Ode to Miller-Meeks

By Tom Cook

Two more years in Congress you seek.

But many are shaken by the path you have taken.

And your actions don’t match what you speak.

When women did lose the right to choose,

you were happy to celebrate!

Not for rape, nor for incest, nor life of the mother,

you want a ban for every state.

Regarding conception, there has been some deception.

You voted for the Life at Conception Act.

But in vitro fertilization has caused consternation.

Now you’re trying to take it all back.

About corporate and millionaire tax, you’ve been lax.

You support cutting the IRS budget.

Do you think we should give — every rich executive

a big yacht and his own private jet?

You’ve joined the fights against workers’ rights,

voting against the Right to Organize Act.

Below the poverty line, the minimum wage is not fine.

But you choose to ignore that simple fact.

Thanks for your personal military service.

But your vote against burn pits leaves vets quite nervous.

You claim you are fighting for veterans each day.

Again, your actions don’t match what you say.

Iowa’s roads and bridges are the worst in the nation.

Yet you voted against infrastructure legislation.

Is it more important to support party unity

or invest in every Iowa community?

For big donors and company owners,

cuts to Medicare and Social Security might be fine.

But for those older, not healthy, or not very wealthy,

these programs are a lifeline.

It seems insane to not support Ukraine.

They’re fighting for freedom each day.

We can’t let Putin use pain for political gain.

That’s not the American way.

Big Pharma really likes you, a lot.

Based on how you vote, why not?

Against lower prices and capping the cost,

if we all pay more, there’s more profit, less lost.

With Big Pharma generously supporting your campaign,

there’s one hundred thirty thousand reasons not to complain.

The southern border’s been a problem for years.

Then a bipartisan plan led us to cheers!

Those immigrants are not carrying drugs in their packs,

rather, it’s their kids that cling to their backs.

Chaos and persecution they’re leaving behind,

just like your ancestors and mine.

But not even allowing a vote — a tragic loss,

inaction ordered by the party boss.

We have seen too much theater by a would-be dictator.

You’ve been part of his supporting cast.

Revenge and hate do not make a country great.

We need to look to the future, not rewrite the past.

There are many more issues to be considered,

issues on which you just have not delivered.

We do not question your effort; you’ve done your best.

Too bad you did it at others’ request.

With Christina Bohannan the future looks bright.

Honest and open, she will do what’s right.

When she goes to Congress, she’ll make “good” trouble,

not get swallowed up in the Washington bubble.

Enjoy your home in Ottumwa and its fifty acres.

It’s time for a new group of “movers and shakers.”

Abe Lincoln said it, although not in a rhyme,

“You can’t fool all of the people all of the time.”