Obama: criminal justice reformers ‘lost a large audience’ by defeating police rhetoric



[ad_1]

“The key is to decide, do you really want to do something or do you want to feel good among the people you already agree with?” he added. “And if you want to do something in a democracy, in a country as large and diverse as ours, you have to be able to meet people where they are. And play an addition game, not a subtraction game. ”

The former president is the latest prominent Democratic leader to voice his disapproval of the divisive political phrase, which gained recognition over the summer amid nationwide protests against racial injustice and police brutality. Supporters of postponing police funding have called for taxpayer dollars to be diverted from law enforcement and into mental health services and other social safety net resources.

President Donald Trump and the Republicans who voted down have seized calls for police deregistration ahead of the 2020 election in an attempt to portray Democrats as anti-repressive and insufficiently harsh on looters and rioters.

And after disappointing results last month by Democratic House and Senate candidates in competitive races across the country, many party members blamed the GOP message for their losses, claiming Democrats had failed does enough to distance himself from the rhetoric of “defund the police”.

Meanwhile, Black Lives Matter activists who support systemic changes in law enforcement have fended off Democratic accusations that “the police have lost the police” have cost the party at the polls.

Democratic Congressional leaders, including President Nancy Pelosi (D-California) and House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (DS.C.), have rejected the phrase, as has President-elect Joe Biden – who has ostensibly stated that he did not support police funding and campaigned on a criminal justice plan that included $ 300 million in additional funding for police departments.

[ad_2]

Source link