DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Media Iowa Capitol Bureau) – Additional security fencing has been erected around the Democratic National Convention after some pro-Palestinian protesters broke through a fence at the convention’s kickoff on Monday.
A protest rally is planned for Tuesday evening in front of the Israeli consulate in Chicago.
Rita Hart, chairwoman of the Iowa Democratic Party, said the protesters marched right past her hotel.
With tensions growing outside the DNC in Chicago, Hart said the only way the party can get to a better position is to keep the dialogue going. “We are a big party. We are willing to face the difficult issues and talk to people who don’t always agree with us within our own party and on the other side,” she said.
Senator Janice Weiner of Iowa City believes there is room for discussion in the party. “We are not people who focus on just one issue. We are capable of having more than just one idea, one thought, one disagreement in our heads,” she said.
Weiner says the way to resolve the divisions in the party is to keep the conversation going. “We deal with it by acknowledging it, by welcoming everyone, by having the difficult conversations and by understanding that we’re not going to solve everything right away,” Weiner said.
Megan Goldberg, a professor of political science at Cornell University, says these protests could work. “There’s a lot of evidence that protests can be an effective way to push a candidate further down the political spectrum toward what you want,” she said.
According to Goldberg, the Democratic Party has not faced many protests recently. In recent years, there have been protests by Democrats against former President Donald Trump, but no protests by Democrats against their own party. She says this could pose a challenge for the Democratic Party in how to handle these protests.
Goldberg adds that Harris will likely have to address the issue directly at some point.
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Conner Hendricks covers state government and politics for Gray Media-owned stations in Iowa. Email to [email protected]; and follow him on Facebook at Conner Hendricks TV or on X/Twitter @ConnerReports.
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