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Progressive Democrats have taken on former President Barack Obama after claiming that political candidates alienate voters when they use “catchy” slogans such as “defund the police.”
Obama made the comments during an interview with Peter Hamby on the original Snapchat political show “Good Luck America” which aired Wednesday morning.
“You’ve lost a large following the minute you say it, making it a lot less likely that you’re actually getting the changes you wanted,” Obama said. “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?”
His comments drew a sharp rebuke from several progressive Democrats.
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“We are losing people to the police,” said Representative Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. “This is not a slogan, but a political request. And focusing the demand for investments and fair budgets for communities across the country allows us to move forward and ensure safety.
Other members of the so-called “squad” joined Omar in pushing back on Obama’s comments.
“Rosa Parks has been vilified and attacked for her civil disobedience. She was targeted. It’s hard to see the same people who uplift their courage, attacking the movement for the lives of black people who want us to prioritize health, funding schools and eradicating poverty, rather than racist systems of police, ”representative Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich tweeted.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., Said she was “at the end of her tether” with criticism of the language used by activists.
“The murders of generations of unarmed blacks by the police have been horrific,” she tweeted. “Lives are on the line every day, so I am not patient with criticism of the language of activists. Everything a grieving family says is their truth. And I will never stop fighting for their righteousness and their healing.
Representative-elect Cori Bush, D-Mo., Echoed this sentiment, saying the movement is not a slogan but a “mandate to keep our people alive.” Bush cited the deadly murders of Breonna Taylor at her Kentucky home in March and of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014 (the Missouri Democrat has previously said Ferguson’s protests pushed her into politics ).
“With all due respect, Mr. President – let’s talk about losing people,” Bush tweeted. “We have lost Michael Brown Jr. We have lost Breonna Taylor. We are losing our loved ones to police violence. This is not a slogan. It is a mandate to keep our people alive. Defund the police. “
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The “defeat the police” movement – redirecting police funds to other government agencies – gained traction among activists after the death of George Floyd in May. Cities across the country, including New York City, Los Angeles and Portland, have already reallocated funds from their police department budgets.
But Obama is not the only top Democrat to suggest that the “defund the police” movement is politically unpopular.
Democrats, who held a 35-seat House advantage ahead of the election, will see their majority shrink by at least six seats, making it one of the slimmest margins in decades, after a better-than-expected performance Republicans on the decline. .
In the weeks following the election, Democrats passed blame on who was ultimately responsible for the poor performance, in which the party lost a number of freshman representatives who won in the 2018 midterm election. , in part by reaching the districts Trump won in 2016.
The moderates pointed the finger at their colleagues who embraced the movement “defund the police” and not to push back socialism harder.
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“I think the ability, using terms like ‘defund the police’, has led to Democratic losses over the past year,” said Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., In an interview with UMOA.
Representative Jim Clyburn, the House majority whip and top black lawmaker in Congress, said the slogan risked losing public support for Black Lives Matter and other leftist movements.
“I have spoken out very publicly and strongly against slogans,” Clyburn, DS.C., said in a CNN “State of the Union” interview. He compared it to the slogan “burn, baby, burn” that became popular during the 1965 Watts Riots in Los Angeles, and which Clyburn said cost support for the Nonviolent Student Coordinating Committee.
“We can’t take these things back just because it makes the headlines, sometimes it destroys progress,” he said. “We need to work on what makes progress rather than what makes the headlines.”
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