Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, also known as AOC, said the “defund the police” slogan should not be toned down for white voters.
AOC: “Poll-Tested Slogans” Not The Job Of Activists
In a thread on Twitter, AOC addressed the recent call to “defund the police” that has come from Black Lives Matter activists and Democrat politicians over the recent weeks since the riots sparked off by the death of George Floyd.
AOC claimed that “defunding” the police simply meant that “Black & Brown communities are asking for the same budget priorities that White communities have already created for themselves: schooling > police,etc,” and that “people asked in other ways, but were always told ‘No, how do you pay for it?’ So they found the line item.”
“Lots of DC insiders are criticizing frontline activists over political feasibility and saying they need a new slogan,” she continued. However, she went on to argue that “poll-tested slogans and electoral feasibility” is not the job of activists, with their priorities simply being to “organize support and transform public opinion, which they are doing.”
“Defund” means that Black & Brown communities are asking for the same budget priorities that White communities have already created for themselves: schooling > police,etc.
People asked in other ways, but were always told “No, how do you pay for it?”
So they found the line item.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 9, 2020
AOC criticized the fact that some people were “scrambling to repackage this whole conversation to make it palatable for largely affluent, white suburban ‘swing’ voters,” arguing that it “points to how much more electoral & structural power these communities have relative to others.”
Our job as policymakers is to take the public’s mandate and find + create pockets to advance as much progress as possible.
Progress takes a team of different roles. You don’t criticize a pitcher for not being a catcher.
We can respond in ways that don’t undercut impt work
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 9, 2020
I agree with the goal. But "defund" is still a bad choice. It doesn't accurately convey the concept in a way that builds support. To people outside the movement, it sounds like supporters want to shut down the police entirely. It will limit the appeal of the idea.
— Chris O'Brien (@obrien) June 9, 2020
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This Speak Volumes!
It speaks volumes that AOC would not want the Democrat Party to tone down their rhetoric on the “defund the police,” slogan. While she claims that this is simply about a tactical choice of words, implying that the police departments would never be completely dismantled, this couldn’t be further from the truth. The far-left activists are literally working on this right now in Minneapolis, fully defunding the police. It’s not simply “asking for the same budget priorities,” and she knows that darn well.
People are going to take this literally, which is exactly what she wants. This is more proof that AOC hates ordinary Americans and the ability to keep themselves safe.