Mia Love, Republican Congresswoman from Utah, gave what many consider to be the most moving speech at the March for Life.
Those of you who have been around here for a long time will remember that we were the first website in the conservative movement to write about her candidacy, in early January 2012, and we helped launch media coverage of her campaign, Mia B. Love – A conservative political star rises in … Utah:
If you haven’t heard of Ludmya “Mia” B. Love before, you will be hearing a lot more about her. Mia has the potential to be the next big thing in conservative politics. And you heard about her here first! …I reached out to Mia recently and she was kind enough to call me. We had a great discussion. Mia is pro-life, pro-Tea Party, pro-Israel, and pro-2nd Amendment. (In case you were wondering, the rifle her husband gave her as a first gift was a Marlin .22 caliber with a stainless steel barrel and scope, and she packs a Glock 26 9 mm.)Mother, runner, shooter, Mayor, small government conservative who got into politics for the right reasons, unafraid to take on the powers that be … I know you’re thinking what I’m thinking.I’m making Utah-04 one of my focus races for 2012, and will do what I can to help Mia get the nomination and defeat Matheson.
This was her first campaign video, released just a few days before I spoke with her, and one of my favorites for the energy:
No one gave Mia a chance to get the nomination against established Republican candidates. But Mia unexpectedly won the Republican nomination at the convention by a huge margin. She lost the 2012 general election by only a few hundred votes but came back and ran again in 2014:
I remember calling her when her campaign was in its infancy, and she actually picked up her cell phone and gave me an interview as she was in the car driving to an event. She seemed so happy that someone, anyone, was calling with interest in her candidacy.Back then, when I Googled her name for background, there were so few mentions of her that most of the search results went to — well, you can imagine with a name like “Mia B. Love” that some of the search hits were not about her and NSFW.Mia came on strong as the conservative blogosphere rallied around her and brought attention to her campaign. She won the Republican nomination at the convention, but lost the general election by a few hundred votes to Jim Matheson, a long-serving Democratic incumbent who repeatedly defied the odds in a Republican district.Now Mia’s running again, and the polls show her far in the lead…
This time Mia won easily against a different Democrat, after Matheson retired.
I called that win “one of the most satisfying moments for Legal Insurrection“:
I have no illusions that Mia or any other politician can fulfill all our expectations. She will be under tremendous pressure from Republican leadership and others. But there also is no doubt that we are better off having Mia in Congress.Mia Love still would have been a rock star and made history even without Legal Insurrection’s involvement.Yet, that we and the readership were involved from the outset, long before the Republican establishment caught on, is particularly satisfying to me. I like to think it’s one of the things we do best.
We don’t get to close many circles in our coverage. Mia’s speech at The March for Life on January 27, 2017, was another satisfying moment and closing of a circle.
I think back to those earliest days, and see how she has developed over these five years not just into a political leader, but a moral leader.
If Mia Love’s speech at the March for Life doesn’t move you, check your pulse to make sure your heart is still beating.
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