Battleground Democrat Called Patriotism ‘Sensitive and Controversial’ in Resurfaced Newsletter

Liberty Check

• Iowa Democrat Christina Bohannan described patriotism as “sensitive and controversial” weeks after January 6 in a resurfaced 2021 newsletter
• Bohannan questioned the meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance while criticizing Republicans for “co-opting” patriotism
• The former state rep is seeking a rematch against Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks in one of America’s most competitive House races

A Democrat running in one of the nation’s tightest congressional races is facing renewed scrutiny after a 2021 newsletter surfaced showing she called patriotism “sensitive and controversial” while questioning what the Pledge of Allegiance really means.

Former Iowa State Rep. Christina Bohannan of Iowa City, who is mounting a second challenge against incumbent Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, wrote the comments in a newsletter published just weeks after the January 6 Capitol riot. In it, she also criticized the politics surrounding an Iowa bill mandating the Pledge of Allegiance in schools—a bill she ultimately supported.

“I acknowledge that patriotism is a sensitive and controversial subject,”

Bohannan wrote in the newsletter, while claiming she remains patriotic herself.

“Many progressives have turned away from it. And I see the point, especially when the concept of patriotism has been so co-opted and distorted by the other side,”

she wrote, referring to Republicans.

The resurfaced newsletter comes as recent polling reveals a deepening partisan divide over displays of patriotism. AP polling released in June found that about six in 10 Democrats and independents said they never fly the American flag, while roughly seven in 10 Republicans said they display it at least on holidays.

Bohannan argued that the right approach is to “not cede patriotism to anyone” but instead restore its definition as a belief in “democratic ideals of America and a willingness to fight to make those ideals a reality.”

She went on to critique a February 2021 Republican-led bill requiring the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in public and certain private schools. The bill passed 91-3-6 with Bohannan voting in favor, but her newsletter revealed significant reservations.

“It was clear that many of our Democratic members in swing districts would risk their seats for voting ‘no’ on this bill. And even if those members voted for it, they would still be held accountable if other members of our caucus voted ‘no’. That is how deep the concept of patriotism runs,”

Bohannan wrote.

“But we can reframe the issue in a way that is true to our values.”

In floor remarks at the time, Bohannan said she supported the bill not because she wanted children to “mechanically” recite the oath but because she wanted to give them the opportunity to “think critically” about the words and whether the U.S. is “living up to them.”

“For example, the pledge is not just to the flag, but to the republic for which it stands. So our kids might ask whether our republic can last when our leaders fail to denounce those who subvert our democracy,”

she said.

Bohannan’s campaign manager, Dan Driscoll, defended her record, saying she “absolutely stands by her vote to require the pledge of allegiance in Iowa schools and her passionate defense of patriotism and the greatness of our country and democracy.”

He added that in Congress she would “fight to clean up Washington, enact term limits, and get corporate money out of our elections”—taking a shot at Miller-Meeks for being “funded by millions in special interest contributions while voting to raise drug, healthcare, and energy costs.”

Miller-Meeks, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and medic, fired back sharply.

“Patriotism has never been controversial to me, not in the 24 years I served this country, and not now. Bohannan and her DSA allies are free to call loving America ‘controversial,’ but they have no business representing Iowa,”

Miller-Meeks told Fox News Digital.

Zach Kraft, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, said Bohannan’s comments were predictable given her previous support for the left-wing “1619 Project.”

“Leave it to the Queen of DEI to hate America. Only a true woke warrior like Christina Bohannan could find patriotism offensive but see nothing wrong with calling Iowans backwards for believing in basic biology,”

Kraft said.

Bohannan previously warned against a bill prohibiting diversity and “implicit bias” training at schools and universities statewide, calling Iowa potentially “backward” if it passed.

“I think that it is going to be very divisive if passed. I think that it’s going to send a very bad message about Iowa and that it is going to seem like we are kind of this backwards state that doesn’t understand there are things like systemic racism,”

she said on a podcast.

Miller-Meeks previously defeated Bohannan by about six percentage points in 2022. But the Democrat narrowly lost in 2024 in a race that triggered a recount and resulted in Miller-Meeks being re-elected by about 800 votes.

The district, which includes Davenport and Iowa City—home to the University of Iowa—is competing with Rep. Zach Nunn’s district to the west for the distinction of being the most competitive in the state.

It’s time to push back.