Ken Buck Trips Up Over Abortion Measure

DENVER — A conservative Republican trying to unseat a rookie Democratic senator in Colorado is scrambling to explain his position on abortion in light of a ballot proposal to outlaw the procedure.

Ken Buck, a tea party favorite challenging Sen. Michael Bennet, leads the incumbent in several polls and has drawn the support of abortion opponents for saying it should be illegal even in cases of rape and incest.

Earlier this year, he endorsed a proposed amendment to the state constitution to set up a direct challenge to the federal government over rights for fetuses. The so-called "personhood" amendment would give constitutional rights to people from conception.

But Buck changed his position after doctors and lawyers pointed out that the amendment would also ban some types of fertility treatments and emergency contraception. Buck now says he's not taking a position on the abortion-blocking amendment because of those concerns.

"I am in favor of personhood as a concept," Buck said on CBS' "Face the Nation" last week. "I am not taking a position on any of the state amendments. And I have said over and over, and it's been reported over and over again, that I am not in favor of banning any common forms of birth control in Colorado or in the United States."

Buck's changing stance has conservative abortion opponents scratching their heads. He supports the concept, they ask, but not the actual amendment?

"Is he just trying to piss everybody off? I don't get it," said Diana Hseih of Sedalia, a registered Republican who supports abortion rights. Hseih wrote an argument against the "personhood" plan on her blog and says Buck's parsing of words on abortion is drawing opposition on both sides.

"This is a point on which Democrats can hammer him, and it's going to make the religious right angry, too," Hseih said.

The head of Personhood Colorado, a suburban Denver group of abortion opponents that petitioned the measure onto ballots, said he was surprised when Buck endorsed the idea in the first place, but then disappointed by the change.

"I was pretty excited to be voting for him, but I have to say he seems to be doing the primary/general two-step here," Gualberto Garcia Jones said.

Another group backing the amendment, Right To Life Colorado, planned to decide at a board meeting next month whether to endorse Buck given his changing stance. The group has about 5,000 members in Colorado and is not affiliated with the National Right To Life group, which does not back the amendment.

Meanwhile, Democrats are pummeling Buck as an extremist on abortion. A similar proposal was defeated almost 3-to-1 in 2008, and in campaign ads and promotional materials Democrats and left-leaning groups call Buck an extremist for opposing abortion and once supporting the "personhood" measure.

"The idea that somebody could support a policy that banned abortion, even in the cases of rape and incest, as a father, I just can't agree with," Bennet said in a recent debate with Buck. Buck said simply, "I am pro-life."

A coalition of groups including Planned Parenthood even called invited rape and incest survivors to speak out about their opposition to Buck on abortion grounds.

"How is it possible that anyone running for public office would say a woman who is a victim of rape or incest has no choices, in this day and age?" asked Emilie Ailts, 58, who was raped as a teenager but did not become pregnant. Ailts joined a press conference sponsored by the anti-Buck groups and called him "the wrong choice."

Buck's spokesman, Owen Loftus, says Buck remains opposed to abortion but has withdrawn support for the abortion amendment because of concerns about what it would do.

"Ken's pro-life, but Ken is not in favor getting rid of the pill," Loftus said.

It's unclear how voters will respond to Buck's mixed messages. One of those wondering is Dean Boehler, a 57-year-old contractor from western Colorado who supports Buck.

"I believe in protecting life from conception to the end of life, but the Democrats, it seems like they're using scare tactics here," said Boehler.

Another Republican, Bobbie Chiles of the South Platte Republican Women's Club in suburban Denver, said she supports abortion rights but isn't about to abandon Buck because they disagree on the issue.

"Democrats see this as an opportunity to discredit Ken Buck, but I think most people are smart enough to know one person isn't going to be able to do away with Roe v. Wade," said Chiles, president of the South Platte Republican Women's Club.

___

Online:

Bennet on abortion: http://bennetforcolorado.com/issues/details/2009-09-reproductive-choice

Buck on abortion: http://www.buckforcolorado.com/respect-life

Personhood Colorado: http://www.personhoodcolorado.com

Campaign for a Strong Colorado: http://strongcolorado.org

Comments

[dixdarlin]

02:16 PM on 10/04/2010

We are all missing the point. These Republicans are $pending billions of Dollars to get control of America.
They appeal to Rich automatically, everyone else needs tweeking.
Fear, GUNS, Rebel, Patriotism, Country, GOD, GLORY,GOLD, HATE.
Every preacher in the south has told his parishioners to vote Republican. Every
White farmer getting subsidies vote Republican,blah blah. Bush-Cheney did it well.
Wake Up America! you are going down the drain~

[dixdarlin]

01:55 PM on 10/04/2010

If you make abortion criminal, put women in jail, kill doctors, and stop pills. Will you promise to cut off the Penis of every rapist?
You are Pro-Life? No you are Pro-Rape and control.
Women will still abort, even if Republicans put camera in their homes. They will still risk their lives rather than give birth to a rapist child. Right now in the world a woman is dying every 90 seconds due to childbirth and complications.
It will just be more dead women, not something really important to R's.
If women refuse to have more kids, then put them in Hitler breeding camps.

[SmileAndActNice]

12:30 AM on 10/05/2010

Its actually every minute. A little more frequently than that. Over half a million women every year die to pregnancy related causes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maternal_death#Maternal_death_rates_in_the_20th_century
-----
In 2000, the United Nations estimated global maternal mortality at 529,000, of which less than 1% occurred in the developed world.[1]
------

60 seconds a minute.
3600 seconds an hour.
86400 seconds a day.
31536000 seconds a year.

31536000 / 529,000 = 59.61 seconds per death.

1% of which happen in the first world, so about one American woman every hour and a half. Over a dozen a day ...

Or to put it in perspective.

.010% of our soldiers in Iraq died in May - 2007 - the highest casualty month of that year. http://donhodges.com/chances_of_dying_in_iraq.html
.013% of our pregnant women died that same year. - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20427256/

And since May was the worst month the average for soldier mortality that entire year is lower, but everyone breaks this out by month and I'm to lazy to sum it up for the year I just chose the month with the highest casualty percentage.

But bottom line, a pregnant American is taking a greater risk than a deployed American.

And I'm sure some horse's rear end will interpret that as belittling soldiers rather than as demanding recognition for mothers.

[SmileAndActNice]

12:58 AM on 10/05/2010

This also is not belittling soldiers ... though it could be interpreted as a dig at men who don't serve.

Only a small fraction of men serve in the military during active combat, but virtually every woman serves in maternity ( that thing we just noticed is at least as deadly as the other thing ).

The same outrage many feel for people who criticize soldiers is equally justified at people who criticize mothers. It is not for you to set the terms of her service or make demands that she serve at your pleasure. We run *volunteer* outfits in this country.

Stop joggling her elbow. Stop armchair generalling. She will pick her battles as her instincts tell her and they are much better at this than you are because she is a much better judge of her own readiness than you are.

[SchrodingersKatz]

01:20 PM on 10/04/2010

The Republicans want to grant personhood to a clump of cells the size of a pinhead. Using their brand of logic, why stop there, how about personhood for the deceased, and inanimate objects?

I guess the Republicans won't be happy until every poor woman has ten or twelve kids she can't feed and clothe, and will be forced to sell them into slavery, which appears to be the end-goal of Republican--style crapitalism.

[jimme]

02:26 AM on 10/04/2010

Why are repubs so insistant on repealing roe v wade ?
It's none of your business when someone wants an abortion. You want a smaller,less meddling Government but you're trying to tell people what to do.
Make up your minds.

[SchrodingersKatz]

01:22 PM on 10/04/2010

The Republicans want to spy on women's menstrual pads while not paying their taxes. That is the sum total of their philosophy.

[blood1]

09:46 AM on 10/03/2010

The far-right, or perhaps the entire GOP have this idea: Outlaw all abortions. Of the many problems with this stance is: then what? They simultaneously are saying that they want to do away with the social programs that would aid the women and children. No healthcare for the pregnant woman, no funding to assure that women could provide sufficient sustenance for this child after birth, etc. Why don't they just come out and say that sex is illegal unless it is between a married couple who are intent on pro-creation? They know the absurdness of that.

They also ignore the fact that abortions have been occuring for decades, long before RvW. The difference was that those who could afford them had them done quietly by physicians and those who could not afford them were done by in less than stellar facilities.

People need to wake up and call these individuals out. As for the TP'ers, how many of these individuals are in their child bearing years? This is the far end of the religious right, who somehow believe that beyond their fire and brimstone rhetoric, that they will legislate the morality of our country and that will solve all the social problems facing our country.

Buck is beyond stupid and is willing to pander for any vote, and sadly will get votes from some who don't have anything to win or lose if this stance would actually become law.

[Donna1224]

06:15 PM on 10/02/2010

Ken Buck........Confused.........Changing his mind again.......Angering his supporters........Go Bennet!

[koalaholik]

09:40 PM on 10/02/2010

Ken Buck - coward! He has backed off of every far right stand he took during the primary. Does he really think people will forget (or that Bennet will allow them to)? Bennet isn't ideal, but he beats the he77 of this reactionary Neanderthal.

[BonnieDoon]

03:35 PM on 10/02/2010

Repubs would vote for Ham Sandwich if it had an (R) after its name.

Independents are just reactionary voters that won't positively contribute and commit to either the Repubs or Dems strategies and success.

[Georgia1992]

09:21 PM on 10/02/2010

Your post is spot-on!

[NoFactsJustTruth]

03:20 PM on 10/02/2010

Here's a new trick ALL voters in Colorado should be on the watch for and NOT get fooled by:

My 27 year old son in Colorado and was called today by the Ken Buck campaign. It appears they're trying to affect the traditionally young liberal voters - by calling and asking if they would like a mail-in ballot sent to them. Everyone knows mail-in ballots have been having problems for years, whether because they're inappropriately filled out before being sent in and NOT COUNTED, or more likely because mail-in ballots ARE NOT COUNTED until after someone has conceded - if at all. I have no doubt this tactic is being used to marginalize the mostly young liberal voters in that Colorado election, and playing out as something that then affects ALL Colorado elections - in favor of republiCAN'TS and bagger CONServatives.

My advice to ALL voters that receive such calls is to REFUSE the MAIL-IN BALLOT OFFER and either vote early (which Colorado allows) because those votes are ALWAYS counted, or else vote on Election Day at a normal voting location where ALL votes also tend to be counted for immediate Election Day results.

This helpful person on the phone DID NOT IDENTIFY THEMSELF until specifically asked, and then reportedly giggled as if caught doing something sneaky and then admitting they were from the Ken Buck campaign.

DO NOT BE FOOLED, THIS IS NOT A GET OUT THE VOTE CAMPAIGN, IT IS A CAMPAIGN TRICK!

[geo493]

02:33 PM on 10/02/2010

Ken Buck is an idiot. But he has an R behind his name and for Colorado conservatives, that's all he needs. Ideas based on sound principles don't matter a wit.

[dixdarlin]

01:37 PM on 10/04/2010

R for Rich, Religious, Radical Reptilian Retard! Why in the world would any man or woman earning less than $250.000. A year ever vote Repuke? Why?
I need Social Security!

[LiberalLee]

01:01 PM on 10/02/2010

So fetuses and companies are people, but people don't get civil rights...?
The GOP's definitely gone off the deep end.

[sistahfriend]

01:01 PM on 10/02/2010

They all are LIARS. They say one thing one day and something else the next. How can anyone trust them? They don't have the interest of the people at heart. Some of these people are looking how to make money in this broke economy. They will do and say anything to get elected.

The people of America must stand up. You must register at least 15 days prior to the election. Go out and register your family and friends. Be willing to stand up and speak the truth. Direct them to sights and news outlets that are working to get the truth out. This November can mean the difference between FREEDOM and SLAVERY.

Do we want to move forward or do we want to go backwards? We have to decide.

Something to think about: Look how much money they are pouring into this election? If they were truly concerned about people like you and I, they would be doing something different with their money. The Bible states, for you Christians, "to whom much is given much is required".

I think under Roosevelt, I know someone has the correct president, taxes on the wealthy was almost at 90%. Just think the shape our Country would be in if we went back to those rates?

YES WE CAN! WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

[koalaholik]

09:42 PM on 10/02/2010

In Colorado, you have to register by Oct 4.

[Buford2k10]

12:47 PM on 10/02/2010

Mr. Buck is a product of his own stupidity. And the misplaced anger of a minority of voters in Colorado. Time to let him know how he won't win, no matter how he messes up.

[HowdyDoody]

01:27 AM on 10/02/2010

Ken Buck is a disaster now and would be a calamity for this state. I can't understand what people are thinking. Michael Bennet, who took a beating in the primary and won, will be a real mover in the Senate on education -- which everyone knows has fallen to 3rd world status.

What's the matter with the electorate? Or is it just too early to poll them at this point?

[LittleMittens]

01:12 AM on 10/02/2010

As a typical conservatwit, he favors making a fetus a person, until they are born, then it's just not his problem...

[LittleMittens]

01:10 AM on 10/02/2010

He may not be openly in favor of 'banning' forms of birth control, but he IS more than ready to make it very hard to actually GET birth control of any kind.