The Case Against Mariannette Miller-Meeks

“Mariannette Miller-Meeks made it to Congress only by the skin of her teeth. And in Washington, she’s given Iowans every reason not to send her back. From peddling disinformation and quack science that endangered families and risked our recovery from the pandemic, to blocking efforts to lower costs, Miller-Meeks has made clear she does not stand for working families. Luckily, Iowans have a strong alternative in Christina Bohannan, who has spent her time in public office fighting for families and seniors and making sure everyone has a fair shot – just like she did. The newly reconfigured district has only gotten more favorable for Democrats, and Christina is well positioned to flip this seat blue in November,” said DCCC Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney. 

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To: Interested Parties
From: Elena Kuhn, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: June 7, 2022
Subject: The Case Against Mariannette Miller-Meeks

Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ incompetent and dishonest tenure in office embodies exactly why Southeast Iowans rejected her three times prior for this seat. In 2020, perennial candidate Mariannette Miller-Meeks made it to Congress by only six votes. And since arriving in Washington, her record of pushing extreme conspiracies and siding against Iowas’ hard-working families at every turn has only made her more vulnerable.

Miller-Meeks’ time in office has been defined by a disappointing vacuum of leadership from a representative who’s more concerned with spreading conspiracy theories and pushing quack science than making life more affordable for Iowa families as the economy faces new challenges coming out of the pandemic. And when the opportunity has come for Miller-Meeks to support legislation which would improve the lives of her constituents, she’s stood with her party leaders over what’s best for Iowa.

Despite the fact that IA-01 has some of the most structurally deficient bridges in the country, and despite campaigning on the promise of a “big infrastructure bill,” Miller-Meeks voted against the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to improve roads and bridges and create good-paying jobs. And as communities across the district feel the impact of rising costs, Miller-Meeks has tried to stop legislation to improve supply chains and increase competitiveness with China.

Iowans deserve a Congresswoman who will fight tooth and nail to lower costs, protect health care and strengthen public education – and that’s exactly what they’ll get in Christina Bohannan. Growing up in a trailer park in a rural community, Christina Bohannan understands the unique challenges that Iowans living in rural communities face and the importance that everyone who works hard has a fair shot. In the Iowa statehouse, Christina has worked across the aisle to pass legislation to crack down on human trafficking and to address the often overlooked problem of elder abuse. And she’ll bring that same ethos to Washington, cutting through the partisan bickering to build a government that works for the people.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

Radio Iowa: Miller-Meeks opposes Medicare prescription drug price controls [Radio Iowa, 11/5/22]

AP: For GOP, national party line trumps bringing home the bacon [AP, 12/23/21]

“Davenport’s 81-year-old Centennial Bridge across the Mississippi River creaks under the weight of tens of thousands of cars and trucks every day. Rust shows through its chipped silver paint, exposing the steel that needs replacing.

This city’s aging landmark is among more than 1,000 structurally deficient bridges in the area. The tally gives Iowa’s 2nd congressional district the dubious distinction of having the second-most troubled bridges in the country.

So, it struck some Iowans as strange when the district’s Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks voted against a bill that would pour more than $100 million in federal money to repair and replace bridges into southwest Iowa. Miller-Meeks objected to majority Democrats’ handling of the bill, never mentioning its contents, a common refrain from the minority that overwhelmingly opposed it.”

Quad-City Times: Miller-Meeks votes against infrastructure bill with earmarks for Iowa’s 2nd District [Quad-City Times, 7/6/21]

Quad-City Times: ‘If true, this is insane!’: Iowa’s Miller-Meeks retweeted a fake story about Biden withholding benefits to unvaccinated veterans, insinuating it was true. [Quad-City Times, 9/13/22]

Ottumwa Courier: Miller-Meeks under fire for tweeting satire story [Ottumwa Courier, 9/15/22]

Stars and Stripes: ‘It’s sick’: VA alerts veterans to false article about Biden withholding benefits [Stars and Stripes, 10/22/21]

“It’s sick,” the email reads. “There is nothing funny about spreading false stories of stripping our heroes of their hard-earned benefits.”

The false article was posted online in September. It was shared widely after a Republican lawmaker from Iowa, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, tweeted about it. Along with a link to the story, she tweeted: “If true, this is insane!”

Ottumwa Courier Editorial: OUR VIEW: Miller-Meeks and her irresponsible tweets [Ottumwa Courier, 9/14/22]

“We get that Miller-Meeks is not a supporter of President Joe Biden. Clearly, he will make mistakes much like any president, and there will be plenty of policy differences. Whether vaccinations should be mandated by the government is certainly a topic ripe for debate. However, before she turns to hyper-partisanship, we remind her she lost her first three runs at Congress, and only won her fourth attempt by six votes. Our message to Miller-Meeks is simple: Listen to the experts on COVID-19, and stick to the truth.”

Cedar Rapids Gazette: Fact Checker: Do children transmit COVID-19? [Cedar Rapids Gazette, 8/2/21]

“Miller-Meeks, an ophthalmologist, has been a vocal advocate for Iowans to get the COVID-19 vaccine. But her claims about children not transmitting the virus are inaccurate. Kids can and do pass the virus, although at much lower rates than adults. If Miller-Meeks had qualified her statement even a little, saying children usually don’t transmit the virus, she’d be correct. But she didn’t.”

AP: House backs bill to help veterans exposed to toxic burn pits [AP, 6/3/22]

“A bill that would dramatically boost health care services and disability benefits for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan won approval Thursday in the House. Republicans generally left it to Rep. Miller-Meeks of Iowa to speak in opposition to the bill.”

Des Moines Register: Iowa Democrats say Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks failed to properly disclose income [Des Moines Register, 10/11/21]

Cedar Rapids Gazette: Iowa Democratic Party seeks investigation of Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ financial disclosure [Cedar Rapids Gazette, 10/11/21]

Quad-City Times: Wilburn: New disclosure raises more questions over Miller-Meeks’ finances [Quad-City Times, 11/16/21]

Iowa Starting Line: Two More Ties To The Fringe For Mariannette Miller-Meeks [Iowa Starting Line, 4/27/22]

“First-term Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks has long dabbled with online fringe conspiracy theories, and two more recent incidents add to the pile.

Photos posted by Miller-Meeks’ campaign manager a week ago on Twitter show volunteers putting together yard signs while posing in front of flags that include one used by a far-right, anti-government militia. The “Three Percenter” flag is shown hanging on the wall behind the Miller-Meeks supporters, the one with Roman numeral “III” on an American flag.”

Quad-City Times: In Davenport, Miller-Meeks says she would not support current proposals to toughen gun laws [Quad-City Times, 5/26/22]

Little Village: ‘I think our democracy is absolutely on the line’: Christina Bohannan talks about why she is running for Congress [Little Village, 5/11/22]

Cedar Rapids Gazette: Democrats target Eastern Iowa races for U.S. House [Cedar Rapids Gazette, 3/10/22]

MARIANNETTE MILLER-MEEKS’ LIFE THREATENING LIES

Despite her previous career as a medical professional, Mariannette Miller-Meeks has a dangerous record of promoting conspiracy theories that have been a downright threat to the safety of Iowans. Miller-Meeks has repeatedly spread disinformation about COVID-19 in ways that endangered the health of children and misled veterans about their earned benefits. She made the outrageous and false claim that elementary-school-aged children did not transmit COVID-19 to each other or adults, which earned her a fact check from local media and criticism from a pediatric infectious disease specialist.

She also shared a fake story from a satirical website that falsely claimed unvaccinated veterans would lose their health benefits. The story quickly created confusion and concern among Iowa veterans and even prompted a VA hospital to send an emergency alert reassuring veterans their benefits were not threatened. But instead of apologizing for lying to Iowa veterans, Miller-Meeks doubled down and defended her dangerous behavior.

The episode earned her a scathing editorial from her hometown newspaper, the Ottumwa Courier, stating, “Mariannette Miller-Meeks can, and must, do better… We remind her she lost her first three runs at Congress, and only won her fourth attempt by six votes. Our message to Miller-Meeks is simple: Listen to the experts on COVID-19, and stick to the truth.”

Miller-Meeks’ mistruths since entering Congress are part of a long pattern that further solidifies that Iowans cannot trust her. She’s followed her Washington party leaders in promoting hydroxychloroquine as a COVID-19 treatment. And in 2014, the Iowa State Senate rejected Miller-Meeks’ nomination to the Hawk-I Board to look out for the health care coverage of low-income children due to concerns over her shoddy record during her time as the head of the Department of Public Health.

A THREAT TO IOWA SENIORS AND WORKING FAMILIES

Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ record in Congress can be defined by her open hostility to Iowa’s working families and seniors and their health care. She blamed the rising cost of health care on Medicare and criticized seniors for overusing the program, then voted to force billions in cuts to Medicare. She also stood with her Big Pharma allies and opposed allowing Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices, which would lower costs for Iowans at a time when they need it most. She’s even called for turning Medicare into a voucher program that could force seniors to pay more out of pocket.

But that’s not the only way Miller-Meeks has failed Iowa’s seniors. She called for privatizing Social Security and gambling the benefits Iowans have earned on the stock market, and she wanted to cut cost of living increases and even favored raising the retirement age for Social Security. Miller-Meeks has also advocated for doing away with employer-based health insurance and wrote her own health care plan that allowed insurance companies to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions like diabetes or cancer.

And as Iowa women’s reproductive health care is in jeopardy, Mariannette Miller-Meeks supports a dangerous nationwide abortion ban that would not include exceptions for rape, incest, or for the life of the mother – a fringe position far out of step with a majority of Iowans.

A HISTORY OF SHADY ETHICAL CONDUCT 

Mariannette Miller-Meeks is a three-time failed candidate, but after she barely scraped by in 2020, it took no time at all for her to become a Washington, D.C., swamp creature. Since arriving in Washington, Miller-Meeks has faced an ethics complaint for her misconduct after she skirted the most basic personal financial transparency rules required of all Members of Congress. Instead of being honest with Iowans, Miller-Meeks lied about her net worth and falsely reported that she was worth zero dollars in 2021. After being questioned by reporters, it came to light that she was actually worth as much as $2.4 million.

There are still questions looming over Miller-Meeks’ campaign as she has refused to explain what she has to hide and why she thinks she’s above the ethical conduct expected of all Members of Congress.

PATH TO VICTORY

Iowa’s First Congressional District offers a prized flip opportunity for Democrats as a district that was lost by only 6 votes last election cycle but improved after redistricting. Under the new configuration, 2020 nominee Rita Hart would have won this seat by over 2,000 votes, and Christina Bohannan is building a campaign that will finish the job and send three-time political loser Mariannette Miller-Meeks packing.

The new district retains Johnson County, a stronghold of reliable Democratic voters, and is home to University of Iowa students – many of whom could not vote in this district in 2020 as classes were remote due to COVID-19. Christina Bohannan is well positioned to energize these voters as a University of Iowa professor with deep ties to the community and as a state representative who took on politics as usual and defeated a 20-year incumbent to represent this seat in the state house.

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