Ken Buck Carries Pro-Life Standard Against Pro-Abortion Michael Bennet
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
October 15, 2010
Denver, CO (LifeNews.com) — Colorado Senate candidate Ken Buck can’t find any friends on the radical fringe, but his mainstream pro-life position appears to be carrying him home to victory against pro-abortion Sen. Michael Bennet. Throughout the Senate campaign, Buck has taken a consistent pro-life position.
"As a father of two, Ken believes in the value of life and is opposed to abortion except to protect the life of the mother. As U.S. Senator, Ken will oppose federal funding of abortion and will fight to protect the life of the unborn," Buck’s web site says.
Once receiving the nomination to face Bennet, who was appointed to the position and immediately turned off Colorado voters by supporting the ObamaCare health care bill and the abortion funding it contains, Buck became a target.
The Bennet campaign and the Democratic party aggressively attacked Buck with television commercials claiming he is extreme because he opposes abortions in cases of rape or incest because he believes the unborn child should not be killed for the crimes of the attacker.
The attack ads also bashed Buck because he supported Amendment 62, the personhood amendment, and they falsely portrayed him as opposing contraception and birth control by virtue of endorsing it.
"Ken believes life begins at conception, and does not favor doing away with common forms of birth control, like the pill," his web site notes.
Because the attack ads were misrepresenting his position by confusing his support of Amendment 62 with supposed opposition to birth control, Buck withdrew his support for the amendment, saying "I am in favor of personhood as a concept. I am not taking a position on any of the state amendments."
Now, Buck is facing attacks from a fringe group in Colorado called American Right to Life — a small outfit which uses a confusingly similar name to the venerable National Right to Life Committee and has made a name for itself attacking pro-life advocates like Sarah Palin, Concerned Women for America, Jill Stanek and other pro-life groups and leaders.
It claims he is no longer pro-life because he’s not supporting an amendment that many pro-life groups consider a failed legal strategy because it will be overturned by the Supreme Court and further entrench Roe v. Wade and legalized abortion.
In fact, Buck’s web site points out that numerous pro-life groups support the notion of personhood but disagree with Amendment 62.
"It’s clear that Amendment 62 and personhood are being used interchangeably. This is not the case within the pro-life community — there are many people who favor the concept of personhood, but are opposed to personhood amendments," it notes. "Eagle Forum is one example. Eagle Forum is strongly pro-life, but they are strongly opposed to any type of personhood amendments. In Ken’s case, he supports the concept of personhood, but is not taking a position on any of the state ballot initiatives, including Amendment 62."
Buck, who has indicated he will vote pro-life on key matters that will come before the Senate like taxpayer funding of abortion, pro-life legislation and ObamaCare, holds a clear pro-life position in comparison to Bennet.
Conversely, Bennett has compiled a 0% pro-life rating from the National Right to Life Committee.
The senator voted for the health care restructuring bill that includes abortion funding, supporting taxpayer funding of groups that promote and perform abortions overseas, refused to support health care coverage for unborn children, and voted to hurt the free speech legislative and election efforts of pro-life groups.
Tony Perkins, the head of the Family Research Council, has already confirmed Buck’s pro-life bona fides, and issued an endorsement for him.
"Ken Buck represents a return to the adherence of our Constitution and the principles that made this nation the great country that it still is. We look forward to supporting his campaign for the Senate and to helping him achieve his victory over the liberal Democrat candidate, Michael Bennet," Perkins added.
He concluded, "I cannot emphasize enough how important it is that we send those who respect faith, family and freedom to the United States Congress. Ken Buck has proven that he is that man. We most heartily endorse him and look forward to seeing him in the halls of the Senate here in Washington."
The mainstream pro-life position Buck holds appears to be engendering him strong support in Colorado.
He has held a consistent lead over Bennet throughout the last two months and leads by an average of three percent in the last three polls.
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