Mia Love

"Each child born and unborn has the potential to open up our world and take us to places and spaces we've never imagined … Each living child carries with him or her the potential for greatness. … Every time we kill a child, we, all of us, suffer … We lose a little of ourselves and a whole lot of our future. … Forty-one years ago that couple from Haiti could have made the choice to abort, but they didn’t. They chose life. They didn’t choose what might have been; they chose what is to come. They went and followed and fostered that life, and the future and the dreams that baby would bring. … I'm certain that this couple would never have thought that that child would become the first black female Republican ever to be elected to Congress."

"The President’s behavior towards me made me wonder: What did he have to gain by saying such a thing about a fellow Republican? It was not really about asking him to do more, was it? Or was it something else? … However, this gave me a clear vision of his world as it is. No real relationships, just convenient transactions. That is an insufficient way to implement sincere service and policy. This election experience and these comments shines a spotlight on the problems Washington politicians have with minorities and black Americans – it’s transactional, it’s not personal. … You see, we feel like politicians claim they know what’s best for us from a safe distance, yet they’re never willing to take us home. Because Republicans never take minority communities into their home and citizens into their homes and into their hearts, they stay with Democrats and bureaucrats in Washington because they do take them home — or at least make them feel like they have a home."

"My dear friends, fellow Americans and Utahns. I am taking up my pen, not to say goodbye but to say thank you and express my living wish for you and the America I know. My battle with brain cancer is coming to an end. The disease is no longer responding to treatment and my family and I have shifted our focus from treatments, to enjoying every moment and making memories with the time we have. My life has been extended by exceptional medical care, science and extraordinary professionals who have become dear friends. My extra season of life has also been the result of the faith and prayers of countless friends, known and unknown. The result of such humble faith and pleading prayers have been felt by me and my family in ways too numerous to count. I have always believed that faith and science are inextricably interconnected. <!-- As a mayor, member of congress and media commentator I have seen the worst of petty politics, divisive rhetoric and disappointing lapses of moral character by some. These same roles also provided me a front row seat and backstage pass to be blessed and inspired by the courage, vision and hope of America’s finest daughters, sons and citizens."

"Couching this column as a “dying wish” felt a little dramatic, even for a drama person like me. We are not certain how long this season of my battle will be and I do want to share, and reshare, some things with the world that I passionately believe. I write all of this as my “living wish” and hopefully “enduring wish” for you. -->"

"Let me tell you about the America I know. My parents immigrated to the United States with $10 in their pocket and a belief that the America they had heard about really did exist as the land of opportunity. Through hard work and great sacrifice they achieved success — so the America I came to know growing up was filled with all the excitement found in living the American dream. I was taught to love this country, warts and all, and understand I had a role to play in our nation’s future. I learned to passionately believe in the possibilities and promise of America."

"What makes America great is the idea that when government is limited and decisions are made closest to the people they impact, people are free — free to work, free to live, free to choose, free to fail and free to achieve. The America I know provides everyone an equal opportunity to be as unequaled as they choose to be. The America I know gives back. Americans, regardless of financial status, are the most giving people on the planet. On their own, without government requirement, our people give their money, their time and their attention to causes, communities and people in need whether it is across the street or around the world. I’ve experienced this generosity throughout my life and during my battle with cancer. I am so grateful."

"The America I know is great — not because government made it great but because ordinary citizens like me, like my parents and like you are given the opportunity every day to do extraordinary things. That is the America I know!"

"Some have forgotten the math of America — whenever you divide you diminish. What I know is that the goodness and compassion of the American people is a multiplier that simply cannot be measured. The goodness and greatness of our country is multiplied when neighbors help neighbors, when we reach out to those in need and build better citizens and more heroic communities. You see, the America I know is built by citizens and leaders who respect, strengthen and serve each other not based on race, gender or economic status but because we are Americans! We all have a role to play in uniting the country around the principles that have made us extraordinary."

"I can see on the horizon that our best and brightest days as a nation are still to come. The America I know deserves leaders who trust the people and will tell them the hard truth about where we are and what we need to do in order to preserve our future. We need leaders who are prepared to engage in a dialogue about realities, priorities and solving America’s problems."

"I have always felt that it was character that counts in this country. The America I know, while far from perfect, is the place where we strive every day to live up to the principles Dr. Martin Luther King declared from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. We will be judged in the end, individually and as a nation, by the content of our character. The America I know isn’t just my story and it isn’t just your story. It is our story. It is a story of endless possibilities, human struggle, standing up and striving for more. Our story has been told for well over 200 years, punctuated by small steps and giant leaps; from a woman on a bus to a man with a dream; from the bravery of the greatest generation to the explorers, entrepreneurs, reformers and innovators of today. This is our story. This is the America we know — because we built it — together."

"As my season of life begins to draw to a close, I still passionately believe that we can revive the American story we know and love. I am convinced that our citizens must remember the principles of our story so that our children, and those seeking freedom around the world, will know where to look to find a place for their story. We must fight to keep the America we know as that shining city on a hill — truly the last best hope on earth. Like Benjamin Franklin and countless patriots down through the ages, I believe the American experiment is not a setting sun but a rising sun."

"In the end, I hope that my life will have mattered and made a difference for the nation I love and the family and friends I adore. I hope you will see the America I know in the years ahead, that you will hear my words in the whisper of the wind of freedom and feel my presence in the flame of the enduring principles of liberty. My living wish and fervent prayer for you and for this nation is that the America I have known, is the America you fight to preserve and that each citizen, and every leader, will do their part to ensure that the America we know will be the America our grandchildren and great grandchildren will inherit."

"Mia Love gave me no love, and she lost."