White House press secretary Jen Psaki continues to perpetuate the lie that Republicans were the political party set on defunding the police. The White House spin machine appears to be working overtime to ensure this false narrative takes off, but evidence shows that Democrats, not Republicans, are the ones who always wanted to defund the police.
Ever since calls of “all cops are b-stards” and “defund the police” made their way to center stage during the summer of rage in 2020, Democrat-led city councils in Austin, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Baltimore, and Minneapolis voted to divert funds away from law enforcement. Despite the recent national and local crime surge in murders, carjackings, and shootings, the City Council of Oakland, California voted last week to defund their police department by almost $18 million.
Other Democrat-led cities that chose to slash their policing budgets last summer, such as San Francisco, are now struggling to meet residents’ demands for higher police presence at the police department’s primary station amid a 36.7 percent increase in killings and a 753 percent increase in car break-ins. Now, Democrat Mayor London Breed has plans to increase policing in high-crime areas less than a year after proudly proposing a $120 million cut from the police and sheriff’s department budget.
Countless Democrat politicians and candidates have also used “defund the police” as part of their brand and platform. Just last week, progressive activist India Walton ousted longtime Democrat Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown after focusing her socialist-endorsed campaign on pulling funds from law enforcement.
Less money spent on policing means more money for youth employment, after school programs, and education.
If we want real public safety we need to invest in our communities, not keep throwing more police at the problem. pic.twitter.com/ulacgKUUS4
— India Walton From Buffalo (@Indiawaltonbflo) May 18, 2021
Other sitting politicians such as “squad” members Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib have egged on demands to defund the police and offered their own extreme statements about law enforcement.
“Defunding police means defunding police. It does not mean budget tricks or funny math,” AOC said in June 2020.
“Policing in our country is inherently & intentionally racist,” Tlaib tweeted in April. “Daunte Wright was met with aggression & violence. I am done with those who condone government funded murder. No more policing, incarceration, and militarization. It can’t be reformed.”
It wasn't an accident. Policing in our country is inherently & intentionally racist.
Daunte Wright was met with aggression & violence. I am done with those who condone government funded murder.
No more policing, incarceration, and militarization. It can't be reformed.
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) April 12, 2021
The informal progressive coalition’s comments do not stand alone. New York Democrat Rep. Jamaal Bowman often calls for defunding law enforcement, which he claims is “more concerned with protecting white supremacy than serving the communities that pay their salaries.”
Too many police in our country are more concerned with protecting white supremacy than serving the communities that pay their salaries. https://t.co/yDdUuw0GRv
— Jamaal Bowman (@JamaalBowmanNY) March 17, 2021
The accusations don’t end there. According to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s senior adviser, Capitol Police are “white supremacists” and deserve to be defunded. The same committee’s technology office alleged that police are the “modern day slave patrol.”
