In my previous post, I made mention of a presentation that the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) had recently in Newton, Iowa. AFPI is a radical right wing think tank. One of Iowa’s current members of Congress, Marriannette Miller-Meeks has decided to throw her lot in with these radicals. 

This seems to be a very bad choice. If it is not a bad choice for Miller-Meeks, it is most certainly a very bad choice for those she represents. This choice tells us that she will be giving groups like the AFPI more access. My guess is that Miller-Meeks sees aligning herself with radical groups such as AFPI as her road back to congress, rather than engaging her constituents and doing what is best for her district.

Miller-Meeks voting record and her statements really expose this as her campaign strategy. To hell with the district, I am going bid with the radical right!

The reason I bring this up is that there was an answer to a question at the very end the AFPI presentation that scared me to the quick. As reported in the Newton Daily News:

The Hoelscher referred to in the following excerpt is Doug Hoelscher who is n AFPI leader and ran the presentation: (ed. note: corrected spelling of Hoelscher 9/2/2022 per comment below. I regret this error and apologize for it.)

Hoelscher did allow a fifth person to question the panelists. The attendee specifically asked about AFPI’s stance on turning social security into a discretionary spending program, which is something U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., had spoken about recently.

“They want to make it so that social security has to be voted on every year by Congress,” the man said. “I want to know where does the America First Agenda fit into this because it’s not mentioned in the book. I want to know where it’s coming from and what do you support as far as social security.”

Hoelscher said AFPI wants to keep its commitment to seniors who need the safety net of social security. The organization, he said, is looking for long-term solutions to decrease the nation’s debt. Hoelscher then said he would speak with the man after the meeting since the panel was so short on time.”

In the part that is bolded (my bolding), note the reference to Social Security as a “safety net.” By couching Social Security as a safety net, most folks will miss the point that SS will have gone from being a social insurance program to being a welfare type program. Instead of now being a program that people earn through a lifetime of work, SS becomes a program that is given to people through a means testing process.

This is not what Social Security was meant to be. Imagine having means testing for SS? Imagine having Republican congresses lower the payment yearly while making it harder to “qualify” for Social Security. This is what Republicans want to do. Does Miller-Meeks want to do this? Did she object? NO!

Christina Bohannan will fight for workers. She will fight for the retired and the disabled. She will fight for women’s reproductive rights! We need her in congress right now.

During the rest of this campaign watch Miller-Meeks continue to aim he campaign at the extreme radical right. She apparently believes that is her path to victory.

I wish to note at this point that this district has for most of the last 40 years elected representatives who represented the middle ground. Both Jim Leach and Dave Loebsack represented the district well. Both would go out of their way to listen to voters on both sides of the aisle. Both have endorsed Christina Bohannan!

Christina Bohannan will stand up for real Iowans. She will continue the tradition of the representative who listens to her constituents. This year the vote you make may have a lifetime of consequences. Please pay attention to the issues.

https://bohannanforcongress.com
First district Democratic congressional candidate Christina Bohannan