Schedule:
10.31.2012 =: US Senate Overview
11.01.2012 1: US House Overview 1 (Northeast, New England, Midwest)
11.01.2012 2: US House Overview 2 (West, Southwest, Texas, South, Florida)
11.02.2012 1: IN-Sen (Donnelly v. Mourdock)
11.02.2012 2: WI-01 (Zerban v. Ryan)
11.02.2012 3: WI-Sen (Baldwin v. Thompson)
11.03.2012 1: MO-Gov (Nixon v. Spence), MO-Lt. Gov, Mo-SoS, MO-AG, MO-Treasurer
11.03.2012 2: MO-Sen (McCaskill v. Akin)
11.04.2012 1: IL-10 (Schneider v. Dold)
11.04.2012 2: IL-08 (Duckworth v. Walsh)
11.04.2012 3: IL-11 (Foster v. Biggert)
11.05.2012 1: IL-17 (Bustos v. Schilling)
11.05.2012 2: IL-13 (Gill v. Davis v. Hartman)
11.05.2012 3: IL-12 (My home district, Enyart v. Gill)
11.06.2012 1 : POTUS/VPOTUS (Obama/Biden v. Romney/Ryan v. Stein/Honkala v. Johnson v. Gray), GOTV/Election Day diary
1 = Morning
2 = Afternoon/Early Evening
3 = Evening/Overnight
In the Illinois' 11th Congressional District (which largely succeeds the old IL-13), we have incumbent fauxderate Judy Biggert (R) facing off against Bill Foster (D), who ran in IL-14 following former House Speaker Dennis Hastert's resignation and won the special (and the 2008 general) over perennial candidate and conservative Jim Oberweis. Foster then subsequently lost to Randy Hultgren (R) in the 2010 GOP wave year election.
Issues:
Judy Biggert:
Abortion:
Voted YES on banning federal health coverage that includes abortion. (May 2011)
Voted YES on expanding research to more embryonic stem cell lines. (Jan 2007)
Voted YES on allowing human embryonic stem cell research. (May 2005)
Voted NO on restricting interstate transport of minors to get abortions. (Apr 2005)
Voted NO on making it a crime to harm a fetus during another crime. (Feb 2004)
Voted YES on banning partial-birth abortion except to save mother’s life. (Oct 2003)
Voted YES on banning partial-birth abortions. (Apr 2000)
Proof that Biggert is NOT a "moderate", as she likes to claim herself as.
Guns:
Biggert scores A by NRA on pro-gun rights policies.
PPACA:
The job-killing taxes, cuts to Medicare for our seniors, and government intrusion into doctor-patient decisions will hurt all Americans.
Voted YES on the Ryan Budget: Medicare choice, tax & spending cuts. (Apr 2011)
Voted YES on repealing the "Prevention and Public Health" slush fund. (Apr 2011)
Voted YES on regulating tobacco as a drug. (Apr 2009)
Voted NO on expanding the Children's Health Insurance Program. (Jan 2009)
Voted YES on overriding veto on expansion of Medicare. (Jul 2008)
She supports
repealing the PPACA.
Marriage Equality/LGBTQ Rights:
Voted YES on prohibiting job discrimination based on sexual orientation. (Nov 2007)
Voted NO on Constitutionally defining marriage as one-man-one-woman. (Jul 2006)
Voted NO on Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriage. (Sep 2004)
Voted NO on banning gay adoptions in DC. (Jul 1999)
She has also
likened same-sex marriage to bigamy and polygamy:
American Unity PAC, a Republican super PAC aimed at expanding support for same-sex marriage, was announced with great fanfare in June. But it may not be living up to the hype: one of the congressional candidates it’s supporting with hundreds of thousands in TV ads is not only publicly opposed to same-sex marriage, she also just equated the practice with polygamy and bigamy.
Rep. Judy Biggert (R-IL) may not be what the establishment who fawned over American Unity PAC had in mind when the group was announced.
At a press conference after a debate Wednesday night, Biggert explained that she’s “close” to supporting same-sex marriage rights, but is “not there yet.” Then she said the issue is best left to the states, equating same-sex marriage laws with the universally-accepted illegal acts of bigamy and polygamy.
“It is a state issue,” Biggert said. “We don’t have polygamy and bigamy and all of these things in the federal government. It’s the states that take care of that.”
Economy:
Voted YES on making the Bush tax cuts permanent. (Apr 2002)
Voted YES on terminating funding for National Public Radio. (Mar 2011)
Voted NO on establishing "network neutrality" (non-tiered Internet). (Jun 2006)
Voted YES on increasing fines for indecent broadcasting. (Feb 2005)
Education:
While there are provisions in both the Administration’s blueprint and the Senate Education Committee’s drafts of education reform with which I agree, I continue to work with my colleagues on the House Education and the Workforce Committee to craft comprehensive legislation to fix what’s wrong with No Child Left Behind.
Immigration:
Voted YES on building a fence along the Mexican border. (Sep 2006)
Declare English as the official language of the US. (Feb 2007)
Bill Foster:
Abortion:
"In Congress, I'll focus on expanding access to health care services for women and keeping government out of the personal lives of its citizens," Foster has pledged. Along these lines, Foster supports an increase in funding for the Title X family planning program and as Congressman would support efforts to restore and protect funding for international family planning.
Foster would also work to protect the right of a woman and her physician to make private health care decisions by opposing attempts to elevate the legal status of the fetus and by working to ensure Roe v. Wade remains the law of the land.
Guns:
Foster would be slightly gun control-leaning.
PPACA:
Bill Foster believes that every family should have a family doctor. Bill voted for health insurance reform to make sure those with pre-existing conditions get the care they deserve at a price they can afford, preserve the guaranteed benefits of Medicare, help prevent medical bankruptcies, lower overall health care costs, and raise the quality of medical care in the United States.
Marriage Equality/LGBTQ Rights:
Voted to replace DADT
Foster has evolved on same-sex marriage from opposing it (but supporting civil unions) to full marriage equality:
In his February Daily Herald candidate questionnaire, Foster maintained the same point of view he took during his re-election bid in the 14th Congressional District race a couple years ago.
“I believe marriage is between a man and a woman, but that gay couples should be able to receive all of the rights and benefits of marriage in the form of civil unions,” Foster wrote.
In an endorsement interview last month, Foster explained he’s had a change of thinking. He now fully supports gay marriage.
“I know everyone’s attitudes are evolving on this,” Foster said. “I was always a strong supporter of the civil unions that gave 100 percent of the legal requirements.
“So what was left is a discussion about a label rather than anything that would have operational, legal significance. During the time of the economic crisis I thought that prioritizing a very divisive discussion about a label wasn’t the time for it.
Economy:
Recent history shows that America knows how to create jobs – if the economy is competently managed. Over 22 million jobs were created in the 8 years from March 1993 to March 2001 – the best 8-year period of continuous job creation in our nation’s history. In contrast, during the next 8 years from March 2001 through March 2009, less than zero jobs were created - the worst 8-year record for job loss in our nation’s history.
Education:
Wise investments in our children's education are crucial to our long-term economic health.
Immigration
Foster is highlighting his support of a controversial piece of legislation two years ago.
"I voted for the DREAM Act, and it was one of my proudest votes in Congress," Foster has said repeatedly during the campaign.
It's a statement that always comes in tandem with Foster pointing out that Biggert voted against the DREAM Act, which would provide a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.
Race Rating: Lean D