Progressives Fire Back At Obama Over ‘Defund The Police’ Slogan: ‘It’s Not A Slogan. It’s A Mandate’
Michael Cantrell
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Progressives in Congress, including various members of the infamous socialist “Squad,” are pushing back against comments made by former President Barack Obama who criticized their use of the slogan “defund the police,” stating that it alienates people.
During a Snapchat talk given on Tuesday night, the former president mocked the efforts being pushed to defund police departments, criticizing Democrats for taking on the slogan and then suggesting they had no intention of actually taking away funding from any law enforcement departments.
He said that what they really meant was “reforming law enforcement,” but the rhetoric panicked voters.
“You lost a big audience the minute you say it, which makes it a lot less likely that you’re actually going to get the changes you want done,” Obama told “Good Luck America.” “The key is deciding, do you want to actually get something done, or do you want to feel good among the people you already agree with?”
Some Democrats, indeed, admitted, after noticing how deeply unpopular defunding and disbanding police departments was among key voters — including minority voters — that they had no intention of actually “defunding” the police. But far-left progressives like Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) insisted, Wednesday, that they fully intend to follow through on their promise to end ‘racist” policing.
Omar was the first to fire back, tweeting that, “We lose people in the hands of police. It’s not a slogan but a policy demand. And centering the demand for equitable investments and budgets for communities across the country gets us progress and safety.”
Tlaib went on to suggest in her tweet that Obama and his comments were somehow threatening the legacy of civil rights icon Rosa Parks because he was siding with police against progressive reformers.
“Rosa Parks was vilified & attacked for her civil disobedience. She was targeted,” Tlaib said. “It’s hard seeing the same people who uplift her courage, attack the movement for Black lives that want us to prioritize health, funding of schools & ending poverty, rather than racist police systems.”
Another member of the Squad, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, also lashed out at Obama.
“The murders of generations of unarmed Black folks by police have been horrific,” she posted on Twitter. “Lives are at stake daily so I’m out of patience with critiques of the language of activists. Whatever a grieving family says is their truth. And I’ll never stop fighting for their justice & healing.”
As you can see, folks have become so radical in Congress now that even Obama is coming across as a moderate. That’s absolutely terrifying.
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