Compare the candidates on:
The Economy | Entitlement Programs | National Security | Reforming Washington | Traditional Values
 |
| Agriculture |
Dr.
Sauerberg understands that farms are the backbone of our nation's
economic success. Supporting farms in Illinois and throughout the
country should be a priority for all in Washington as a way to maintain
and support domestic food production. |
Durbin
has left farms behind in his Chicago-first agenda. He has voted to
limit and reduce federal aid to agriculture, and stood by while
Governor Blagojevich made funding cuts to Illinois farms. |
| Education |
Dr.
Sauerberg knows that there is substantial room for improvement in the
public education system in Illinois around the country. Dr. Sauerberg
believes that No Child Left Behind has been effective at establishing a
system of benchmarks for providing quality education. He
recognizes that it is not perfect and will strive to make changes to
give increased flexibility to local schools, help to reduce class
sizes, and increase the number of highly qualified teachers in our
schools. Dr. Sauerberg also recognizes that education is best
handled when individuals are empowered and local control is maximized.
|
Durbin
opposes school choice, even where the public school is failing. He also
opposes benchmarks for students and standards for teachers. He has
become beholden to the unions and would prefer to blindly throw money
at the problems with our public education system. Instead of making the
system more efficient and more successful by using funding to hire
better teachers, train staff, and buy school supplies, Durbin has
permitted much of this money to go to bureaucratic and administrative
salaries and operations far removed from the children. |
| Energy & Environment |
Dr.
Sauerberg believes energy independence should be a priority as both an
environmental and national security issue. The Sauerberg plan to
help relieve sky-high gas prices Illinois includes (1) expanding tax
credits for new technologies and alternative energy sources, (2)
expanding safe, effective nuclear power, (3) expanding domestic oil
production and refinement, (4) decreasing federal gas taxes, and (5)
tapping the strategic oil reserve. He also believes that protecting our
environment can be done without damaging our economy. Clean air
and clean water can co-exist with job creation and economic growth.
|
Under
Durbin, gas prices have risen from $1.26 per gallon when he was sworn
into the Senate to today's prices. He has consistently opposed both
domestic drilling and safe nuclear power. Durbin would rather address
our energy issues by suing oil companies, even though basic economics
dictates that this would cause an increase in prices on consumers. On
the environment, Durbin has supported inefficient, overreaching
programs that exaggerate the problems we face rather than sensible
conservation strategies. |
| Taxes and Spending |
Dr.
Sauerberg believes citizens, not the government,are best equipped
to manage their own money. When the government does take money through
taxes, it has the responsibility to take as little as possible and
spend it efficiently. Dr. Sauerberg believes that Illinoisans deserve
real tax relief by dramatically overhauling our tax system to make it
fairer, flatter and substantially simpler. He supports making permanent
the tax cuts of 2001 and 2003. He also supports eliminating the
alternative minimum tax and encouraging investment and savings by
continuing to tax capital gains and dividends at lower rates. |
Durbin
has consistently tried to increase spending for countless government
interferences in the lives of US citizens. He wants to pay for
expansive government programs by raising taxes on Americans,
specifically those earning a decent living. In fact, the total cost of
the bills he sponsored or co-sponsored in the 109th Congress is $712.3
billion, or over $174.4 billion per year, making him the 8th most
expensive Senator total and the 6th most expensive Senator per year. |
| Trade |
Dr.
Sauerberg recognizes that the greatest American export is free
enterprise. Free trade is fundamental to the health of our
economy. In an increasingly global economy, American businesses
and manufacturers must be given every opportunity to compete and win in
the international arena. He will support free trade agreements,
like the one pending with Columbia, that are in the long-term best
interest of the American economy. |
Durbin almost
categorically opposes free trade. He has expressed his desire to
unilaterally renegotiate NAFTA, even though NAFTA has resulted in
substantial benefits for the economies of all three countries. He has
opposed the Colombia Free Trade Agreement and continues to ignore the
globalization of the world economy, permitting countries in Europe and
Asia to develop a competitive economic advantage over the US. |
 |
| Healthcare |
Dr.
Sauerberg has proposed a market-based healthcare reform that will make
quality, affordable healthcare available to all Americans. The
government needs to encourage portability, competition, accessibility
and individual ownership of quality medical insurance. To protect
patients and providers and dramatically reduce costs, we need to end
frivolous lawsuits. We must encourage innovation and promote
best-practices at all levels of our healthcare system, and we must end
fraud and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid.
|
Durbin
supports the creation of a giant government bureaucracy to support
publicly financed universal health care. He has voted to allow lawsuits
against HMO's and the collection of punitive damages. He favors
government control over personal control and wants to take your money
to pay for the healthcare for others, rather than fixing the system so
that healthcare can be affordable for everyone. |
| Medicare and Medicaid |
Dr.
Sauerberg recognizes that uncontrolled spending and excessive costs
have made the future of Medicare unsustainable in its current form. He
wants to lower costs through a competitive prescription drug plan and
fix the system structurally. Spending can also be reduced by
eliminating the more than $60 billion in Medicare fraud that plagues
the system each year. |
Durbin has failed to recognize
that the Medicare system in its current form will become almost
entirely insolvent in the next 15 years. Durbin proposed heavy
government control over the Medicare program. He has tried to mandate
the price insurers can charge seniors for certain Medicare drug plans. |
 |
| Immigration |
Dr.
Sauerberg wants to work for America's best interest, and that includes
stopping illegal immigration from hurting our economy. Illegal
immigrants take American tax dollars from our schools, hospitals,
social services, and law enforcement, and illegal immigrants who commit
crimes often face little to no accountability for their actions. It is
vital to America's security and economy to secure our borders and
reject amnesty.
|
Durbin
would rather represent the interests of illegal immigrants than those
of American citizens. He has consistently voted in favor of amnesty and
allowing anyone into this country by creating new loopholes to permit
illegals to become citizens. He has also voted against stronger
enforcement of our borders and against banning illegal immigrants who
have committed felonies from becoming citizens. |
Support the Troops
|
Dr.
Sauerberg recognizes that our nation's troops are the greatest
Americans, sacrificing their time and their lives for this country. The
troops and their families deserve nothing but the utmost respect. He
has met with military families to address their concerns and will fight
for improved veteran benefits, better medical treatment after returning
home, and increased funding for their post-service education.
|
Durbin
has displayed a constant disrespect for US troops. In 2005, he compared
them to Nazis and then only apologized for it when forced. He has
consistently voted against their mission and refuses to meet with
families of troops. Under his watch, medical treatment for the troops
after returning home has suffered, and he has done nothing about it.
|
| War on Terror |
Dr.
Sauerberg believes in a system of benchmarks to hold the Iraqi
government accountable. He rejects a timetable for withdrawal
from Iraq, especially now with the significant military, economic, and
political progress that has been made as a result of the surge under
General Petraeus. No matter how one might have felt about the
initial decision to go on the offensive in the War on Terror, we have
an obligation to finish the job we started and exit Iraq in a manner
that protects America's interests and provides the maximum amount of
stability in the Middle East.
|
Durbin
has consistently expressed his desire to surrender to terror through
the immediate abandonment of the job in Iraq that this country started.
He has voted to undermine General Petraeus and the progress he and the
US Armed Forces are making. Rather than support our troops or offer new
ideas in how to succeed in the war against terror, he wants to debate
whether we should have gone into Iraq in the first place, something we
can't change. Durbin declared the war lost in 2007 and has since been
proven wrong as dramatic progress is made each day in the Middle East. |
 |
| Change |
Dr.
Sauerberg is a Washington outsider with a fresh vision for Illinois and
this country, and he recognizes that many aspects of this country are
structurally, functionally broken. He is not beholden to any special
interest group and will make decisions based only on the values of the
citizens of Illinois. With new ideas and a desire to actually get
things done in Washington, Dr. Sauerberg represents a change from usual
Washington politics. |
Durbin has spent 37
years on the government payroll, with 25 of those years in a Congress
that is approved of by less than 20% of the country. He has had plenty
of time to try to affect change, yet has never offered anything but
more of the same liberal agenda that has failed in years past. He is
influenced by his laundry list of contributors, which include countless
trial lawyers and Tony Rezko. |
| Earmarks |
Dr.
Sauerberg is committed to stopping the wasteful spending that hurts
this country's economy every year. He opposes the current system of
tucking pet projects into other important bills. He vows to bring money
back to Illinois in an open, transparent fashion where only projects
with actual merit are able to received federal support. |
Durbin
overwhelmingly supports earmarks, having voted for his friends'
projects like Hillary Clinton's Woodstock museum and Harry Reid's
earmark to eradicate Mormon crickets. Despite his support for earmarks,
Durbin brings little money to Illinois, as the state ranks 4th from
last in return on taxpayer dollars.
|
| Ethics Reform |
Dr.
Sauerberg knows that the American people have lost faith in the career
politicians and the political and legislative process. Americans do not
believe that our elected representatives share their values, and
Illinoisans do not believe that those in Springfield and Washington are
fighting for them. Dr. Sauerberg will also sponsor "Glass Dome"
legislation, which will require openness and transparency in all
Congressional proceedings, legislation, and political campaigns.
|
Despite
a system that is structurally incapable of managing ethics, one where
Congress is supposed to watch itself, Durbin has been happy to let his
friends in Congress get away with countless instances of corruption,
most recently, Senators Dodd and Conrad's receipt of discount loans
that has been swept under the rug by their liberal friends in Congress. |
 |
| Judiciary |
Dr.
Sauerberg will vote to appoint strict constructionist judges who will
uphold the Constitution and have a proven record of excellence and
judicial restraint. |
Durbin's votes against
Roberts and Alito, who received positive votes from the overwhelming
majority of the Senate, coincide with his strong preference for
liberal, activist judges. |
| Marriage | Dr. Sauerberg believes that marriage is an institution that should be reserved for one man and one woman, and as such, he opposes judicial activism that would result in any change to the definition of marriage. | Durbin voted against the constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and supports activist judges who would redefine marriage. |
| Sanctity of Life |
Dr.
Sauerberg and his wife, Nancy, have donated thousands of dollars and
countless hours in support of crisis pregnancy centers. Reducing
abortions has been a very personal issue for the Sauerbergs throughout
their lives and Dr. Sauerberg will continue those efforts in the Senate.
He
opposes all federal funding of abortions. Dr. Sauerberg supports
additional criminal penalties for any person who causes injury or death
to an unborn child during an assault upon a pregnant woman. He supports
parental notification and consent before abortions are performed on
minors. Dr. Sauerberg also supports legislation that requires
physicians provide information on the development of the unborn child,
alternatives to abortion, and medical risks of abortion before an
abortion is performed.
|
Durbin was adamantly
pro-life until his Senate campaign in 1989, when he switched his
position to appease the liberal wing of his party and became
pro-choice. He has since consistently voted in favor of abortion and
against its limitations.
|
| Second Amendment |
Dr.
Sauerberg strongly supports the right to gun ownership and, as a gun
owner himself, believes we have a constitutional individual right to do
so, which guarantees law-abiding citizens right to own and use
firearms. Dr. Sauerberg believes that existing gun laws
sufficiently balance the need to protect individual rights with the
public's concern over reducing gun violence and would oppose any
additional legislation aimed at limiting our Second Amendment
rights. |
Durbin
supports extensive restrictions on gun ownership, including gun bans
and an increased burden of background checks. He has also voted to
permit extensive lawsuits against gun manufacturers related to gun
violence. He has received ratings of F from the National Rifle
Association and F- from the Gun Owners of America. |
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