgets and for funding the revival of the Reagan-era Star Wars program. He has close ties to the C.I.A. During the debate on whether to invade Iraq, he told his constituents that he worked in military intelligence and had personally seen the evidence that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and was an imminent threat to the United States. Even after all the experts had conceded that the proof did not exist because the weapons did not exist, Kirk was maintaining that they did.

National Security:

Lee Goodman is a former prosecutor who understands the uses and limitations of police action. He favors effective methods to assure our national security. He believes our ports should be secure and cargo should be more closely inspected. He believes security should be based upon real and verifiable threats, not ethnic or racial profiling. He believes that the Bush/Kirk foreign policies have made us less secure because they have antagonized people and motivated them to react to what they view as hostility from the U.S.

Mark Kirk has supported all the Bush policies that have made us less secure at home. He places unrealistic faith in military solutions to non-military problems.

Human and Civil Rights:

Lee Goodman spoke out against the abuse of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, Afghanistan, and Iraq at the earliest sign that the Bush administration was not living up to its obligations under the Geneva conventions. He believes that human rights extend to all people in the world, and that the U.S. has an undeniable obligation to live up to the highest standards of conduct.

Mark Kirk acquiesced in the abuse and torture of prisoners by the U.S. He said he was only concerned with U.S. citizens, and he was not concerned with foreign prisoners because they were not U.S. citizens. As a member of the committee that oversees the military, he had a special obligation to assure that our military and intelligence agencies were not violating people’s rights. He totally failed to live up to that obligation and gave the green light to the abusers.

Foreign Intelligence:

Lee Goodman supports the traditional practice of having Congress oversee all intelligence operations, including the CIA. The Iran-Contra affair stands as a reminder of the danger of having unaccountable foreign operations pursued without Congressional approval. He is concerned that in the rush to integrate foreign intelligence and domestic police information, abuses will reemerge as they have in the past that will harm people living in the U.S. He does not believe that the threat of terrorism should be used as an excuse for violating people’s civil rights.

Mark Kirk voted against investigating the failures of American intelligence leading up to the attacks of 9/11. He has worked for the C.I.A. and claims to work in military intelligence. He has never acknowledged his conflict of interest in simultaneously working for the department that he is supposed to be overseeing.

Abortion:

Lee Goodman absolutely supports women’s right to choose. He believes decisions about medical procedures should be made by people in consultation with their health care providers and that their discussions should be fully privileged and protected.

Mark Kirk skipped the vote on late term abortions, the most important vote on choice during his entire term in Congress. He was in D.C. during the vote but decided to walk away from the controversy.

Civil Liberties:

Lee Goodman has called for the abolition of the Patriot Act, which gives the government the power to spy on Americans without having to get a warrant from a court. As an attorney, Lee has been both a prosecutor and a defense attorney. He understands how important it is to everyone, regardless of their guilt or innocence, to not be unfairly harassed or intimidated by police, IRS, immigration, or other government agencies. He recognizes the potential for information to be abused for political or ideological purposes.

Mark Kirk voted for the Patriot Act. He has supported the Bush administration’s policy of detaining people without charges or access to attorneys.

Gay Rights:

Lee Goodman supports the right of all people to marry whomever they choose, without interference by the government. He thinks that the choice of a life-partner should be made by individuals, and that religious institutions should be free to perform or refuse to perform whatever ceremonies they choose. He does not believe the Constitution should be amended to bar homosexual marriages.

Mark Kirk has refused to clearly state his position on gay marriages, and he skipped the vote on gay marriage.

Federal Budget:

Lee Goodman favors repealing the Bush tax cuts that give the greatest benefit to the wealthiest people and give very little benefit to the middle class. The Bush tax policy and its practice of spending and borrowing have eliminated the budget surpluses of the Clinton years and have led to record deficits. This has created a drag on the economy and will continue to have adverse affects for years to come. It has also led to increasing disparity between the earnings of the wealthiest people and the middle class.

Mark Kirk voted for every one of Bush’s tax, borrow, and spend plans, despite his claim to be a fiscal conservative.