Miller-Meeks Believes Issues To Great To Idly Sit By
Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks enjoyed some humor with others on Saturday as she stopped by Eggs & Issues.
Oskaloosa, Iowa – Officially hitting the campaign trail this past week, Dr. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R) stopped by Smokey Row in Oskaloosa.
Miller-Meeks is no stranger to the campaign trail. The Ottumwa native has run for congress twice before, and believes that things are different this time. “I think after being at the [Iowa] State Department of Public Health for 3 years, watching Governor Branstad and how he was able to navigate through issues, through both parties and really address problems that the state faced and things that were roadblocks for the state, improving its economy and helping Iowans.”
Miller-Meeks had served as Director at the Iowa Department of Public Health before resigning in January to run for office.
“I look at what’s happened at the federal government level with a health care law that is hugely unpopular really creating problems for people,” Miller-Meeks said of the Affordable Care Act.
Miller-Meeks said that the level of accountability at the federal level is one reason she is running, “there’s too much going on for me to idly sit by and just watch this happen.” She believes that the issues are “too great not to join the race and to attempt to unseat an incumbent.”
I asked Miller-Meeks about how her experience as a physician and also as the former Director at the Iowa Department of Public Health would help her understand the Affordable Health Care Act for her constituents if elected. “I think health care, most importantly, needs to be affordable. That’s the biggest issue facing us today. It also needs to be portable and it needs to be personal, not a one size fits all policy determined by the federal government, that tells us what we’re suppose to value and what we choose.”
“Having said that experience as a nurse, as a doctor, as the Director of Iowa Department of Public Health, which has community based resources and interventions, and then as a veteran. As a nurse in the military, as well as a doctor in the military, I have a wide variety of experience and knowledge that very few people have in Washington D.C. currently,” said Miller-Meeks.
“Number one, to be able to even read the law you put in place. Number two, not to exempt people from the law, ie, Congress and its staffers. Seems to me they are a little out of touch with the common Iowan or American,” Miller-Meeks added. “I think this experience can be transplanted to D.C. and really put in place policies that are a benefit to all of us.”
Nick Clarksen, Political/Finance Director for Loebsack for Congress commented on Miller-Meeks announcement. “Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ Tea Party views will play well with the extreme members of her party. But when the people of Iowa’s Second District recognize that she wants to privatize Social Security and prevent hard working Iowa families from getting the raise they deserve, they will realize how reckless she is. The people of Iowa deserve someone like Dave Loebsack who will fight for seniors, hardworking families and those who do not have a voice in Washington.”
Dave Loebsack is Iowa’s Democrat Incumbent currently serving the Second Congressional District, which includes Oskaloosa and Mahaska County.
Miller-Meeks commented on Clarksen’s comments. “Maybe that’s why we have such problems in Washington D.C. That we have people that are willing to continue to divide people, to separate them, to pigeon hole them into classifications, to have a divisive attitude and not bring us together to find common sense pragmatic solutions that work for all of us.”
You can find out more about Miller-Meeks at www.millermeeks.com
