Champions of Life on the Rise

By Ken Blackwell (Archive) · Thursday, January 14, 2010

This Saturday, January 16, State Senator Ken Cuccinelli will be sworn-in as Virginia’s new Attorney General. Cuccinelli was arguably the most conservative member of the Virginia State Senate, yet managed to consistently win election to his Northern Virginia district.

Meanwhile, in Kansas, State Senator Tim Huelskamp recently pledged to once again introduce a bill to defund Planned Parenthood in Kansas.

Like Huelskamp, Cuccinelli authored legislation in the Virginia State Senate to defund Planned Parenthood. He also passed a parental consent law -- and cast the tie-breaking vote to ban partial-birth abortion in the state.

As NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia said of Cuccinelli:

"Virginia women have Ken to thank for a recent blow to reproductive rights: the new Choose Life license plates, whose revenues will be funneled directly into crisis pregnancy centers.[ H]e patroned an amendment to the 2008 state budget to defund Planned Parenthood …"

Huelsksamp, a farmer from Fowler, Kansas has been leading the Pro-Life fight in the Kansas State Senate for a dozen years now. Since former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline (who has endorsed Huelskamp) lost his re-election bid a few years ago, Huelskmamp has been the leader among elected Pro-Life conservatives in the state.

Last year, Huelskamp pushed to de-fund Planned Parenthood. His Amendment (referred to as “The Huelskamp Amendment”) actually passed the Legislature but was vetoed by Gov. Mark Parkinson, a Democrat.

But just as British Member of Parliament William Wilberforce vowed to introduce a bill banning the slave trade each year, Huelskamp seems determined to introduce his bill until it passes.

Aside from being conservative rising stars working at the state level, Huelskamp and Cuccinelli are both young Catholics. Both are also more than just “good votes” – they are Pro-Life legislative leaders in the mold of Sens. DeMint and Coburn and Rep. Pence.

Just as the pro-aboriton crowd has attacked Cuccinelli (and tried to defeat him), they are also coming after Huelskamp in Kansas. In attacking Huelskamp, the president of Kansas’ Planned Parenthood actually had the audacity to say that, “Planned Parenthood reduces the need for abortion more than any anti-abortion organization.” Clearly, these people are out of touch.

Philosophically, both Cuccinelli and Huelskamp share a similar attitude toward legislating. They reject the traditional approach of simply playing defense while the Left chips away at our values year after year. Eventually, the Left wins some legislative victories and this war of attrition leaves our values on shaky ground. Both men consistently go on the offensive in the legislature. They understand that this is the only way to succeed in the long-term.

Cuccinelli will be sworn in this week, while Huelskamp is currently running for U.S. Congress in Kansas-1. Look for both of these young Pro-Life champions to have bright futures at the national level.

There is reason to be optimistic about the future!

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