Indiana Democratic Party 12-5-20 Weekly Radio Address

Chairman John Zody and the Indiana Democratic Party 12-5-20 Weekly Radio Address:

This third wave of COVID-19 is arriving in full force, and while the number of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths have skyrocketed in Indiana — it’s been discouraging to see the Indiana Republican Party, led by Governor Eric Holcomb, effectively waving the white flag.

TRANSCRIPT:

This is Chairman John Zody, bringing you the weekly message for the Indiana Democratic Party.

Many of us understand the holiday season this year is looking a little different than in years past — all due to the COVID-19 pandemic that’s currently gripping all of us across Indiana. 

It bears repeating — there’s still no cure for COVID-19, and even as we’re gearing up for the distribution of the upcoming vaccines, we must remain vigilant and patient at this time — because by many accounts, we’re entering the worst phase of this pandemic.

This third wave of COVID-19 is arriving in full force, and while the number of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths have skyrocketed in Indiana — it’s been discouraging to see the Indiana Republican Party, led by Governor Eric Holcomb, effectively waving the white flag. 

I’m not putting this lightly or making political hay out of it — what I’m saying is based in fact. Indiana is second per capita in hospitalizations throughout the entire nation. Only South Dakota has it worse than us. To make matters more difficult, Indiana just this week again shattered its record of daily cases — registering more than 8,500 cases in one day. 

These figures are coming in before the expected post-holiday surge from Thanksgiving. 

So what’s Governor Holcomb doing to protect us from this pandemic? Absolutely nothing. He told the state just this week that Indiana would “never be able to do enough” to fight back against COVID. Holcomb also said that he didn’t even want to reflect or alter the work from this year to better protect families for the winter. 

Hoosiers expect their elected officials to do the work — no matter how challenging — to look after them, and yet, we’re not seeing that from the Indiana Republican Party. Instead, they are seeing politicians like U.S. Senator Mike Braun take advantage of this confidence the state has handed the GOP.

Instead of working overtime to pass a new COVID-19 relief package before the New Year, Senator Braun focused his time on questioning the legitimacy of this year’s elections. 

You heard that right. More than 5,700 Hoosiers have died from the COVID-19 virus, and Mike Braun believes it’s best to coddle an outgoing President who’d rather complain about losing an election than putting the lives of our families first. 

Senator Braun’s political efforts were published in an op-ed this week, and when pressed about the accuracy of his claims, the Senator decided to peddle debunked conspiracy theories and discredit the U.S. Constitution and the democracy we all enjoy and live in. 

The move was performative politics at its worst and should have no place in Indiana politics — yet alone an elected official. Hoosiers trust their elected officials to look after them, not play the typical Washington, D.C. games that so many of us have grown to loathe and tune out. So I’m ending this week’s message by saying this: We must work overtime to help our neighbors and friends understand that what they’re seeing in their elected officials is not acceptable. When all of us cast our ballots last month — we did so hoping that whoever won would put their country and its safety ahead of rhetorical politics. 

This is the new fight we have in Indiana. Issues are important, but it’s become clear the Democrats’ fight moving forward is about restoring decency again in our daily discourse. 

I hope you can join the Democrats in this new effort. And let’s do what we can to look after one another during what’s expected to be some of our darkest days ahead. 

Mask up. Wash your hands. And stay safe, Hoosiers.

Thank you for listening.