MMM wore this No. 6 mask on the floor of congress and in a picture with President Biden.

The action alert below from the DCCC arrived in our inbox yesterday highlighting Iowa’s first District Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ deceitful attempts to make herself look as if she and her party are not responsible for turning American women into second class citizens by pretending publicly to care about access to contraception.

Full disclosure I live in District 1 and care deeply that Miller-Meeks does not get re-elected.  I am not worried in the slightest about MMM’s small-minded endeavors. I say bring them on!  And Christina Bohannan should be saying bring it on too.

Any female of child bearing age who grew up thinking she had just as many rights as a man but who just got her right to choose her own future or save her own life stripped away by the Republican party and a right wing SCOTUS is not going to be appeased by Republicans claiming they are now trying to make birth control more accessible so vote for us anyway!

I believe most young American women thought birth control was already accessible and probably had no idea that anyone in 2023 could possibly be opposed to birth control. What, Rs are going after birth control too?  MMM and her fellow R’s think it will persuade women to vote for them that… they are trying to get you birth control access you thought you already had?  Even if voters believed MMM, which they would be foolish to do, it makes no sense.

“Miller-Meeks [and other Republicans]… have opposed Democratic-led efforts to safeguard access to birth control. They voted last year with the vast majority of House Republicans to oppose legislation to ensure access to contraception nationwide, a right that was regarded as newly under threat after the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. Anti-abortion groups encouraged lawmakers to oppose the measure, claiming that its definition of contraceptives could be interpreted to include pills that induce abortions. Only eight Republicans voted with Democrats to support the bill, and most of them are no longer in Congress.   NYT

I say let Republicans pass all the fake birth control access bills they want and try to brag about it. It is going to make things worse for them because it highlights the fact that Republicans want women to go back to the 1950’s. They want a nationwide ban on abortions whether it is medically necessary or not and they are coming for birth control. Voting for a Republican is not a good deal for women.

Christina Bohannan, Miller-Meeks’ opponent, should be jumping all over these pathetically lame tactics by her opponent. She is reportedly making this a primary theme of her campaign. I hope Bohannan magnifies MMM’s anti-women votes as clearly, explicitly, loudly and frequently as she possibly can on the campaign trail. MMM’s scheme to prevent voters from knowing what she really supports is NOT going to work but it will be up to the Bohannan campaign to make sure every voter in the district knows the facts and votes accordingly. Rs have no qualms about twisting facts to make themselves seem reasonable. This debate will be all about the best framing and is Bohannan’s to lose in my opinion.

My hope is that the Bohannan campaign will not miss opportunities to say more to the media than “it’s purely political” or “she’s doing it to provide cover.”  Those are true statements but this seemed like a missed opportunity for positive media messaging because those statements don’t seem to serve to inspire voters or draw anyone into the campaign.  To Christina Bohannan I would like to say I hope your campaign is ready for the next media opportunity to say what you really want to say.  Miller-Meeks voted for a nationwide ban on women’s right to choose. She is a member of a party that has turned our sex into second class citizens. Don’t just point out that she’s lying to help herself politically. People think all politicians do that. Their eyes will gloss over. Make her pay when you talk to the media.

In fairness, in the NYT article, Bohannan was quoted to have pointed out that MMM aligns herself with extremists and abortion bans. These are perfectly fine true statements but the entire statement sounded like DCCC talking points.  Maybe it wasn’t but it sounded like it.

Republicans seem to be the only party that can get away with reliance on talking points and generalities. Their voters blindly accept anything their politicians say. I think ordinary voters hear generalities made by candidates as political talking points – boring. I feel it is much more powerful for Democrats to hammer specifics – statements she has made, votes she took, which extremists? Specifics on the issues paired with effective values framing – what our candidate believes and stands for –  and taking full advantage of every messaging opportunity, I feel will be key to winning this race.

My hope is that at every campaign stop MMM is pummeled with questions from women about why she supported stripping American women of their rights. It’s not even really about abortion rights. It’s about rights. Period. The right for women to be equal citizens in America and determine our own future.  That is what it is really about and that is what Republicans stand against. This is the best way to frame the debate, in my view.

And candidate Bohannan, please make sure you talk over her on Iowa Press. Republicans are permitted by the media to lie so freely the only way to expose them is if we do it ourselves. And they won’t leave you enough time. MMM will keep her eye on the clock and run it out. Don’t be complacent and think this is going to be easy.  Iowans watch Fox News. That is a big problem. And R’s are not going to hand over this seat. We have to fight for every vote.

Everyone, you can donate to the DCCC if you are so inclined but better to donate directly to MMM’s Democratic opponent, Christina Bohannan.

Here is the DCCC action alert.