Statement Regarding Events Surrounding the Death of George Floyd

​The Polk County Democratic Party has watched in anguish and anger as events continue to unfold following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Recent actions by the President of the United States have exacerbated the situation, threatened the liberties of Americans, and sought to divide us neighbor from neighbor.

We wish to make our position clear:

We recognize the centuries-old pestilence of systemic racism and are committed to rectifying it through constructive change.

We support Americans’ First Amendment rights to assemble and petition the government peacefully.

We reject the use of violence and destruction, either as a means of protest or as a cudgel against peaceful demonstrators.

We stand in disbelief and fury at the president’s deployment of our military against peaceful protesters.

We are enraged by the president’s unjustified forceful clearing of lawfully assembled citizens from Lafayette Park in Washington, DC.

We deplore the president’s use of a church and a Bible as a backdrop and prop for a self-aggrandizing photo opportunity.

We denounce as dangerous and absurd the Defense Secretary’s characterization of protest areas as battle spaces to be dominated. 

We endorse former Vice President Joe Biden’s statement that we are facing formidable enemies which include not only the coronavirus and the terrible impacts on Americans’ lives and livelihoods, but also the selfishness and fear that have loomed over our national life for the last three years.

We do indeed find ourselves in a battle for the soul of America.

Each person must search their heart and soul for their own response. Will we give in to the forces of anger, hatred, fear and division? Or will we reject those forces, reach out to those who are different from us, and commit to move forward together as a nation?

Those of us in the Polk County Democratic Party have made our decision. We will continue to embrace diversity, address the wrongs of the past, seek to understand one another, support constructive change, and do our part to form a more perfect union. If you feel the same way, we invite you to join us.