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He's right. Not only was it a bad slogan, it was a bad idea — cutting police budgets doesn't reduce police brutality. https://www.slowboring.com/p/defund-police-is-a-bad-idea-not-a
It didn't just give the GOP ammunition, it distracted the country from debating proven, effective policies to hold cops accountable. https://twitter.com/geoffrbennett/status/1337113474615435266
It didn't just give the GOP ammunition, it distracted the country from debating proven, effective policies to hold cops accountable. https://twitter.com/geoffrbennett/status/1337113474615435266
In fairness, you can't blame activists for not working as party operatives, and you also can't blame them for having more messaging reach than the Dems, who organizationally shit the bed all sorts of ways this year.
But you CAN blame them for pushing a reform that won't work.
But you CAN blame them for pushing a reform that won't work.
Tons of cities have curbed police violence in recent years. Some enacted citizen review boards, tougher surveillance and reporting for use of force — a few even derecognized corrupt police unions and rebuilt their depts from scratch.
Know what they DIDN'T do? Defund the police.
Know what they DIDN'T do? Defund the police.
The fact is, America already has fewer police per capita than most Western countries (it's prisons and COs that make up the bulk of our law enforcement spending).
And there is no correlation between number of police and police shootings — but there IS a correlation with crime.
And there is no correlation between number of police and police shootings — but there IS a correlation with crime.
As @mattyglesias points out, one of the real casualties of "defund the police" was it sucked the oxygen out of debating other criminal justice reform.
The 8 Can't Wait movement had several proposals for reform after George Floyd's death, which all faded into background noise.
The 8 Can't Wait movement had several proposals for reform after George Floyd's death, which all faded into background noise.
