Name: Squad blasts Obama for ‘critique’ on ‘defund the police’ slogan
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Squad blasts Obama for ‘critique’ on ‘defund the police’ slogan

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By | Former President Barack Obama is drawing some progressive ire after warning in a new interview that politicians and activists lose support when using “snappy” slogans like “defund the police.”Obama addressed the rallying cry to “defund the police” — a slogan that gained voice among protesters who took to the streets over the summer to decry police violence — during a Snapchat interview with journalist Peter Hamby released Wednesday.“If you believe, as I do, that we should be able to reform the criminal justice system so that it’s not biased and treats everybody fairly, I guess you can use a snappy slogan like ‘defund the police,’” Obama said. “But you know you’ve 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 advocated for programs that would divert young people from criminal activity and dispatch mental health workers instead of officers to respond to certain situations to promote better outcomes.“The key is deciding: Do you actually want to get something done? Or do you want to feel good among the people you already agree with?” Obama said. “You’ve got to meet people where they are and play a game of addition and not subtraction.”Obama’s comments drew swift rebuke from some of the nation’s leading progressives, including members of the “squad.”“We lose people in the hands of police. It’s not a slogan but a policy demand,” U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., tweeted in response to an article containing Obama’s comments. “And centering the demand for equitable investments and budgets for communities across the country gets us progress and safety.”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.— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN)U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., tweeted, “The murders of generations of unarmed Black folks by police have been horrific. Lives are at stake daily so I’m out of patience with critiques of the language of activists.”The murders of generations of unarmed Black folks by police have been horrific. 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 &amp; healing.— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley)U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., argued that “police budgets are exploding, community resources are shrinking to bankroll it” and that people “brought this up for ages but it wasn’t until they said ‘defund’ that comfortable people started paying (attention) to brutality.”What if activists aren’t PR firms for politicians &amp; their demands are bc police budgets are exploding, community resources are shrinking to bankroll it, &amp; ppl brought this up for ages but it wasn’t until they said “defund” that comfortable people started paying attn to brutality— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC)Congresswoman-elect Cori Bush, D-Mo., said “defund the police” is “not a slogan” but a “mandate for keeping our people alive.”“With all due respect, Mr. President—let’s talk about losing people. We lost Michael Brown Jr. We lost Breonna Taylor. We’re losing our loved ones to police violence,” Bush . “It’s not a slogan. It’s a mandate for keeping our people alive. Defund the police.”Obama isn’t the first high-profile Democrat to in the wake of the 2020 election.If “we are going to run on ‘Medicare for All,’ defund the police, socialized medicine, we’re not going to win,” House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., reportedly said on a Democratic caucus call shortly after Election Day.We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. We reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.Sign up for email newslettersFollow UsMost PopularClose

By | Former President Barack Obama is drawing some progressive ire after warning in a new interview that politicians and activists lose support when using “snappy” slogans like “defund the police.”Obama addressed the rallying cry to “defund the police” — a slogan that gained voice among protesters who took to the streets over the summer to decry police violence — during a Snapchat interview with journalist Peter Hamby released Wednesday.“If you believe, as I do, that we should be able to reform the criminal justice system so that it’s not biased and treats everybody fairly, I guess you can...

Squad blasts Obama for ‘critique’ on ‘defund the police’ slogan

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