Ok, so I know the focus of Illinois in terms of Congress this year is Obama's Senate race. I went to see Obama speak this week here on campus (he was awesome, by the way), but before he spoke,
David Gill Spoke. I had seen him about 3 weeks earlier speak before Dennis Kucinich and he was very good.
David Gill is an emergency room doctor who, for the past dozen years or so, has been involved in an organization promoting a national health care system. He, like a certain former Governor from Vermont, is a medical doctor who cares about his patients, but says that the worst part of his job is seeing patients who simply can't pay for their health care because they're uninsured or underinsured.
When he spoke this weekend, he told a story about one time when he was at some rally with other activists. Some republican said to him "You activists always complain about everything, why don't you DO something about it?" So David Gill made good on that challenge, and he's now running for US House in the 15th district of Illinois.
His main policy focus is obviously health care. To sum up his arguments for it, I'll just give you a quote from his website:
We are the ONLY developed nation on Earth that doesn't have a National Health Care Program. Health care should be a HUMAN RIGHT, and the U.S. should join the rest of the world in providing this right to its citizens..... PATIENTS, not profits, should be the primary concern. I have worked in the U.S. health care system for 20 years, and there is no question that it is a BROKEN system... a National Health Insurance program is remarkably SIMPLE and AFFORDABLE-- we must not stand idly by while the opposition tries to frighten and misinform the public.
He also points out that a system like the one he proposes would actually SAVE $300 billion a year on health care, and says that could be something that might entice some Republicans to support such a proposal.
He took some questions on Saturday after he spoke, and one that I remember in particular was where he stands on gay marriage. He said he would never vote for a Constitutional Amendment banning it, and believes that any 2 people who love each other should have the same right that he and his wife has to get married.
Ok, I'll let you read more about him on his site if you'd like. His opponent is incumbent Tim Johnson. Does anyone happen to know how competitive this seat is?