Why 'Defund The Police' Attacks Were So Potent Against Democrats

[Gothmog]

I personally support reforms to the police. I worked hard and we got a good Democrat elected as District Attorney in my county two years ago and this cycle we got a good man elected as sheriff of my county. Our new DA has made a tremendous amount of difference in my county and I believe that the new Sheriff will also help. However, it is clear that we lost races that we should not have lost Defund the police was used very effectively by the GOP in down ballot races. A good number of races that Democrats should have won were lost due to this issue.

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

The GOP ran a ton of ads using this issue

Sure enough, Republicans saw an opportunity. Painting Democrats as supporters of “defunding” the police became the focus of campaign literature, TV and digital ads, and live televised debates. That forced Democratic candidates to divert resources that might otherwise be used discussing COVID-19 relief, health care or education to be used disavowing themselves from the slogan and otherwise defending themselves.

Out of 31 broadcast TV ads that Trump and other allied campaign groups used to attack Biden and other Democrats for being soft on law and order, 11 spots ― that aired a total of 77,647 times ― explicitly mentioned “defund the police,” according to an analysis Kantar Media/CMAG conducted for HuffPost. And out of 216 Republican broadcast TV ads in congressional races blasting Democrats, 157 spots that aired 103,000 times used the phrase.

I was disappointed to seen Susan Collins re-elected. It seems that Collins was able to use the "defund the police" issue very effectively

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and the GOP’s Senate campaign arm hit her Democratic opponent, Sara Gideon, in a TV ad for links to a “defund the police” billionaire. The basis for the ad was Gideon’s attendance at a fundraiser hosted by an environmental coalition that includes NextGen America. NextGen, funded by liberal billionaire Tom Steyer, supports defunding the police.

[LisaM]

1. Worst slogan ever.

I said that before, I will say it again. We need to dump that before the 2020 elections.

[Chicago1980]

2. Screaming 'defund the police' scared a lot of white folks...

Simple as that...

Especially those in the exurbs and rural areas.

The right is good at messaging that black people and George Soros is coming to get you...

[Ferrets are Cool]

3. Because the fuckheads have no problem LYING in their ads.

It was ALL a lie. Can we please stop rolling around in the dog shit that repugs threw up on the airwaves?

They LIED. LIED. LIED. They always will. Why don't we stop spreading them for them? Sheesh.

[Gothmog]

7. They also won a number of races that Democrats should have won

Democrats did not do well in down ballot races. We need to understand why these races were lost

[stillcool]

13. The races were lost because of how..

the people who live in those states chose to vote. Apparently it is necessary for the Democratic Party to start a media company to point out the falsehoods spread 24/7 by the GOP. I suppose they'll need to have bigger, better public relations firms to supply them with various talking points and conspiracy theories. I think it will be called something like the Third Way.

[Ferrets are Cool]

25. I just told you what the reason was.

Repugs LIE and people believe those lies. The question is what we can do about it.

[George II]

28. What are they lying about? Some of our candidates said just that and as expected....

....republicans jumped on it and used it against us Democrats.

[AmericanCanuck]

23. Why give them a reason to lie, twist and spin with incendiary comments

that could come and bite us in the ass?

[Ferrets are Cool]

26. Who is giving them a reason to lie?

Show me where "defund the police" was on a democratic platform or show me one democratic politician who ran ads advocating "defunding the police".

THEY FUCKING LIE!!!! The real question Democratic tactician's should be asking is how to disseminate the LIES they tell.

[AmericanCanuck]

42. I meant an opportunity to do so - not a reason

[Ferrets are Cool]

46. OK, let me change "reason" to opportunity and ask the same question.

Please answer my post if you can.

[CrispyQ]

4. If we don't hire a marketing department & get on top of messaging, we'll always be the underdogs.

Defund the police is a stupid phrase & easy to use against us.



WHERE IS OUR MARKETING DEPARTMENT?

[demosincebirth]

5. That is so true. Out cries like this should be stopped.

[AnyFunctioningAdult]

6. It was a horrible slogan

Moderate people who were saying things like "Defund does not actually mean defund" were being countermanded by the loud crazies on Twitter and "some" bad faith protestors who were constantly posting and yelling "Yes we literally do mean defund the police." Luckily Biden was able to be VERY direct and clear that he did not support that. It did cause issues in local and state elections though. It needs to be dropped immediately as a slogan by any rational people who want to win elections.

[stillcool]

8. Problem is protesters say lots of things...

the right-wing lifts something off a sign, and with help from their friends shoves it down the throat of the Democratic Party. And, other 'democrats', the base, join in and help, until it reaches a fevered pitch, and is accepted as reality. I wish I could find the humor in it.

[apnu]

9. What's interesting is every Democrat sprinted away from "Defund the Police"

Every. Single. One.

Yet the GOP successfully hung that albatross around our necks.

This was a total messaging fail.

I get that "Defund the Police" is a viral statement that took off on its own. But the Democratic Party needs improvement dealing with viral events like this.

The party should be out there crowing about police reform, and be ready to explain what that is. Which can be literally everything that was suggested under "Defund the Police": sending case workers or psychiatrists out with cops to handle domestic disputes or obvious mental health issues for example.

Messaging is far more important than the actual policy or actions behind the message. This has always been true at every point in human history.

The Democratic party needs work in this area.

[Demsrule86]

16. No, they didn't...AOC had it on her website and I saw copy and paste ads...

[NurseJackie]

19. Yes. HUGE mistake.

SMH

[George II]

29. Yes:

https://www.ocasiocortez.com/issues#real-public-safety

Alexandria strongly supports:

H.R.5070 - A Just Society: The Mercy In Re-entry Act;

H.Res. 702 - The People’s Justice Guarantee;

Defunding police and investing in healthcare, housing, education and other services;

Ending qualified immunity for police and making police misconduct records public;

The use of clemency and emergency powers to reduce vulnerable populations and limit the spread of the Coronavirus in prison;

The release of individuals over the age of 50 currently serving a sentence of one year or less or serving time for a parole violation at Rikers Island.

[melman]

37. "investing in healthcare, housing, education and other services"

God forbid!

[George II]

38. (Duplicate post)

[George II]

39. We're discussing the damage that the slogan "defund the police" caused on November 3....

The contention was:

9. What's interesting is every Democrat sprinted away from "Defund the Police"

Every. Single. One.

My post showed that contention was incorrect.

Please don't change the subject. THANKS!!!!

[melman]

41. Two things

1. The idea that one part of sentence buried in a campaign website had any effect on anything is absurd. As you know.


2. Defunding the police is good and correct.

[George II]

43. Two things

1. It's not just a part of a sentence buried in a campaign website, it's a slogan that has been used over and over again throughout the campaign. As you know.

2. Defunding the police is bad and incorrect and many Democrats have redefined their position on that, realizing it's a bad idea.

[Progressive Jones]

10. Part of the problem is the inability of dummies to understand what it means.

Yes, poor choice of words from a marketing standpoint.

[janterry]

12. Some people who were protesting really mean

no police. We have people in our town saying just that.

I know it's not the majority, the problem is that there is no coherent message (yes, reform, yes, spend more on social services). But there needs to be a coherent message from the Democratic party (imo)

[Demsrule86]

17. It doesn't matter why...it worked against us.

[George II]

30. We had a Democratic candidate explain what it means:

An exact quote:

“Defunding police means defunding police,” the congresswoman said in a statement."

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/505307-ocasio-cortez-dismisses-proposed-1b-cut-defunding-police-means-defunding

[DinahMoeHum]

11. If you had to explain "defund the police", you flunked in your messaging.

Period.

[NurseJackie]

20. Yep. If you're explaining, you're losing. Simple as that.

[AmericanCanuck]

22. +1

[standingtall]

14. I'm going to say something that some people here may not like

The Defund Police slogan by itself was not enough to hurt Democrats it was accompanied by the Black Live Matters protest. While it was and still is a noble cause it had some toxic elements attached to it that republicans were able to exploit to cause many white voters additional racial anxiety. Some of those people were conflating any crime anywhere no matter how far away it was from any protest site with the Black Lives Matter protest.

[janterry]

27. I loved BLM for a long time

and I still agree, of course, with the overarching sentiment of making substantive changes that help POC. But, many of the protesters have no specific focus -no center. It's a problem.

The cause can be noble, but without leaders - an enumerated agenda - it's not enough to do justice to a movement that needs justice.

[gulliver]

15. The police aren't the problem; Republicanism is.

Police aren't brutal. Republicanized police are. Get rid of the bad Republican-backed laws, policies, and attitudes, and police will become sweetie pies fairly rapidly. The criminal justice system will no longer be mangled and corrupted. For-profit prisons will disappear.

Current bad police fall chiefly into two camps: 1) Good, but under-competent police forced to enforce bad laws and, 2) Rotten people attracted to law enforcement so they can use bad laws as pretexts for sadism and racism. Both of these types have something in common: bad laws. Our criminal justice system is ridiculously ruined by these simple- and evil-minded laws and policies.

Whenever anyone targets their ire at police they are making a huge mistake and playing into Republicanist hands. The Republicans and their worldwide rotten, misguided zeitgeist are the problem. We should focus on them. Reform the laws and systems that our misguided Republicanist fellow citizens cause to exist and good policing will follow. The demand for bad policing is killing us.

[lostnfound]

18. Tell me a mirror image. 'Why "Xxxx" attacks were so potent against Republicans'

Hand wringing and public shaming of right wing slogans, anyone?

No?

[AmericanCanuck]

21. Extreme positions are always losers

They only work in deep blue district safe seats and politicians from such districts need to temper their messages showing awareness that the rest of the country is not like them.

Unfortunately, some such politicians seek attention by making incendiary posts on twitter and play right into the hands of the evil GOP.

They need to realize that their agenda means nothing if the Democrats cannot win all across the country.

[kansasobama]

31. Whenever people say what you said

There will be lot of shouting against you becasue of what you said here. But, you are correct. Unfortunately liberal Democrats have not been able to learn about "tactics." Any chance for electing Barbara Bolier in KS or Bullock in MT went out of the window with Defund the Police and "sporadic" looting during BLM protests. Evil GOP had pictures of stray looting incidences and Defund the Police and that was it.

Why not "End Police Brutality" slogan? Why Defund the Police? It will take a while to recover from this. Remember "tax and spend" liberal slogan of the past. Biden should have a "Police Reform" bill in the first 2 years.

[Brainfodder]

24. Fear mongering the fools that are fearful for votes?

Never been done before!



Remove the incentives to entrap fellow citizens for "tax" purposes?

More serve and protect?

[hunter]

32. If it wan't that it would have been something else.

Her emails, anyone?

Racist shit heads are always going to come up for some stupid reason to vote like racist shit heads.

Too many people in the U.S.A. are racist shit heads.

I don't think we can really fix racist shit heads but we can shove them back into their closets.

The problem with Trump is that he gave racist shit heads permission to flaunt it.

If we crush Trump, expose him as the vile grifter he is, someone who has no respect for his followers, someone who in fact despises his followers as he robs them blind and rapes their daughters, then maybe these racist shit heads will sit out the next election. It's no bad thing if THEY think "both parties are the same" and quit voting.

[Gothmog]

33. We gave the GOP a very easy issue to use

From the article cited in the OP

As of June, just 27% of Americans supported “defunding the police,” compared with 57% who opposed it, according to a HuffPost/YouGov poll. At the same time, more moderate reforms ― such as banning chokeholds by law officers, creating a federal registry for complaints about police misconduct and developing a national use of force standard ― all had the support of large, bipartisan majorities of Americans.

“What other movement would take a set of policies that an overwhelming number of Americans support and slap an unpopular label on it?” asked Danny Barefoot, a Democratic consultant who worked on some Senate and state legislative races.

Sure enough, Republicans saw an opportunity. Painting Democrats as supporters of “defunding” the police became the focus of campaign literature, TV and digital ads, and live televised debates. That forced Democratic candidates to divert resources that might otherwise be used discussing COVID-19 relief, health care or education to be used disavowing themselves from the slogan and otherwise defending themselves.

[hunter]

34. Who is "we?"

Hell, I think many police departments should be completely disbanded and rebuilt from the ground up, putting the most violent cops on something equivalent to national sex offender lists so they can never again be hired as law enforcement officers, or even mall cops. Take away their privilege to own guns as well.

Does that make me the "we" of Democratic Underground?

I'm guessing very few posting people here would push that far.

Like I said, the racist shit heads will latch onto anything, even the words of one crazy guy on Democratic Underground.

And when there is nothing there, absolutely nothing, they will make something up.

[theaocp]

36. Could not agree more.

I recommend doing the same to them. They'll say what they want, but SLIME THEM IN RETURN.

[R B Garr]

35. Exactly. It was a gift to them, the easiest of lay ups.

79,000,000 MILLION voted for Biden. Around 100,000 vote for the squad in their districts. They should not be dictating national slogans.

Biden had the right instincts all along on how to appeal to the most voters. Defund the police is a slogan disaster.

[AmericanCanuck]

40. An easy gift because some liked to appear sensational on twitter

Twitter is not the country and elections are not won on twitter.

Even here I see OP after OP of attention seeking and extreme tweets and then the fan club cheers them as we lose elections.

Winning elections is far more important to get any of our agenda implemented. The bitterness of losing an election lasts a lot longer than the temporary pleasures and kicks some get from tweets.

[Sugarcoated]

44. I knew it

Hoped it wouldn't be as damaging as it was

[melman]

45. .

Link to tweet

[Gothmog]

48. Obama Says 'Defund The Police' Alienates Voters, Drawing Sharp Rebuke From The Left

I trust President Obama on this issue

Link to tweet

Former President Barack Obama drew criticism from progressive Democrats this week for suggesting that “snappy” slogans like “defund the police” are alienating voters and making it harder from a political standpoint to enact “changes you want done.”

In an interview with Peter Hamby, who hosts the Snapchat political show “Good Luck America,” Obama said “you [lose] a big audience the minute” a slogan like “defund the police” is used, making “it a lot less likely that you’re actually going to get the changes you want done.”

“Defund the police” refers to the reallocation or redirection of government funding from police departments to social services for minority communities. As Rashawn Ray of the Brookings Institution noted, defunding does not mean the abolishment of police departments but instead “highlights fiscal responsibility” and “advocates for a market-driven approach to taxpayer money.”....

Obama ― echoing other centrist Democrats who’ve similarly taken issue with “defund the police” and what they’ve decried as radical messaging ― told Hamby that Democrats could benefit from adopting softer rhetoric when talking about police reform.

“If you instead say, ‘Hey, you know what? Let’s reform the police department so that everybody’s being treated fairly. And not just in policing, but in sentencing, how can we divert young people from getting into crime?’” he said.

[Gothmog]

47. Democrats Grapple with Downballot Losses

Democrats lost a good number of downballot races that we should had won https://politicalwire.com/2020/11/22/democrats-grapple-with-downballot-losses/

“Heading into the election, Democrats dreamed it would go something like Star Wars, with rebel forces blowing up the Death Star and celebrating in the streets as a blue wave swept them into power in Washington and state capitals across the country,” NBC News reports.

“But President-Elect Joe Biden’s victory ended up looking more like the horror movie Alien, with the last bedraggled survivor kicking the monster out the airlock and then drifting off to an uncertain fate in deep dark space. And wherever they ended up, there would probably be another alien.”

“Yes, Biden soundly defeated President Trump — and there was even some partying in the streets — but the results were brutal down the ballot for Democrats in ways that could haunt them for years.”