Democrat operatives were scrambling, once again, to do damage-control following unequivocal calls from the fringes of their party to completely abolish law-enforcement and end incarceration.
They attempted to downplay a series of tweets from Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., in response to the recent shooting of Daunte Wright, insisting that the Squad-member’s off-message diatribe was a mere misunderstanding.
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 top cop in Tlaib’s home district was among those to condemn her attack, calling it a “disgusting knee-jerk response,” the Detroit News reported.
“To say policing should be abolished gives no consideration to the people who live in our neighborhoods who rely on police to provide service,” said Detroit police chief James Craig, who is black.
“What happens to those folks? What about the victims?” he continued. “The people who live in our city don’t want to abolish the police, so the million-dollar question is: Who does she represent?”
While left-wing activists have colluded with corporate special-interests and the mainstream media to paint a deceptive picture of “systemic” racism in America, using law-enforcement as their launch pad, the thought of abolishing police remains deeply unpopular on both sides of the aisle.
According to the Hill, recent polling showed that only 1 in 5 supported the idea of defunding police departments.
Moreover, Democrats’ apparent openness to it in several far-left cities may have contributed to an unexpectedly poor showing in congressional races during the 2020 election.
Although President Joe Biden’s certified victory eclipsed that of his former boss, Barack Obama, by more than 10 million votes—making Biden the most popular president in recorded history—House Democrats somehow suffered a net loss of seats that brought the margin of their majority into single digits.
Even in places where defunding police had strong support, though, its popularity seems to have waned.
Some cities that initially passed defunding measures—such as Portland, Oregon—have now backtracked amid skyrocketing rates of violent crime.
“This is music to the Republican minority’s ears in Washington,” GOP strategist Ford O’Connell told the Hill. “That is more powerful for Republicans than any perfectly scripted message.”
Many on the Democrat side agreed. Whether they supported or opposed the idea of abolishing/defunding police in principle, left-wing spin-doctors cautioned that there was harm to be had in saying it aloud.
“The one thing we cannot allow is for Republicans to use this as a weapon of mass distraction,” Democrat strategist Antjuan Seawright told the Hill. “Or as a weapon of mass political destruction as they have done in the past.”
Seawright wasn’t the only one attempting a counter-deflection to blame Republicans for capitalizing on Tlaib’s blunder as the Left sought to milk the tragic circumstances of Wright’s death for political gain.
Others fell back on Democrats’ No. 1 standby when rational explanations run dry: race-baiting.
“Republicans in Congress have spun racist lies and chosen to demagogue on this issue even days after the police killing of unarmed, 20-year-old,” said Chris Taylor, spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
“… Having a justice system that treats each American citizen fairly and impartially should not be a partisan issue,” he added in a last-gasp attempt to reframe the question.
Such a system would not be in effect under Democrats’ abolish-the-police proposals.
Taylor’s boss, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-NY, who chairs the DCCC, further tried to muddle the issue and confuse constituents.
Although no Republicans had indicated that the “defund” controversy was linked to any legislation passed during the previous session of Congress, Maloney vigorously denied their non-allegations.
“There are a number of attacks that were caricatures and lies lodged by the Republicans that may have had an effect,” Maloney began.
“… The fact is that the legislation that came out of 116th Congress … not one had anything to do with socialism or defunding the police,” he reassured Americans. “… I’m proud of what we’ve passed.”
Tragically, some have speculated that the defunding of police in Minneapolis, following the death of George Floyd while in police custody last year, might have played a part in Wright’s unintentional shooting during a routine traffic stop on Sunday.
The over-stressed officers left to carry the burden may have been unable to adequately rehearse dealing with high-pressure situations.
Now-former officer Kim Potter, a 26-year veteran of the Brooklyn Center police force, repeatedly shouted warnings that she intended to use her Taser to stun Wright before shooting the 20-year-old as he appeared on the verge of fleeing.
Wright had been pulled over for an expired registration tag but was discovered to have had an outstanding warrant.
