Democratic Whip James Clyburn: 'Defund the police' cost Democrats seats

[LetMyPeopleVote]

James Clyburn is correct in that the exit and other polling showed that this moronic slogan cost the Democratic Party seats in 2020

Link to tweet

House Majority Whip James Clyburn criticized calls to "defund the police" during several media appearances on Sunday, saying that the phrase hurt Democratic congressional candidates and could potentially derail the Black Lives Matter movement.

Clyburn said on CNN's "State of the Union" that he'd spoken with the late Rep. John Lewis about the phrase this summer, the two concluding "that it had the possibilities of doing to the Black Lives Matter movement and current movements across the country what 'Burn, baby, burn' did to us back in 1960."

Clyburn, a prominent student activist during the civil rights movement who has ascended to become the nation's most powerful Black legislator, has repeatedly denounced calls to "defund the police" as "sloganeering" that harms the overall cause of the Black Lives Matter movement.

[ColinC]

1. Not true

Democrats caring about their health and not canvassing while Republicans did, is what cost democrats seats. Exit polling has shown that slogan did little to effect peoples' actual vote. Turnout because of covid is what cost us seats, and yet, we still won a trifecta. How bout it?

[Demsrule86]

24. That is not true...it cost us seats and will again if we are not careful.

[Deminpenn]

29. +1

The umpteenth time I've read or heard this excuse. What "cost" Dems seats was the amazing ability of Donald Trump to turn out his own voters, even more than in 2016. Add in the "Biden Republicans" like Bill Kristol who came out in droves, voted for Biden, but were not inclined to vote for other Dems and you have a perfect storm for down ballot losses.

As stated above, the decision of Dems not to canvass in person also played a role.

[ChrisF1961]

32. Exactly right

I’ll add that republicans did better in registering new voters leading up to the election than democrats did. It also should be noted that not one of the democratic candidates who lost endorsed defunding the police and most actively denounced it. Blaming a slogan that was never Democratic Party policy for the loses is overly simplistic and just lazy thinking. It really far more complex.

[genxlib]

41. Both of these things can be true

How do you think they motivated voters to show up? They were using the fear of the protest movement and “defund” to scare people into voting.

I know because the conservative friend I have always debated with kept sending me article after article talking about how radical we had become. It was stirred up nonsense but effective

[Deminpenn]

50. Generally agree. The "fear" voters were the "usual suspect" R voters

They come out every election and for the same reasons.

The real difference were the Trump cultists coming out in droves for the sole reason Trump's name was on the ballot. To me, these are who the pollsters would deem "unlikely" voters, sporadic or non-voters. You can see this from the lower R turnout just two months after Nov election when Warnock and Ossoff were elected in GA.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

54. The Law and Order Election

Here is an exit poll that showed that we lost a number of seats due to the moronic slogan "defend the police"
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/2020/11/09/defund_the_police_backfired_on_democrats_528914.html

Instead of a blue wave for the Democrats, there was a red Republican wave in the 2020 elections. Many analysts are explaining this unexpected outcome in ways that confirm their prior assumptions. Anti-woke centrist liberals: The Democratic Party was too woke. Bernie Sanders-type social democrats: The Democrats blew it by not running on Medicare for All. Professional conservative pundits: Trump and Trumpism are more popular with Americans than we thought.

I beg to differ. I think this was a law and order election.

According to early exit polls, here were the reasons that voters voted for Trump and presumably other Republicans: The economy (82%), crime and safety (71%), health care policy (36%), the coronavirus pandemic (14%) and racial inequality (8%).....

Maybe the slogan “defund the police” backfired.

Democrats might reply: But Biden and Harris rejected the phrase “defund the police.” Indeed, they did. And Donald Trump has repeatedly denounced and rejected white supremacy and white nationalism. Nevertheless, the mainstream media and Democratic propagandists (but I repeat myself again) have told us for four years that by denouncing white supremacy in public, Trump is secretly approving of white supremacy, dog-whistle-style.

Turnabout is fair play. Having tried to persuade voters that all Republicans are closet Nazis whose public statements cannot be taken at face value, Democratic spinmeisters in the media cannot be surprised if it turns out that some swing voters have concluded that apparently mainstream Democrats are closet antifa sympathizers. Possibly many swing voters thought that actions—or, in the case of the summer riots, inaction—spoke louder than words about the Democratic Party’s attitude to law enforcement, particularly when many Democratic urban governments from Minneapolis to Austin proceeded relentlessly to cut police budgets in the name of racial justice, even as the violence was going on.

When you put together two facts—the fact that the Republican Party as a whole picked up voters, and the fact that 71% of voters for the Republican presidential candidate said they were motivated by “crime and safety”—it all adds up. The voter backlash following the urban riots of 1967 helped to produce the Nixon victory of 1968. And the voter backlash following the urban riots of 2020 helped to produce the Republican electoral wave in November 2020.

[ColinC]

76. I imagine those people would have voted for trump anyways

Pre election polling indicated democrats were heavily favored to win. That discrepancy between actual turnout and how people intended to vote is more likely due to turnout related to covid, and not because of any single issue.

[Cha]

90. Excuse me! Rep James Clyburn does NOT lie!!

He has earned my trust.

[ColinC]

97. You don't need to lie to be wrong.

[Cha]

144. Rep James Clyburn knows what he's talking about.

[ColinC]

147. Generally speaking yes. Although I think he is wrong on this particular point

There are lots of reasons why Dems did not perform as well, but the lack or presence of field operations has historically shown to be the most vital in winning or losing elections despite a narrative. Our opponents message was literally "be a horrible human being, beat them up, crack skulls, lizard people..." Anybody who voted for that over "defund the police" wouldn't have done differently to a different message. Getting our voters out is largely the biggest reason we have lost or won elections regardless of the messaging.

On edit: I made a typo of "defend" instead of defund. However "defend the police" after the Jan 6 bs might be an affective slogan at this point.

[Cha]

148. I think Rep Clyburn is Dead On Now.. he wants to WIN

like all of us do. He does Not want the House back in the fucking magat/fascist control.

I'm through with this.

[ColinC]

149. I agree with his intentions.

But blaming a message that originated from our civil rights protests -and not an official democratic platform message, for their loss, isn't the best way to go about it IMHO.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

199. Wish I had a dollar for every time I've heard

" x knows what they are doing" or "I (blindly) trust x" I'd be a billionaire!

[Hortensis]

145. Clyburn and other top Dems report what our party polls revealed,

supported by others. The loss of house seats was devastating. OF COURSE, we immediately looked to find out what happened. President Biden was the first I heard who explalined what they found. Talk of socialism also cost us bad.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

193. And the hypocrisy of TFC blaming mail in voting

while HIS ineptitude left people in that situation..

Hard to think of anything worse than this

[regnaD kciN]

2. And "Critical Race Theory" is going to cost us seats in 2022...

...regardless of whether any Democrat advocates for it or not.

It's time to realize that, whether we use a slogan or not, Republicans will claim we support it if it can help them.

[leftstreet]

3. Should Democrats get in front of it and denounce it?

Or...maybe they could change the subject with a headline grabbing $20 Minimum Wage, or Medicare For All, or another round of Stimulus Checks, or...

[JHB]

21. What needs to be actively denounced is Republican and conservative media lying about us

Where did that phrase come from? From people and activists protesting police brutality, not from Democratic sloganeering.

But FOX and every other cog in the conservative outrage machine jumped on it and pasted it all over us, just like they've done with dozens of boogeyman issues. Grab your guns! Sharia law! Marxism! You built that!

What we need to get out in front of and denounce is this entire practice. Pound hard on all the times they use hare-em scare-em language to get people stampeding, but it never came true. Drive it home that this is a tactic, not reality. Repeat, repeat, put it in peoples' heads that the people telling them these things are selling something, and why should they take the salesman at his word?

Attack the people and organizations that need undermining the most. "Getting out in front" of just about anything else is pretty much an exercise in the circular firing squad.

[ms liberty]

23. This, this this. n/t

[GoCubsGo]

42. Yes, thank you.

It's another Republican astroturf campaign, courtesy of the Koch Brothers, Turning Point USA, and other dark money. They even send people to school board meetings, posing as "concerned parents" to stir up shit.

[Scrivener7]

33. Democrats have SO many republiQan bad acts that we could be pounding in the media, all

of which cause massive and visible suffering.

RepubliQans manage to flood the media with CRT, which really, no one understands and no one outside of academica had heard about before a few months ago. They managed to deluge us with myths about voter fraud and caravans, etc, which are never effectively rebutted. They always get away with it.

Democrats, on the other hand, can't get any traction with things like, "THEY WANT TO OVERTHROW THE GOVERNMENT. HERE ARE A THOUSAND VIDEOS PROVING IT!" or "They want to take away your vote!" or "They are, frankly, using COVID to kill you. Intentionally!" or "You have done all the work and billionaires are getting all the money and you are helping them!" or " Missouri wants to ban birth control!" or "You are about to run out of water, and republiQans refuse to do anything about it." Or any of a thousand other things.

That is partly our own fault. Seriously. We should sequentially pick republiQan atrocities and talk about nothing else to the media for two weeks. Make it get the same volume as their nonsense.

I have said it before and I will say it again, though I usually take heat for it: We need to get a good PR firm and learn how to fight back against the republiQan manipulation of media, and make our own message heard.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

198. Spot on! You would think with all the big money Hollywood types

who are all Democrats, they would put their creativity to good use. And like you said, hire a great PR firm. Geez, we had to rely on the Lincoln project for any clever stuff. I will never understand it. Do we have absolutely zero generic ad money??????. If EVER there was a gold mine of subject matter with gqp and TFG, it was then and now

[StarfishSaver]

25. "Critical Race Theory" isn't a slogan

It's an established discipline of academic study that's been around for more than 40 years.

The only connection between the two is that right wingers are weaponizing them and have gotten Democrats to join them in so doing, as you are doing now.

[Scrivener7]

35. It WAS a discipline of academic study. It's a slogan now. Sadly.

[StarfishSaver]

40. It's STILL a discipline of academic study

Right wingers lying about "Critical Race Theory" in order to scare white people doesn't change that, even if the scare tactic is working on those white people too ignorant to know better and/or too racist to care.

The people demagoguing this will soon move on to something else to exploit - they always do - and the study of American law, systems and culture through Critical Race Theory will continue on unabated.

And even if they don't move on, the CRT discipline will continue to evolve, with an interesting new example of how systemic racism works to empower some white people to believe they can define and dictate all manner of American thought and perspectives.

[Scrivener7]

44. Yes, of course it is. And of course it is a necessary discipline. And of course it will continue,

and must.

But the words "Critical Race Theory" now have a new and bad meaning to millions of people.

[StarfishSaver]

46. We have no control over the meanings that gullible people are convinced to believe

We can, however, stop helping push the lies and stop assuming that if we change our language and behavior to comport with their beliefs, we will avoid being lied about in the future.

[wellst0nev0ter]

64. This should be the easiest honking culture war to win

Education is good

Racism is bad

Blacks used to be held as slaves

White Nationalists can kiss our ass



Responding to the fake Critical Racists' Theory controversy shouldn't be complicated unless you make it complicated

[Laura PourMeADrink]

200. Agree. And we are talking about the masses who

can't even wrap their brains around the simplest of concepts. People who can't put 1 oz of effort into researching anything

In my opinion, everything should be flipped around into a positive statement. "Treat all people the same" is much more effective.

[KT2000]

4. The Defund slogan does not

even make sense. It is effective though for some to say that means get rid of the police. The use of it has helped to bury the issue as it
is barely even discussed anymore. Police Reform has some content that has meaning.

[uponit7771]

18. The DCCC Post Mortem agrees and disagrees with the notion DTP hurt down ballots as much

... as DNC not having a message in Hispanic communities.

The DCCC Post Mortem says DTP and socialism brought out GQP vote, that's lack of messaging by DNC not the slogans fault.

It could've been Biden Hates Beef and it would've brought out brain dead GQP.

We need better messaging and GOTV and not blame a slogan with no proof it hurt down ballot races

[KT2000]

49. DTP seems to have played

a big role in the New York election this week.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

51. Do you tire of being wrong?

This article explains why Democrats did poorly in the 2020 elections.

Link to tweet

3. Moderate Democrats got slammed by “defund the police” and “socialist” and “Medicare-for-all” ads. These were the predominant ads that Republicans ran in competitive House and Senate races. Some of it was fearmongering and inaccurate. In retrospect, a number of Democrats, especially moderate ones, don’t think the party took those attacks seriously enough.

Here’s what Rep. Harley Rouda (D-Calif.), who lost, told The Washington Post: “Many [voters], I believe, bought into the message that Democrats are marching in that direction [of socialism], and that was a false narrative. I would tell you, the Democratic Party, in my opinion, is more moderate than it has ever been. We did not combat that message as effectively as we should have.”

“My opponent only talked about three words: Defund the police,” Democrat Cameron Webb said on a private call this week, Politico reported. He lost what Democrats hoped was a winnable race in Virginia.

“I’m not sure that as a party we took that attack head on, and provided our counter narrative,” Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.) told Politico of “socialist” attacks resonating with Hispanic voters in Florida, costing Democrats two House seats. “It’s not enough to say what you’re not, you have to define what you are. And we have to define it in a way that doesn’t scare the American people.”

“[T]he [liberal] rhetoric and the policies and all that stuff — it has gone way too far,” Rep. Conor Lamb (D-Pa.) told the New York Times. “It needs to be dialed back. It needs to be rooted in common sense, in reality, and yes, politics. Because we need districts like mine to stay in the majority and get something done for the people that we care about the most.”

[wellst0nev0ter]

65. This analysis is out of date

The DCCC autopsy shows that trumpanzee turnout was 70% responsible for House losses. "Defund" didn't even rise to 30%.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/democrats-2020-autopsy-midterms/2021/05/18/6114af82-b80d-11eb-a5fe-bb49dc89a248_story.html

[LetMyPeopleVote]

86. Did you even read this article? I would encourage you to read the material you post

The article does not support your claims. I would encourage you to either read the article cited or have someone read it and explain it to you. You evidently skipped this section

Maloney laid out how Democrats simply underestimated the number of hardcore Trump voters and, with more Trump voters in the voting booths, the Republican attacks against the “defund the police” movement proved more potent than Democrats ever anticipated.

“The lies and distortions about defund and socialism carried a punch, but the Republicans think it got them over a 10-foot wall, when Trump’s turnout gave them a seven-foot ladder,” Maloney said in 45-minute interview, exclusively outlining what he calls the “Deep Dive” into the election.

Here is a better and more thoughtful analysis that focuses on the content of the ads. The GOP was more effective in using negative ads and the Democratic candidates focused on the wrong issues https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/05/27/can-democrats-avoid-pitfalls-2020-new-analysis-offers-striking-answers/

The analysis also finds that Republicans spent a lot more money on casting Democrats as extremists than Democrats did in making the case against Republican extremism.

Democrats, of course, lost a net dozen House seats, underperforming victorious Joe Biden all over the place. The findings suggest Democrats need a rethink of their approach to those conundrums, the analysts conclude.

This is also more pressing now that Republicans are radicalizing in a way that poses a threat to future democratic stability, raising questions about how Democrats can highlight this to the public.

The study by Way to Win — a group distinguished by its big expenditures on turning out the Democratic base — attempts a comprehensive look at all the TV ads that ran in House races in the 2020 cycle. Some findings:

Democrats spent three times more than Republicans on ads that touted bipartisan outreach. Democrats spent $21.8 million on ads about “bipartisanship” or “working across the aisle,” while Republicans spent $6.2 million on them.
Democrats spent six times as much on positive ads than Republicans did. Democrats spent $18.6 million on positive ads that also happened to mention Republicans (say, by touting the ability to work with them), while Republicans spent $2.9 million on positive ads mentioning Democrats.
Republicans spent more than 10 times more on ads with the words “extremist” and “radical” than Democrats did. Republicans spent $51 million on such ads, while Democrats spent $3.4 million.
Overall, Republicans spent more than $87 million on ads with one or more of the following words in it: “AOC,” “Ocasio,” “Pelosi,” “socialism,” “socialist,” “defund,” “radical,” “extremist,” “extreme.”
GOP ads were more likely to use words with “emotional punch,” such as “taxes,” “radical” and “jobs,” while Democratic ads featured words like “insurance,” “voted” and “work.”

Jenifer Fernandez Ancona, the vice president of Way to Win, said that, in sum, Democrats in 2020 sent mixed messages: They touted their willingness to work with Republicans, even as Republicans called them socialists and extremists.

Negative ads such defund the police and socialism work and the GOP focused on these ads instead of more positive ads. Defund the police was a very effective line of attack according to the other polling on this thread

[LetMyPeopleVote]

55. All the reasons Democrats say they did poorly down ballot

This article explains why Democrats did poorly in the 2020 elections.

Link to tweet

3. Moderate Democrats got slammed by “defund the police” and “socialist” and “Medicare-for-all” ads. These were the predominant ads that Republicans ran in competitive House and Senate races. Some of it was fearmongering and inaccurate. In retrospect, a number of Democrats, especially moderate ones, don’t think the party took those attacks seriously enough.

Here’s what Rep. Harley Rouda (D-Calif.), who lost, told The Washington Post: “Many [voters], I believe, bought into the message that Democrats are marching in that direction [of socialism], and that was a false narrative. I would tell you, the Democratic Party, in my opinion, is more moderate than it has ever been. We did not combat that message as effectively as we should have.”

“My opponent only talked about three words: Defund the police,” Democrat Cameron Webb said on a private call this week, Politico reported. He lost what Democrats hoped was a winnable race in Virginia.

“I’m not sure that as a party we took that attack head on, and provided our counter narrative,” Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.) told Politico of “socialist” attacks resonating with Hispanic voters in Florida, costing Democrats two House seats. “It’s not enough to say what you’re not, you have to define what you are. And we have to define it in a way that doesn’t scare the American people.”

“[T]he [liberal] rhetoric and the policies and all that stuff — it has gone way too far,” Rep. Conor Lamb (D-Pa.) told the New York Times. “It needs to be dialed back. It needs to be rooted in common sense, in reality, and yes, politics. Because we need districts like mine to stay in the majority and get something done for the people that we care about the most.”

[betsuni]

60. +1

[Cha]

216. :"Some of these woke people need to take a nap."

No Kidding! Rt TY!

[George II]

62. "We need better messaging and GOTV and not blame a slogan...."

Defund the Police IS messaging, and there is proof that it hurt Democrats in local and even House elections.

[wellst0nev0ter]

66. When trumpanzees say "Squirrel!"

We all ask "How high?"

[George II]

69. I guess I'm missing something. By the way, the NRCC is already campaigning on this:

Here's an ad they're running in vulnerable Democratic districts:

Link to tweet

[wellst0nev0ter]

71. And you're going on the defensive on this?

Stop being distracted by squirrels and stop punching the base. I've already discussed this issue and its fallacies at length here.

Blaming "defund the police" is a massive waste of time, energy and resources. Do better.

[George II]

74. There you go, unwarranted "accusations". I'm not defensive, it seems you're more defensive than I...

And those calling for defunding the police aren't "the base".

I read that a couple of weeks ago, no, the notion of "defund the police" being a factor in losing some seats is not a "fallacy", it's a fact.

I'm doing better, very much better. You?

[wellst0nev0ter]

77. "Defund" Is often blamed on the left

And too many Dems think they can win elections by saying "I'm not them."

I've already presented evidence that trumpanzee turnout, and the fact that Dems went heavy on positive ads during a pandemic, cost them races in 2020. "Defund" is merely an excuse for failure.

[George II]

81. Your "evidence" is more like your opinion. There's been lots of evidence that DTP did cost seats....

If it didn't why would republicans still be using it to campaign against Democrats?

[wellst0nev0ter]

82. Because they literally have nothing else to run on

So stop acting like they have a point, and start campaigning against the right rather than the left.

[George II]

83. Can I tell you a secret? It's June 2021, I'm not campaigning for anything. But I trust Clyburn's...

...opinion more than most people's opinions. And I trust his opinion expressed in the OP more than anyone else's.

[wellst0nev0ter]

84. I'm not the one relitigating 2020

But here we are, as you can see in the OP

[George II]

85. So now you're bashing Congressman Clyburn - why do you have a problem with him?

[wellst0nev0ter]

103. I didn't say anything about Clyburn

Read my post again and get back to me.

[mcar]

123. The base of the Democratic party is women

primary black women and women of color. The base is not defund the police progressives.

[wellst0nev0ter]

127. There you go again, giving oxygen to a goop talking point

Enough. Recognize a smear campaign for what it is.

[betsuni]

178. The base of the Democratic Party is women of color.

It's a myth that the majority of Americans, including Republicans voters, are secretly democratic socialists and that's the base. That they just don't know it yet, are waiting for a utopian savior, a True Progressive fighting against The Establishment and making a working class revolution. That the corrupt Democratic establishment is the only thing preventing this because they are bribed by corporations.

Republican voters loved Trump's populist anti-establishment act but had no problem when he did everything the Republican establishment told him to do. There will be no working class revolution.

As Hillary Clinton put it: "as if 99% percent of Americans would back [a far left agenda of slogans] if only the lobbyists and super PACs disappeared. But that wouldn't turn small-government conservatives into Scandinavian Socialists or make religious fundamentalists embrace marriage equality and reproductive rights."

[Cha]

217. No it is NOT "a waste of time" to point out the FACTS..

FACT CHECK: Reverend Warnock Does Not Support Defunding The Police, But Kelly Loeffler Has Voted Against Law Enforcement Funding

https://warnockforgeorgia.com/fact-check-reverend-warnock-does-not-support-defunding-the-police-but-kelly-loeffler-has-voted-against-law-enforcement-funding/

[LetMyPeopleVote]

218. Democrats lost a number of races due to this slogan

Link to tweet

[LetMyPeopleVote]

187. Do you tire of being wrong?

The autopsy report held that defund the police was an effective weapon in the last election

Link to tweet

These trends have alarmed Democrats at all levels — from the White House, where Biden recently delivered his first major speech on fighting crime; to voters, who are rallying behind crime-focused candidates in early primaries; to U.S. House members who are bluntly warning liberal colleagues to tone down their attacks on law enforcement.

“ ‘Defund police’ is a phrase that I wish had never been uttered,” said Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.), who ran the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee when Republicans picked up 13 House seats over the two-year 2020 election cycle. “We’ve got to do a better job of talking about what we do want to do.”

A post-election analysis from House Democrats concluded that the “defund the police” slogan, embraced by Black Lives Matter protesters, gave Republicans an effective weapon in the last election, even though most Democrats, including Biden, consistently rejected the message. Republicans are continuing to produce ads featuring the slogan, depicting angry protesters and blaring sirens as they seek to tie rising crime to police overhaul efforts......

But for now, the strongest anxiety is voiced by Democrats who worry that the impassioned voices of the few in their party who embrace “defund the police” will drown out the far greater number who don’t.

“I think it’s critically important that we explain this in a way that doesn’t label us in a way that is inaccurate,” Bustos said.[/div

[unblock]

5. What's moronic is the right wing media bias. Good r slogans, bad d slogans

Listen to the media and the only slogans are make America great again and defund the police.

How biased is that already?

Then you get a ton of coverage of the Republican anti-mask effort framed as a personal choice/freedom issue as opposed to a f*cking terrorism issue.

Even calling them "anti-mask" is biased because it's such a neutral sounding term when it's actually biological terrorism. "Spreaders" is a better term is terrorist is too much. But the media covers it like it's just another ho him political issue.

When was the last time the media harped on a Republican slogan that might have cost them votes?

[RANDYWILDMAN]

6. 80 years old he has seen a lot and knows better...

Why are we always explaining, oh, cause issues are not simple ,they are complicated. R don't really care if they win with stupid dangerous slogans.

Everybody has the attention span of...

We can't get 7 out of 10 people in my state to understand vaccines, even though, they all have had vaccines to go to school.

[Captain Stern]

26. Yeah, he's 80, and seen a lot, and knows better...

....until he says something we don't like.

Then, he doesn't know better.

[AZLD4Candidate]

80. My grandmother once said: "The longer I live the more I believe age doesn't mean more wisdom."

[Cha]

91. Taht's not necessarily true foe everybody..

I sure trust Rep James Clyburn.. he is full of Winning Wisdom.

[betsuni]

7. K&R

[Duppers]

8. A number of DUers said that when the phrase...

..began circulating. I agreed.
It could've been phrased better.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

9. They need the help of GOP pollster Frank Luntz, who messaged Gingrich's "Contract with America."

Last edited Thu Jun 24, 2021, 10:25 AM - Edit history (1)

He's the reason that the RW refers to our party as the "Democrat Party" rather than the Democratic Party. And the estate tax being called the "death tax," and the Bush administration replacing "global warming" with the less threatening "climate change."

When I first heard the term "defund the police" I immediately thought of T-ball. We'd set up a easy target for the Right to knock out of the park. "Restructure Public Services" is a lot less threatening, and describes the same result.

p.s., In January 2021, Luntz declared himself no longer a Republican.[

[StarfishSaver]

27. "Defund the Police" wasn't a slogan adopted by any candidate or the party

so there was no point or opportunity to focus group test it. It was a slogan that some activists on the left pushed that the party and candidates had nothing to do with and no control over but was attached to them by the right with a huge assist from the media.

[Duppers]

31. "Restructure Public Services"...

Is perfect! They should've hired you! (And I'm not being sarcastic at all.)

[JHB]

45. The only thing Luntz can do for us is to speak up about Republican "stampede politics"...

...for him to say "It's all a scam we created to push peoples' hot buttons, get them hopping mad, and vote in the candidates that we wanted" over and over and over again. On tv, on radio, on podcasts, in articles and interviews.

I'm all up for a "Luntz deprogramming tour", but putting him in charge of our messaging? Hell no! Just because he sidled away from his party doesn't make him "on our team", even as a hireling.

We have our own people who are capable of putting together good messages. We've seen plenty of good spots over the years. Our weakness is that they can't make a living at that because all support for that sort of work evaporates after elections.

[station agent]

10. Not as many seats as corporate centrism, but keep playing dumb n/t

[betsuni]

11. "Not as many seats as corporate centrism, but keep playing dumb"

What does that mean?

[Scrivener7]

34. Lol. Probably that someone's candidate wasn't crowned.

Especially because Democratic party moderates proved themselves astonishingly popular and successful.

[Mike Nelson]

12. Defund the Police...

...was a bad phrase. And, they are going to go big on CRIME. I see heavy rotation of BIDEN'S BORDER CRISIS and CRIME! CRIME! CRIME! stories on FOX and others. Democrats, especially Biden should be seen frequently with Police Officers. All the visuals should be of Biden and his team working with Police Officers. We should be saying MORE GUNS for CRIMINALS is not the answer! We need to SUPPORT POLICE in their efforts to end racism and use taxpayers money wisely! We need to have simple messages for people!

[uponit7771]

16. So is Biden Hates Beef and Dems Weak On Crime which have popped up and dems not

... allowed to be a GOTV for GQP.

The DCCC post mortem disagrees that DTP was a loser for dems it was lack of message in places that needed specific ones mainly in Hispanic communities.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

53. New Post-Election Poll Reveals How Democrats' Leftward Movement Cost the Party in the 2020 Election

This the polling that you misquoted on another thread. You were wrong then and you are still wrong Again, I remain amused by your lack of experience in working on campaigns in the real world. Thank you for the laughs

It took less than a half of a minute to find another poll that proves your uniformed claims are wrong. https://www.forbes.com/sites/dougschoen/2020/11/17/new-post-election-poll-reveals-how-democrats-leftward-movement-cost-the-party-in-the-2020-election/?sh=403ab6b4675f

An in-depth post-election poll, which was conducted among 1,000 national respondents on November 8th - 9th, 2020 by my firm, Schoen Cooperman Research (SCR), suggests that the Democratic Party is seen as too left-wing and out-of-touch, while the Republican party is seen as striking a more appropriate balance, and as ideologically closer to the electorate.

Ultimately, the election results taken together with our survey findings show that it was the Democratic party’s movement to the left that represents a clear drag on their level of support and a potential problem going forward for the party both in governing and in the 2022 midterm elections. Accordingly, a majority (62%) of SCR’s survey respondents take Joe Biden’s likely victory as a mandate for centrist policies, compromise, and coming together with Republicans; as opposed to a mandate for Biden to pursue progressive policies (28%)......

Not only did Biden’s narrower-than-expected victory not coincide with the blue-wave that Democrats anticipated in down-ballot races, but our findings also suggest that Donald Trump would have been reelected, most likely easily, if not for the coronavirus pandemic and the economic downturn that followed. Trump actually overperformed in most battlegrounds and ran close margins in lean-Democrat states like Wisconsin and Michigan, where Biden held wide polling leads in months prior.

SCR’s survey findings also suggest that most voters did not see a clear Democratic agenda; moreover, Democratic candidates were hurt by their party’s associations with far-left attitudes and movements—in particular, the movement to defund the police.

By a 12-point margin, 35% to 23%, respondents said that the movements across the country to defund the police made them less likely to vote for Democrats. Likewise, by a 12-point margin, 32% to 20%, respondents also said that these movements made them more likely to vote for Republicans.

Again, the polling shows that the GOP use of attack ads featuring Defund the Police were very effective. Your attacks on good Democrats who lost due to these ads are truly sad and disgusting. The polls prove that you are wrong and you need to apologize to the good members of the Democratic Party who lost elections that they should had won but for these attacks

[RandiFan1290]

13. Weak excuse

Let us know when anything the right says or does offends the precious snowflake 'moderates'

They only seem to wilt when Rep. Ocasio-Cortez or Rep. Omar speak.

[FBaggins]

17. We're calling Clyburn a "snowflake moderate" now?

Seems like a stretch to me.

[RandiFan1290]

19. Talking about the 'moderate' voters

Nice try.

[FBaggins]

22. You're missing a few dots in that connection

How is what Clyburn said a “weak excuse”?

Or are you just saying that he’s correct but you don’t think that it should have had that effect?

[StarfishSaver]

28. Thank you.

[FBaggins]

14. I'm not sure that House majority whip is "more powerful" than senator

What an odd thing to drop in.

Why not just “ who has ascended to become one of the nation's most powerful legislators” or “most powerful politicians” rather than imply that he has to be graded on a curve?

[uponit7771]

15. DCCC Post Mortem disagrees, I respect Clyburn but they're going off opinions vs fact ...

Last edited Thu Jun 24, 2021, 07:06 AM - Edit history (1)

... fact is DCCC Post Mortem says DTP and socialism brought out MAGA but wasn't the deciding factor in swing votes or even democratic turn out.

That's the GQP having a message, that's .. ***NOT*** the DNC having a message.

We need a message to all kinds of PoC and peanut butter approach isn't going to make it

[Deminpenn]

30. No, MAGA voters came out because their hero was

on the ballot. Period. End of story. It might be painful for Dems to admit publicly that Trump has the ability to connect with so many Americans, but it is the reality.

And, if the "defund the police" narrative was such a motivating factor in Nov, how did GA manage to elect two Dem senators just two months later?

[uponit7771]

38. I'm agreeing with DTP not being a motivating factor, 2nd dem report states inadequate dem ...

... inadequate branding and response to GQP rhetoric was the major flaw in what dems did in 2020.

Looks like we have to have tailored messages for PoC also and stop acting as if racist violence from the right is going to bring people out

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215556872

[LetMyPeopleVote]

52. The Law and Order Election

Here is an exit poll that showed that we lost a number of seats due to the moronic slogan "defend the police"
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/2020/11/09/defund_the_police_backfired_on_democrats_528914.html

Instead of a blue wave for the Democrats, there was a red Republican wave in the 2020 elections. Many analysts are explaining this unexpected outcome in ways that confirm their prior assumptions. Anti-woke centrist liberals: The Democratic Party was too woke. Bernie Sanders-type social democrats: The Democrats blew it by not running on Medicare for All. Professional conservative pundits: Trump and Trumpism are more popular with Americans than we thought.

I beg to differ. I think this was a law and order election.

According to early exit polls, here were the reasons that voters voted for Trump and presumably other Republicans: The economy (82%), crime and safety (71%), health care policy (36%), the coronavirus pandemic (14%) and racial inequality (8%).....

Maybe the slogan “defund the police” backfired.

Democrats might reply: But Biden and Harris rejected the phrase “defund the police.” Indeed, they did. And Donald Trump has repeatedly denounced and rejected white supremacy and white nationalism. Nevertheless, the mainstream media and Democratic propagandists (but I repeat myself again) have told us for four years that by denouncing white supremacy in public, Trump is secretly approving of white supremacy, dog-whistle-style.

Turnabout is fair play. Having tried to persuade voters that all Republicans are closet Nazis whose public statements cannot be taken at face value, Democratic spinmeisters in the media cannot be surprised if it turns out that some swing voters have concluded that apparently mainstream Democrats are closet antifa sympathizers. Possibly many swing voters thought that actions—or, in the case of the summer riots, inaction—spoke louder than words about the Democratic Party’s attitude to law enforcement, particularly when many Democratic urban governments from Minneapolis to Austin proceeded relentlessly to cut police budgets in the name of racial justice, even as the violence was going on.

When you put together two facts—the fact that the Republican Party as a whole picked up voters, and the fact that 71% of voters for the Republican presidential candidate said they were motivated by “crime and safety”—it all adds up. The voter backlash following the urban riots of 1967 helped to produce the Nixon victory of 1968. And the voter backlash following the urban riots of 2020 helped to produce the Republican electoral wave in November 2020.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

56. You have misquoted this and other studies

You are misquoting the exit and other polling that has been posted I read the poll and the key thing is that I actually understood the material. Did you even read the article? I am amused that you are misquoting the article by leaving out a key passage. Here is the passage that you clearly did not understand

SCR’s survey findings also suggest that most voters did not see a clear Democratic agenda; moreover, Democratic candidates were hurt by their party’s associations with far-left attitudes and movements—in particular, the movement to defund the police.

Here is the link and relevant passage that show that it was the lack of a clear message was due to the Democratic Party's "associations with far-left attitudes and movements—in particular, the movement to defund the police."
https://www.forbes.com/sites/dougschoen/2020/11/17/new-post-election-poll-reveals-how-democrats-leftward-movement-cost-the-party-in-the-2020-election/?sh=403ab6b4675f

SCR’s survey, which sought to gain insight into the attitudes of voters in order to lend an explanation to Democrats’ relatively disappointing election performance, reveals that a plurality (39%) of voters already believes the Democratic party’s agenda is too left-wing. Yet, less than 3-in-10 (29%) voters believe the Republican agenda is too right-wing, and a plurality (43%) believes that the Republican agenda strikes an appropriate balance.

Though party identification in both SCR’s survey and in national exit polls are close to evenly split, the ideological balance of the electorate tilts conservative. Indeed, a plurality (37%) of respondents in SCR’s survey self-identified as conservative, and a similar share considered themselves to be moderate (36%). Yet, less than one-quarter (24%) self-identified as liberal.

Our survey also found that respondents strongly preferred that the candidates who were elected this year pursue right-leaning policies (45%), rather than left-leaning policies (31%) once they take office.

These findings may be unsurprising, given the Democrats’ disappointing election performance, notwithstanding Joe Biden’s likely victory. Contrary to pre-election predictions, which showed a demonstrable Democratic advantage, the Senate is likely to remain evenly divided with perhaps a narrow Republican advantage, and perhaps with no party advantage. Further, the Democrats also lost several seats in the House, including seats that were thought to be secure.

The last sentence is important. Democrats lost a number of seats because of left wing polices such as the rather ignorant Defund the Police slogan pushed by the Squad and progressives. Read the material. Your characterization of this polling is simply false.

You either did not read the article or you did not understand this article. Again, here is a key passage that you are ignoring or do not understand

SCR’s survey findings also suggest that most voters did not see a clear Democratic agenda; moreover, Democratic candidates were hurt by their party’s associations with far-left attitudes and movements—in particular, the movement to defund the police.

By a 12-point margin, 35% to 23%, respondents said that the movements across the country to defund the police made them less likely to vote for Democrats. Likewise, by a 12-point margin, 32% to 20%, respondents also said that these movements made them more likely to vote for Republicans.

Read the material. The fact that the Squad and progressives pushed rather stupid policies such as defund the police is what hurt the Democrats. The unclear agenda was due to the squad and the progressive types pushing defund the police.

Defund the Police is a stupid policy that hurt us. I saw ads using this theme and socialism used in Texas and the socialism attacks evidently worked very well in Florida where Joe should had have a chance due to trump's poor treatment of Puerto Rico.

In Texas we have looked at why trump did better with Hispanic voters and according to the Continuing Legal Education courses put on by the Harris County Democratic Lawyers Association and the Texas Democratic Lawyers Association (witht the state party numbers cruncher) I have also attended trump was benefited with Hispanic voters due to law and order/defund the police issues and claims of socialism.

I have been working hard in the real world to turn Texas blue. We went from 49 Democratic seats in the Texas house after the 2010 elections (out of a total of 150 seats) to having a good chance of flipping the Texas state house. It hurt like hell to see the GOP retain control of the house due to issues like defund the police. There were a number of seats where Beto beat Carnival Cruz in 2018 that the party hoped to pick up. Now, I and other Texas Democratic lawyers are gearing up to fight bad redistricting maps and GOP voter suppression law

You really should consider reading all of the article. Misquoting an article is not a good idea when dealing with someone who actually read the article

[wellst0nev0ter]

68. Doug Schoen's bio

I’m a longtime political strategist, Fox News contributor and author of several books, including the recently published Putin on the March.

Cool.

[Rhiannon12866]

20. Twitter replies:

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[Scrivener7]

36. They don't think Clyburn is doing enough for his community?

[Rhiannon12866]

37. My impression was that they agreed with him and his "improved" message

[LetMyPeopleVote]

190. This makes me smile

Link to tweet

[empedocles]

39. There's more than getting one's own party motivated, despite what some insist on.

'Americans hate political opponents more than they love their own party, study finds
By Sandee LaMotte, CNN

. . .

(CNN)Americans now hate people in the opposite political party more than they love their own party, with disrupting implications about behavior, a new study finds. . . .

"Compared to a few decades ago, Americans today are much more opposed to dating or marrying an opposing partisan; they are alshttps://www.cnn.com/2020/10/29/health/political-party-hate-study-wellness/index.htmlo wary of living near or working for one," according to the study published Thursday in the journal Science.
ohttps://www.cnn.com/2020/10/29/health/political-party-hate-study-wellness/index.htmlr

[Fullduplexxx]

43. Inadequate Dem Brand is what hurt *NOT* Defund Police!! 2nd Dem 2020 Report to say so. https://www.n

Inadequate Dem Brand is what hurt *NOT* Defund Police!! 2nd Dem 2020 Report to say so.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/06/us/politics/democrats-2020-election.html

“Win or lose, self-described progressive or moderate, Democrats consistently raised a lack of strong Democratic Party brand as a significant concern in 2020,” the report states. “In the absence of strong party branding, the opposition latched on to G.O.P. talking points, suggesting our candidates would ‘burn down your house and take away the police.’”


This tracks and FOLLOWS an earlier DCCC Post Mortem Report says.

In the D.C.C.C. report, the committee attributed setbacks at the congressional level to a surge in turnout by Trump supporters and an inadequate Democratic response to attacks calling them police-hating socialists.

Posted by d. u. er uponit7771


https://democraticunderground.com/100215556872

[Calista241]

47. Crime being up 40%, combined with the off cycle election trends

Is going to wipe us out in 2022 if we’re not careful.

[empedocles]

48. 'Careful' is the key word. 'Defund' is not careful.

Seems like a lot of folk here, have no sense beyond 'get the libs', of the discomfort many voters feel about the Democrats.

[GulfCoast66]

57. Those who refuse to listen to a wise man will regret it.

This man has seen and done more than most of us can imagine. Has the scars to prove it.

He is singularly responsible for us having a Democratic President.

Those of you that disagree with him, think a minute about your qualifications vs his…

This is a man I trust.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

58. Same here

Whip Clyburn has been in the fight for a long time and I trust his judgment just as I trust President Biden's and Obama's judgements

[budkin]

59. Is there any evidence for this?

I don’t buy it.

[wellst0nev0ter]

70. None

Unless you want to parrot "evidence" from Faux Nooze talking heads.

[Cha]

92. Are you calling Rep James Clyburn a liar?

He's not making this shit up.

[uponit7771]

98. Thank you !!!! Fact biased people need data not anecdote

[oasis]

61. Clyburn and James Carville know what it takes for Dems to win.

They both say "Defund the Police is a L-O-S-E-R for Democrats".

We need to back away from this albatross of a slogan before it cost us more votes.

[Cha]

93. So do Pres Obama & Pres Biden, who came out & said NO..

to DTP.. notice how large Pres Biden's Coalition was.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

63. GOP Launches Ads Highlighting 'Defund The Police' To Target Vulnerable 2022 Dems

The GOP is already running ads using the "defund the police" slogan against 2022 candidates

Link to tweet

https://thepoliticalinsider.com/gop-launches-ads-highlighting-defund-the-police-to-target-vulnerable-2022-dems/

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has begun running digital ads targeting Democrats for “defund the police” policies and rhetoric in districts they have deemed “vulnerable” in the upcoming midterms.

The ads will run in five Democrat-held districts the GOP hopes to flip in 2022 on their way to a House majority.

The ad highlights left-wing calls to defund the nation’s police departments, and highlights ‘Squad’ member Rep. Rashida Tlaib‘s demand to abolish prisons.

From Yahoo News, NRCC Spokesman Michael McAdams said of the ad push,

“We are going to ensure every voter knows Democrats want to Defund the Police. Whether it’s Rashida Tlaib demanding an end to policing and incarceration, or Maxine Waters encouraging rioters to engage in violence, Democrats can’t be trusted to stand with law enforcement and keep Americans safe.”

.....The content of the ads comes by way of nationally-recognized Democrats.

In the aftermath of the tragic shooting of Daunte Wright in Minneapolis, far-left Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MN) proclaimed the shooting wasn’t an accident and demanded abolition of policing and incarceration.

[wellst0nev0ter]

73. About "The Political Insider"

The Political Insider publishes the authentic conservative voices of political insiders and award-winning contributors who believe in personal responsibility, limited government, free markets, individual liberty, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.

Jesus Christ, my dude.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

87. Do you tire of being wrong?

Here is a thoughtful analysis that focuses on the content of the ads and show that negative ads are very effective. The GOP was more effective in using negative ads and the Democratic candidates focused on the wrong issues https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/05/27/can-democrats-avoid-pitfalls-2020-new-analysis-offers-striking-answers/

The analysis also finds that Republicans spent a lot more money on casting Democrats as extremists than Democrats did in making the case against Republican extremism.

Democrats, of course, lost a net dozen House seats, underperforming victorious Joe Biden all over the place. The findings suggest Democrats need a rethink of their approach to those conundrums, the analysts conclude.

This is also more pressing now that Republicans are radicalizing in a way that poses a threat to future democratic stability, raising questions about how Democrats can highlight this to the public.

The study by Way to Win — a group distinguished by its big expenditures on turning out the Democratic base — attempts a comprehensive look at all the TV ads that ran in House races in the 2020 cycle. Some findings:

Democrats spent three times more than Republicans on ads that touted bipartisan outreach. Democrats spent $21.8 million on ads about “bipartisanship” or “working across the aisle,” while Republicans spent $6.2 million on them.
Democrats spent six times as much on positive ads than Republicans did. Democrats spent $18.6 million on positive ads that also happened to mention Republicans (say, by touting the ability to work with them), while Republicans spent $2.9 million on positive ads mentioning Democrats.
Republicans spent more than 10 times more on ads with the words “extremist” and “radical” than Democrats did. Republicans spent $51 million on such ads, while Democrats spent $3.4 million.
Overall, Republicans spent more than $87 million on ads with one or more of the following words in it: “AOC,” “Ocasio,” “Pelosi,” “socialism,” “socialist,” “defund,” “radical,” “extremist,” “extreme.”
GOP ads were more likely to use words with “emotional punch,” such as “taxes,” “radical” and “jobs,” while Democratic ads featured words like “insurance,” “voted” and “work.”

Jenifer Fernandez Ancona, the vice president of Way to Win, said that, in sum, Democrats in 2020 sent mixed messages: They touted their willingness to work with Republicans, even as Republicans called them socialists and extremists.

Negative ads such defund the police and socialism work and the GOP focused on these ads instead of more positive ads. Defund the police was a very effective line of attack according to the other polling on this thread

The GOP has already started running these ads

[uponit7771]

99. This person has posted right-wing sources and tropes before

[George II]

101. Yes, as examples that the right wing IS using Defund the Police and other slogans against us.

[uponit7771]

104. No, in the OP I started this person posted the winger trope about the squad pushing DTP hard

... a text search on it shows mostly if not all winger sources.

There's no proof The Squad pushed DTP hard

[George II]

106. There is, here's one example:

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

Another is calling for defunding prisons. Look around, you'll find them.

[uponit7771]

107. AOC is not the whole squad and even Fox News admit it they didn't spend too much money on the issue

Why are we reading right-wing talking points on DU about DTP and the squad ?!?!!!

The link you posted does not show that the squad pushed defund the police hard irregardless of her position on it

Posting one or two Twitter postings does not mean they quote un quote pushed the issue hard

That was winger media's excuse to say the whole democratic party was down with defund the police and that was false

[George II]

108. It's from The Hill and it uses exact word for word quotes.

These sources have minimal bias and use very few loaded words (wording that attempts to influence an audience by using appeal to emotion or stereotypes). The reporting is factual and usually sourced. These are the most credible media sources.

So how is this a "right-wing talking point"?

[uponit7771]

112. Irrelevant to my point she's not "the squad" she's a member and there's no proof that the squad

... "pushed DTP hard" other than right wing sources claiming so.

We don't need to proffer winger shit on DU as fact

[George II]

114. Once again, her own words and The Hill are not right wing sources. I guess at this point we need....

...you to define "pushed hard". That's a rather subjective term.

The fact is, they did.

Second hit on a Google search "cori bush defund police".

Link to tweet

?lang=en

I've proved the OP's point. You can do your search on the remaining members to disprove it. Deal?

[uponit7771]

116. Still NOT proof of the right wing claim you and that poster are proffering, DM me when you get one

[George II]

142. I'm afraid that no matter what I come up with you'd find fault with it, so I won't bother looking.

[uponit7771]

143. You have not sourced that the squad push DTP hard, not even close

[George II]

146. I gave you sources to two of the six. There are dozens more, easy to find. Have at it.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

177. I saw GOP PAC ads featuring members of the squad pushing defund the police

Do you ever tire of being wrong?

[betsuni]

179. Strange that their own words are ignored. Why?

[betsuni]

109. I'm amazed people are still insisting this didn't exist.

It's right there!

[uponit7771]

115. No one said it didn't exits just 1. DTP wasn't part of dem platform, 2. it wasn't the game changer

... it was claimed to be,

3. the bullshit right wing lie that "the squad pushed DTP hard" is false with NO proof behind it.

4. Dem messaging and branding is bad or doesn't get through to PoC and that should be the focus of change for 2022 not a slogan dems can't control.

5. Fuck Trump doesn't mean someone wants to have sexual intercourse with Trump, dems should be able to identify sentiment vs policy and not allow MAGA Media to control which one the greater public sees.

[betsuni]

118. Justice Democrats supported representatives did support it. They said so.

[uponit7771]

122. Did a google search on "justice democrats supported defund the police" and couldn't find but one

... or two NON WINGER SOURCED links to anyone supporting the slogan as policy vs sentiment.

Could you point out more than a sliver of the DNC in 2020 supporting DTP as a policy?

Bottom line, democrats overall didn't support DTP as a policy but saw the sentiment in it.

[betsuni]

124. Some members of The Squad are Justice Democrats supported representatives who support DTP.

Nobody said other Democrats supported DTP, except Republicans who lied about it.

[uponit7771]

131. Correct, the whole squad did not push DTP hard as a couple of posters on DU are trying to say...

... and The couple of members of the squad didn't represent the 99.7% of dems who didn't support dtp as policy.

Winger media was presenting the squad as the whole democratic party and conflating democratic party policy with a couple of dems support for defund the police sentiment or policy.

Like CRT now there was little pushback from the left in regards to the winger media narrative on DTP so there is a ton of people who think the Democratic party as a whole supported defund the police policy.

Like CRT bullshit we need to push back on these narratives when they come out and not let them fester

My concern is next year the right will try to use CRT as the cudgel and make democratic candidates run away from CRT losing votes from people of color.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

175. I am on the Just Us Democrat email list

I enjoy laughing at these idiots and find their sad appeals for funds to be amusing. I have deleted these emails but more than a few have been defending the moronic defund the police concept

The emails from the Just Us Democrats are so sad that they are funny.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

176. This is from the poster who claimed that DNC autopsy supported his bogus claims

On another thread you demanded exit polling and I posted some strong exit polling that you misquoted and made materially false statements about. Your statements were so false that they were amusing.

Here you have repeatedly claim that the DNC autopsy supported your sad and poorly informed defense of the moronic "defund the police" slogan. Your claims are again so false that they are funny. You should consider reading the material that you post. Here is what the autopsy actually states https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/democrats-ding-own-party-failing-persuade-minorities-explain-party-s-n1269874

The report found that Republican attempts to tie moderate Democrats to the left's most extreme and unpopular elements, such as calls to defund the police, worked. The problem was partly their own making because Democrats failed to explain where they actually stood on police funding and many other issues, other than opposing former President Donald Trump.....

Up until the eve of the election last year, Democrats expected to expand their House majority, but instead lost nearly all of the most competitive congressional races in the country and held on to control of the chamber by razor-thin margins. Democrats took control of the Senate, thanks to two January run off elections in Georgia.

Democrats failed to gain any new governorships or flip a single state legislative chamber, the impacts of which will be felt for a decade as states take up redistricting this year.....

In the weeks following the November election, a long-simmering feud spilled into the public when moderate Democrats blamed progressive for the party’s disappointments, while progressives shot back by saying they were being scapegoated for others' losses. Third Way, one of the reports’ sponsors, is firmly in the moderate camp.

The report argues the "defund the police" attacks were toxic because Republicans was able convince some voters that Democrats cared more about kowtowing to a narrow band of activists or going after Trump than helping average voters solve kitchen-table issues.

Again, I saw commercials being runned against candidates who are friends where the GOP PAC showed a video of a member of the Squad making the claim "defunding the police" was official policy and these ads were very effective.

[George II]

100. The premise is that the right wing is using "Defund the police" against us Democrats....

....and the poster is providing an example.

The fact that Political Insider is using it against us just proves the point.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

174. You are wasting your time

For some reason the moronic policy of defunding the police is sacred to some posters and this policy has to be defended at all cost. It seems that these posters would be happy to have Nancy Pelosi lose in 2022 and for McCarthy or TFG become speaker after teh 2022 elections.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

173. Do you tire of being wrong?

I am amused that you disagreed with the sourcing of the prior post which was discussing the GOP plans to run ads attacking good Democrats using the bogus "defund the police" slogan. The GOP is a good source for looking at the GOP plans. Again thank you the laughs

The GOP is using ads based on the bogus and moronic defund the police slogan in the real world. I am sad that you are unable to deal with the facts here https://apnews.com/article/politics-republicans-democrats-police-defund-crime-murder-a3f94cba375d526040763350c9acbc28

As rising murder rates gain attention in American cities, Republicans have ramped up a misleading campaign to cast Democrats as anti-police and lax on public safety. It’s a message they believe helped them stave off greater Democratic gains in last year’s elections and one with renewed potency as cities consider cuts to department budgets as part of an effort to revamp policing.....

It also includes Democratic Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota, who beat Kistner in 2020 and represents the Minneapolis and St. Paul suburbs where rioting broke out last year after Floyd’s death.

Since then, several cities have struggled with the police funding debate, while experiencing rising gun violence.

The NRCC chair, U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, said he believes the message will resonate with voters because “crime is rising in America, yet Democrats still support the dangerous idea of defunding the police.”

I was pleased to see that the George Floyd bill passed by the House did not pander to the squad or the moronic "defund the police" slogan.

The poll also found that about 6 in 10 Americans oppose reducing funding for law enforcement agencies.

The Democrats’ policing bill passed the U.S. House without a single GOP vote. It would ban chokeholds and end qualified immunity from lawsuits against police officers, while creating national policing standards in an effort to bolster accountability.

The bill does not back defunding police departments, and Democrats didn’t even debate the idea, in part because swing-district representatives such as U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., who opposes defunding police, raised concerns about the political backlash.

I am glad that the party is listening to an intelligent Democrat like Spanberger and ignored the squad

Again no intelligent democratic candidate will support a stupid policy like "defund the police" and it seems that the party is rejecting the moronic position of the squad on this issue and is listening to an intelligent Democrat like Spanberger

[gulliver]

67. Opposition to DTP should be added to the platform and made a part of the Dem brand.

That will let voters know that anyone who says "Defund the Police" doesn't speak for the Democratic Party. It's crazy, but Dems may even need to make being opposed to child abuse and Communism part of their brand message. That's what we've come to. We need to to disavow every crazy thing the Republicans might charge us with.

"Vote Dem. We tax the wealthy to build roads. We are for green jobs that pay good money while fighting climate change. We're for commonsense laws for background checks and controlling sales of military-ready guns to just anyone. We're for racial equality, diversity, and inclusion. We're for Capitalism and free trade. Also, by the way, we're totally against defunding the police, Communism and child abuse."

[wellst0nev0ter]

75. Goops are experts at getting people pissed off at imaginary shit

While too many people on our side struggle to get people pissed off at real shit, and act like beaten dogs when faced with the the imaginary controversies.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

89. Agreed and the members of the squad need to be told to stop pushing this stupid slogan

[AZLD4Candidate]

72. Laura Ingraham just said "defund the military." Where are the Democrats screaming?

As always, we let them frame the message.

As I say and will do in my campaign: "Control the language and you control the debate."

[wellst0nev0ter]

78. Crickets from Clyburn

[AZLD4Candidate]

79. Thank you. My point exactly.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

88. Thank you for the laughs

I am amused. One of the first rules in politics is when your opponent is making a major mistake or digging a large hole, you get out of the way and let the other side dig a deeper grave or hole.

The real world is a nice place and in the real world, one lets the GOP dig their own grave with the defund the military. Thank you for the laughs

[wellst0nev0ter]

105. Trump was 44,000 votes away from being re-elected

How does that happen in the middle of a plague and an economic collapse?

This is how it happens:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100215518069

Goops spent 10 times more than Dems on attack ads while Dems spent 3 to 6 times more than the goops on cumbaya and promising voters they will bipartisan with the trumpanzees.

You need a better message machine if you want to sway voters.

[George II]

111. Okay, so what exactly SHOULD that "better message" be, specifically?

[wellst0nev0ter]

113. "Don't Give Oxygen To Right-wing Talking Points"

That should be your north star.

[George II]

117. That's not a "message". You expect Democrats across the country to merely run ads saying....

...."Don't Give Oxygen To Right-wing Talking Points"?

That's not going to encourage turnout or attract votes for Democrats.

[wellst0nev0ter]

119. Yep, that's exactly what I said, ace

Democrats should spend money on ads that say "Don't Give Oxygen To Right-wing Talking Points"

Go back and reread my post. Twice.

[George II]

132. Running ads saying that would do absolutely no good whatsoever, "ace". 90% or more wouldn't even....

....know what it was referring to, and those that do would wonder "why is this an ad?"

[wellst0nev0ter]

133. Absolute word salad

Not sure what you're trying to say here.

[George II]

134. Back atcha, "ace".

[wellst0nev0ter]

135. You don't know what "word salad" means

My apologies. That's on me.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

153. Do you?

[LetMyPeopleVote]

162. So it is okay for the GOP to run a ton of ads featuring the Squad and the Defund the Police slogan?

Is it your opinion that candidates should ignore these ads? Polling in the real world show that these ads were effective and the results of the 2020 down ballot races confirm this polling

[wellst0nev0ter]

163. You run attack ads of your own

This isn't complicated.

Democrats spent too much money on positive/bipartisanship ads last election cycle while the goops focused on attack ads.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

166. But the GOP does not have well known democrats out providing ready made quotes to be use in ads

Again, you misread the autopsy, We need clear messaging and that means not handing the GOP ready made attack ads where members of the Squad provide great material for use in such attack ads. If you read the autopsy, we need better messaging which includes not having groups promote dumb policies such as defund the police and providing material to be used in attack ads

I saw attack ads in my county where GOP PACs took statements from the Squad about defunding the police and used such statements to imply that this was Democratic policy. Here is an excerpt from a good article on the autopsy https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/06/07/election-report-sends-democrats-warning-outreach-voters-color/7585820002/

That also gave GOP candidates a window to seize a narrative with attacks related to "radical socialists" or "defund the police" based on the series of national protests last summer around controversial police shootings of African Americans.

Congressional races that saw attack ads by Republicans pummeling Democrats with a drumbeat of "law and order" or "socialism" saw a higher share of people of color voters supporting the GOP candidate, according to the report. None of the candidates included in the report's analysis supported defunding the police, but the study says nearly all were targeted with paid attack ads claiming they did.

That issue has sparked an internal debate among Democrats for months, with moderates blaming more activist-minded or progressive national figures for going too far to the left.

"Look, there are people in the Democratic coalition who think we should literally dismantle police departments and not have them," political strategist Matt Bennett, a Third Way co-founder, said in an interview Monday.

I agree with the autopsy that the party needs better messaging. Part of that messaging needs to be agreement to not promote stupid concepts like "defund the police".

[wellst0nev0ter]

168. Before I go, this is what your report says:

Last year, when the conversation became about “Defund the Police,” we were stuck on defense instead of telling a proactive story about necessary systemic changes to policing that would stem the violence and still prioritize and provide public safety. There’s a way for a “Defund the Police” advocate and someone who isn’t convinced we should divert police funding to agree to disagree but to lift up the value of what everyone needs. We need to be on offense on what we care about, why this is important, and what we should be doing differently.

Blaming "The Left" for sinking Democratic races in 2020 does not lift people up. It's crabs-in-a-bucket mentality.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

170. Most Democrats are not stupid and so they do not support the moronic "defund the police" slogan

What you are stating is that the squad had the power to force all Democratic candidates including the intelligent candidates into supporting the moronic "defund the police" policy and that they have to try to defend this ignorant policy using the weak talking point set forth above. We lost a ton of races that we should had won

If we want the Democratic Party and its intelligent candidates to win, we do need better messaging and that messaging should not mean that a small segment of the party which has zero legislative accomplishments can force the rest of the party to support a stupid policy that is guaranteed to cause them to lose races that could win. In my world we want to win races and not to lose races because a small segment likes a policy that is stupid

Next cycle the party will need better messaging and that messaging should be that the party does not believe in socialism and defund the police. I do not care if this hurts the feelings of the Squad

Again, I ask the question of why is this stupid policy so important that you are willing to make McCarthy or TFG speaker of the House? Why is it okay for your fellow posters to take the position that any real Democratic candidate who loses due to this ignorant policy is a bad person and deserved to lose.

BTW, this is not an academic exercise for me. I am active with Texas Party and we are looking at why so many Hispanic voters went for TFG last cycle. TFG had a ton of support in the Rio Grande Valley last cycle and the state party has been polling to find out what happen. The Hispanic vote is not a monolith there are a good number of Hispanic voters who hate socialism and support the police. Guess what, socialism and radical concepts like Defund the Police alienated these voters. One set of polls confirmed that socialism is a big negative for Texas hispanic voters and I have seen similar polling as to Florida Hispanic voters. We had a party function this week and I understand that more polling will be done on police/law enforcement before the 2022 elections. It was discussed that two GOP Texas PACs were very active on using Defund the Police ads and that they PACS will be active in 2022.

I do not understand how a small segment of the party which has no legislative accomplishments get to tell the rest of the party that we have to use stupid slogans that will cost us elections. I am sure that the Texas Party will be taking some strong positions before 2022 on stupid concepts like defund the police. We were nine state house seats away from flipping control of the Texas house and avoiding issues like permitless gun carry and the voter suppression law. I am not in favor of going into 2022 and seeing candidates lose due to moronic slogans like defund the police.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

219. I trust President Biden

Last edited Thu Jul 22, 2021, 04:52 PM - Edit history (1)

Link to tweet

[LetMyPeopleVote]

188. Democrats have begun advocating more police funding.

The autopsy report held that defund the police was an effective weapon in the last election

Link to tweet

These trends have alarmed Democrats at all levels — from the White House, where Biden recently delivered his first major speech on fighting crime; to voters, who are rallying behind crime-focused candidates in early primaries; to U.S. House members who are bluntly warning liberal colleagues to tone down their attacks on law enforcement.

“ ‘Defund police’ is a phrase that I wish had never been uttered,” said Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.), who ran the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee when Republicans picked up 13 House seats over the two-year 2020 election cycle. “We’ve got to do a better job of talking about what we do want to do.”

A post-election analysis from House Democrats concluded that the “defund the police” slogan, embraced by Black Lives Matter protesters, gave Republicans an effective weapon in the last election, even though most Democrats, including Biden, consistently rejected the message. Republicans are continuing to produce ads featuring the slogan, depicting angry protesters and blaring sirens as they seek to tie rising crime to police overhaul efforts......

But for now, the strongest anxiety is voiced by Democrats who worry that the impassioned voices of the few in their party who embrace “defund the police” will drown out the far greater number who don’t.

“I think it’s critically important that we explain this in a way that doesn’t label us in a way that is inaccurate,” Bustos said.[/div

[betsuni]

121. Republican voters do not vote Republican because Democrats don't have good messaging

or because Democrats don't have good policies or aren't progressive enough or don't have enough attack ads. The Lincoln Project had nothing but attack ads, Hillary Clinton was criticized for having too many attack ads in 2016.

[wellst0nev0ter]

126. Wrong. Clinton ran more advocacy ads than attack ads.

https://www.elon.edu/u/academics/communications/journal/wp-content/uploads/sites/153/2017/06/13_Joelle_Halle.pdf

This is a problem with Dem messaging going back decades. The goops are better at ginning up fake outrage over imaginary crap while our side has trouble getting people outraged over things that are real.

[betsuni]

128. No, I said she was criticized, not that she actually did run too many attack ads.

As I corrected many a troll in 2016.

[wellst0nev0ter]

129. Then the criticism is wrong

And Dems should not overcorrect on faulty analysis.

[betsuni]

130. There was a lot of "You can't just be the I'm-not-Trump" party or the "I'm not as bad as Trump,

vote for me!" party in the 2016 and 2020 elections, myth that Democrats don't stand for anything or have any message besides not being as bad as Republicans. Stupid.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

154. I am glad that you read the Washington Post article that I posted

Your claims that the autopsy somehow came to the conclusion that the "defund the police" ads did not have an effect was false and I had to correct your inaccurate but amusing post https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=15562054

[wellst0nev0ter]

159. Yes, you completely flubbed this part

“The lies and distortions about defund and socialism carried a punch, but the Republicans think it got them over a 10-foot wall, when Trump’s turnout gave them a seven-foot ladder,” Maloney said in 45-minute interview, exclusively outlining what he calls the “Deep Dive” into the election.

If that's the part where you thought "defund" was more potent than trumpanzee turnout, then think again.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

164. The Autopsy does not support your wrong claims

You made the uninformed claim that this analysis/autopsy backed your claim that defund the police was not a factor in the 2020 election. You misread the quote from the Washington Post.. If you actually read up on the autopsy and understood the concepts being discussed, you would realize that Defund the Police did hurt candidates. Maloney does not believe that it was dispositive but such polling did cost Democrats a number of seats that we should have won.

I am amused that you think that this helps you. Here is more on this autopsy and shows that you are again wrong in your attempt at analysis https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/06/07/election-report-sends-democrats-warning-outreach-voters-color/7585820002/

As a result of the messaging issues, the report argues, Republicans were able to blunt at least a dozen Democratic wins last year by anchoring liberal candidates to more far-left ideas, such as the defund police movement.

"In the absence of strong party branding, the opposition latched on to GOP talking points, suggesting our candidates would 'burn down your house and take away the police,' " the report says.....

That also gave GOP candidates a window to seize a narrative with attacks related to "radical socialists" or "defund the police" based on the series of national protests last summer around controversial police shootings of African Americans.

Congressional races that saw attack ads by Republicans pummeling Democrats with a drumbeat of "law and order" or "socialism" saw a higher share of people of color voters supporting the GOP candidate, according to the report. None of the candidates included in the report's analysis supported defunding the police, but the study says nearly all were targeted with paid attack ads claiming they did.

That issue has sparked an internal debate among Democrats for months, with moderates blaming more activist-minded or progressive national figures for going too far to the left.

"Look, there are people in the Democratic coalition who think we should literally dismantle police departments and not have them," political strategist Matt Bennett, a Third Way co-founder, said in an interview Monday.

The solution suggested by this autopsy is strong branding which means shutting the Squad up and keep the Squad from declaring that "defunding the police" is a good policy. For example, I had three friends running for office and a couple of GOP PACs ran effective ads using members of the Squad promoting defund the police. For the autopsy to work, we need a clear message which means keeping the Squad from making ads for GOP PACS.

Again the autopsy does not help your argument and I am amused that you think that it does. Again you made a claim that was false and you would know this if you read up on the issue

[wellst0nev0ter]

165. Okay stop right there

You made the uninformed claim that this analysis/autopsy backed your claim that defund the police was not a factor in the 2020 election.

This is obviously a false assertion on your part. I have never said "defund" was not a factor. Just a way smaller factor than trumpanzee turnout.

I will not engage with you further until you argue in good faith.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

167. Reread you posts and the other posts on this thread

Other posters on this thread have repeatedly claimed that Democrats who lost 2020 elections due to the defund the police slogan are bad democrats and deserved to lose. Such attacks are false and disgusting. Do you agree that it was wrong for your fellow supporters of this ignorant slogan to make the claim that any democrat who lost due to this slogan deserved to lose?

Why is this rather stupid slogan so important to some posters on this thread? The exit and other polling showed that it is a dumb slogan. I really do not understand why so many posters are defending this ignorant slogan. Can you explain?

[LetMyPeopleVote]

169. You are the poster who lied and claimed that the autopsy superseded all polling posted

Here is your post https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=15562054

65. This analysis is out of date
The DCCC autopsy shows that trumpanzee turnout was 70% responsible for House losses. "Defund" didn't even rise to 30%.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/democrats-2020-autopsy-midterms/2021/05/18/6114af82-b80d-11eb-a5fe-bb49dc89a248_story.html

The autopsy did not supersede such analysis at all but came up with the plan for better messaging that will not work unless the squad decides not to push defund the police. The polling shows that a number of good Democrats lost winnable races due to the ignorant "defund the police" slogan. You are again wrong

[tonedevil]

136. Can there be anything more condescending...

than talking about the real world as though others live in a fake one?

[LetMyPeopleVote]

152. There is a large difference between being a computer commando and working in real campaigns

I have been active in voter protection efforts and party operations since 2004 when I went to Florida as part of the Kerry Edwards voter protection team. I have worked in voter protection war rooms in every election thereafter and have worked with a number of candidates. I worked with the DNC/state party on voter id education in 2014 and with the Clinton campaign/DNC on voter protection issues in 2016. I was a 2016 Clinton delegate to the Philadelphia convention. In the real world it takes a ton of work to be elected to be a national delegate. If you ever want to have fun, go be on the state rules committee a couple of times and listen to a panel of lawyers argue over party rules for several hours.

As for this thread, I had three friends who ran for office in 2020 and saw first hand how the GOP used the squad and the "defund the police" slogan to great effect. Running for office takes a ton of commitment, time and money and I admire the good democrats who have the guts to run. One ran for a congressional seat and two ran for state house seats. In all three races, GOP PACs ran ads featuring members of the squad pushing "defund the police" and these ads were effective. The two state house candidates did not have money to respond to these ads and the congressional candidate tried but was running short of funds at the end. Repeatedly on this thread one poster has claimed that any democrat who lost due to the "defund the police" slogan was a bad democrat who deserved to lose. Such claims are offensive coming from posters who have never worked on a campaign. You are free to consider the opinions from persons who have never worked on a campaign to be valid but I do not.

Working on campaigns gives one a far different viewpoint compared to others who have never worked on a campaign in the real world. If you have not yet done so, go volunteer. Walk the block or get out and meet voters. We are already registering voters in Texas for 2022 and I am working on the formation of a statewide organization of Democratic Lawyers. The real world gives one a different prospective on the issues

I am shocked and sadden that some posters believe that the "defund the police" slogan is so important to them that they are happy to attack real democrats who ran and lost in 2020 due to this moronic slogan. I note that the GOP is already running ads using this slogan against 2022 candidates

[tonedevil]

156. I was wrong...

it is possible to be more condescending.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

157. So you are not going to go out and work on campaigns in the real world

Why am I not surprised.

[tonedevil]

158. Did you think...

I would feel compelled to acquiesce to your demand for my bona-fides because I have such a profound respect for your opinion and really want you to respect mine? Why am i not surprised.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

161. I live in the real world where we work to elect candidates

You will find that posting on an internet board is not an effective way to elect candidates. You are free to post uninformed opinions to your heart content while I will be out next week registering voters.

Have fun

[George II]

110. "Crickets from Clyburn"? You want Clyburn to address every single comment from crackpots on...

....Fox News, and do it on Twitter no less?

Why are you so dead against Congressman Clyburn? You don't seem to miss a chance to bash him.

[wellst0nev0ter]

120. Goops pounce on and amplify every single perceived outrage

While our side can't muster up the energy for a single tweet, even while hiring social media interns?


If someone has time to criticize "defund the police," they certainly have time to blast "defund the military."

[LetMyPeopleVote]

194. Defund the police is a very stupid slogan

Link to tweet

[LetMyPeopleVote]

196. This amuses me-Clyburn was right on this slogan

Link to tweet

[betsuni]

197. "Slogan good": that's it.

[Cha]

94. I don't give a shit what that sociopathic

pos has to say about anything.

Some just blame the Dems first who are out there on the Front Lines fighting for Democracy against Fascism.

[AZLD4Candidate]

96. that sociopathic person will energize people to go to the polls

All I am asking if where is the fight against this messaging.

You need to call out people like this. AOC does all the time.

[George II]

137. Laura Ingraham? She's going to energize people to go to the polls?

[AZLD4Candidate]

140. Fox News? AM Radio show.

These people will. . .I'm not going to explain this anymore.

They say crap, we do next to nothing.

We make a minor mistake, we eat our own and play into their hands most of the time.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

95. What Eric Adams Shares With Joe Biden

The NY mayor's race again proves that the defund the police slogan is a stupid slogan

Link to tweet

Indeed, in the closing days of the campaign, as crime increasingly became the issue in primary voters’ minds, Adams seized on two recent horrifying episodes: the shooting of a 10-year-old through his front door in Queens and a sidewalk shooting in the Bronx that nearly took the lives of two innocent bystanders, a 10 year-old girl and her 5-year-old brother.

Even before these incidents, Adams rejected the progressive “Defund the Police” sloganeering that cost the Democrats several winnable House seats last fall. He favored a narrow use of the stop-and-frisk policy to curtail gun violence. And he pledged to restore the NYPD’s recently abandoned gun-collecting anti-crime unit.

The coalition that Adams put together — including an estimated 43% of the Black vote in a multicandidate field that included two other Black candidates — isn’t too dissimilar from the one that led to Biden’s victory. A look at voter turnout shows that Adams swept the southeastern Queens neighborhoods dominated by middle-class Black families that have been supporting moderate Democrats for decades.

How much did Adams’s apparent victory resonate? Well, one day later, Biden unveiled a plan to address rising crime that includes allowing states to draw from the $350 billion federal stimulus to hire new police, among other crime-fighting measures. Defund the police? How about refund the police?

Last year, pragmatic, temperamentally “conservative” Black voters — their party’s most loyal bloc — ensured that Democrats nominated the candidate best suited to vanquish Donald Trump. This year, New York’s pragmatic Black voters appear to have nominated the Democrat best suited to revive the city most ravaged by Covid-19 — by making it once again a place where law and order helps the economy flourish.

Both Adams and Joe Biden focused on the true base of the party which are moderate African American voters.

[wellst0nev0ter]

139. Adams is a Brooklyn machine politician who won with a 32% mandate

in a crowded field. I suggest you don't read too much into the results

[George II]

160. "Brooklyn machine".....

In case you didn't realize it, the Mayoral primary took place in all five boroughs. He got solid support in all five boroughs, winning all but Manhattan.

Interesting maps here:

https://abc7ny.com/nyc-election-results-voting-map-mayoral-primary/10824491/

And here:

https://abc7ny.com/nyc-election-results-voting-map-mayoral-primary/10824491/

[NurseJackie]

211. OMG! That really *IS* hysterical!

[LetMyPeopleVote]

184. Do you ever tire of being wrong?

Link to tweet

[NurseJackie]

213. Eric Adams Has proven the defund police movement has died off

Eric Adams Has proven the defund police movement has died off

That's good news. The "defund" message was a losing message and losing strategy. I'm glad it's dying.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

204. Defund the Police slogan lost again

Link to tweet

[NurseJackie]

212. "Moderates can win, extremes can't" ... so true. So very true!

please pay attention to this, the House losses, and that we elected a moderate president, for 2022. Moderates can win, extremes can’t

so true. So very true!

[Cha]

214. Rt TY! I don't know about Pres

Biden being such a "Moderate" though.. just bc he doesn't go for m4a & dtp.

[Maxheader]

102. imho it was a bs idea from the start...

Spend the money on better training and recruiting....

[tonedevil]

205. Because the police have shown themselves...

to be responsible custodians of the money they get now?

[Maxheader]

207. Are you a responsible custodian.?

Of the 💰 you get?

It's a job. And like any job it requires

trained , ethical and honest people....if personnel

are making bad decisions, get rid of them. If it

takes more 💰 to get better employees, pay it...

[tonedevil]

209. That sounds great...

it sounded great in 1971 and 1981 and 1991, 2001 and 2011, but I'm sure it will work like a charm in 2021. As they are constituted now US police are abusive to the citizens they are supposed to protect. They should have a much narrower scope and a budget that reflects that.

[mcar]

125. And today on Tiffany Cross's show

she had someone on touting the Defund the Police concept. I was listening in the car and didn't catch the person's name.

[George II]

138. I had that on in the background while I did other things. I don't know why people are denying...

....something that is so easily documented from a number of Democrats and office holders.

One is now calling for defunding prisons and another defunding the military.

[mcar]

141. In the meantime, it is the Rs who are actually defunding the police

and attacking our military. I sure wish progressives would capitalize on that.

[George II]

151. At the Turner Town Hall this afternoon, Killer Mike called James Clyburn "incredibly stupid"....

....and Turner agreed.

(this should read "now", not "not" )

Link to tweet

[LetMyPeopleVote]

155. Who is surprised by this?

I had to deal with these people in Philadelphia

[oasis]

171. The same gun nut, Killer Mike, who would throw his kids out if

they participated in school walkouts that targeted a ban on assault weapons?

He has zero credibility when it comes to judging anyone's I.Q..

[betsuni]

180. +1

[LetMyPeopleVote]

185. This is very offensive

Link to tweet

[LetMyPeopleVote]

192. This makes me smile

Link to tweet

[LetMyPeopleVote]

172. Defund the Police is a great way to help the GOP win races they should not win

This is not an academic exercise for me. I am active with Texas Party and we are looking at why so many Hispanic voters went for TFG last cycle. TFG had a ton of support in the Rio Grande Valley last cycle and the state party has been polling to find out what happened. The Hispanic vote is not a monolith there are a good number of Hispanic voters who hate socialism and support the police. Guess what, socialism and radical concepts like Defund the Police alienated these voters. One set of polls confirmed that socialism is a big negative for Texas Hispanic voters and I have seen similar polling as to Florida Hispanic voters. We had a party function this week and I understand that more polling will be done on police/law enforcement before the 2022 elections. It was discussed that two GOP Texas PACs were very active on using Defund the Police ads and that they PACS will be active in 2022.

I do not understand how a small segment of the party which has no legislative accomplishments get to tell the rest of the party that we have to use stupid slogans that will cost us elections. I am sure that the Texas Party will be taking some strong positions before 2022 on stupid concepts like defund the police. We were nine state house seats away from flipping control of the Texas house and avoiding issues like permitless gun carry and the voter suppression law. I am not in favor of going into 2022 and seeing candidates lose due to moronic slogans like defund the police.

If we want to turn Texas blue, we need to stop with stupid crap like socialism and defund the police. If we had picked up 9 state house seats in 2022, Texas could have a real electrical grid and a host of other policies. We are headed to a special session next month to adopt a horrible voter suppression bill If a small segment of the party gets to declare that "defund the police" is the policy of the party, Texas will never turn blue. I am confident that the state party will adopt a platform that will be clear that no intelligent Texas candidates will be supporting this moronic concept

[whistler162]

181. How else is a city, town, etc. going

to get the money to pay the multi-million dollar lawsuits when an officer acts bad!

[DemocraticPatriot]

182. That is probably correct. However,

our relative inferiority in door to door canvassing (due to Democrats taking the covid threat seriously) probably cost us more, in my opinion.

Luckily, this should not be a factor in 2022, and we will be hungry-- much moreso than in past midterm elections. Our whole democracy is at stake, and the opposition are no longer just 'the opposition'-- they are the enemies of democracy and of freedom.

I think the 2022 midterms will have more in common with 2002 than 2010. I hope so, anyway.

Donald Trump will not be on the ballot-- except in a negative sense..

[leftyladyfrommo]

183. It hurt here in KCMO.

We need more police officers to help stop the rise in crime. People really don't understand this new concept of not defunding but reallocating funds. They only hear the defunding part.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

186. House passes George Floyd Act as Democrats avoid 'defund the police' clash

Defunding the police is a stupid policy or slogan. Luckily the House Democrats rejected this idiotic model when they passed the George Floyd Act

Link to tweet

But the debate over legislation turned into a political liability for Democrats as Republicans seized on calls by some activists and progressives to “defund the police” to argue that supporters were intent on slashing police force budgets.

Though this bill doesn’t do that, moderate Democrats said the charge helped drive Democratic defeats in swing districts around the country last November.

“No one ran on ‘defund the police,’ but all you have to do is make that a political weapon,” said Teas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar.

Republicans quickly revived the “defund the police” criticisms before the vote. “Our law enforcement officers need more funding not less,” Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

189. The continuing GOP fiction that President Biden supports defunding police

Defunding the police is a moronic policy that only hurts Democrats. TFG and his goons tried to tie Joe Biden this ignorant policy and failed.

Here is the link to the Washington Post fact check on this attempt https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/06/29/continuing-gop-fiction-that-president-biden-supports-defunding-police/

During the 2020 election, the Trump campaign desperately tried to claim that Joe Biden was a supporter of the “defund the police” movement advocated by some elements of the Democratic Party. But as we noted, Trump had a problem: Biden firmly rejected calls from left-wing activists to defund police and in fact said he would double funding for a community policing program that would put more officers on the street.

This did not stop the Trump campaign or the former president from falsely suggesting otherwise. On our “Bottomless Pinocchio” list, we listed 72 examples of Trump saying Biden would defund police.

Trump lost the election. But here we are, six months into Biden’s presidency, and Republicans are still making this false claim. Cruz and Banks are two good examples of this effort, though there are many others. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), for example, claimed in a tweet that Biden “went from defund the police during the campaign to now ‘refund the police,’ ” even though his position has not changed.....

The Pinocchio Test
Republicans keep trying to tag Biden with being part of the defund police movement. But that’s simply false. The flimsiness of the charge is demonstrated by the paucity of the evidence that lawmakers muster when making their hyperbolic claims.

The reality is this: Biden wants to boost federal funding to allow for the hiring of more police officers. He said that during the campaign and then fulfilled that pledge in his initial budget proposal. The president sets the policies in his administration — and he’s been entirely consistent.

Cruz and Banks earn Four Pinocchios.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=&w=916

[Laura PourMeADrink]

191. Bookmarked for when people here rant about how the

term was ok

[betsuni]

195. What?

[Laura PourMeADrink]

201. Sorry, guess that was obscure. Just meant

Have noticed a pattern where if a once esteemed Dem says something that doesn't fit neatly into a group think, they aren't allowed to have a differing opinion.

[Cha]

202. & FACT CHECK: Reverend Warnock Does Not Support Defunding The Police

But Kelly Loeffler Has Voted Against Law Enforcement Funding

https://warnockforgeorgia.com/fact-check-reverend-warnock-does-not-support-defunding-the-police-but-kelly-loeffler-has-voted-against-law-enforcement-funding/

[LetMyPeopleVote]

203. Rejecting defund the police helped Joe win

Link to tweet

[DemocraticPatriot]

206. I suspect that is true--- but what I think may have cost more was

the party's lack of in-perons canvassing, due to our concerns about COVID (which WAS correct from a public health standpoint, if not a political standpoint).

Once again, Democrats put the public interest ahead of their own political interest, and were punished for it in the election results....
(sometimes we are 'too good' for our own good, but it was the right thing to not do).


Luckily, with our high vaccination rate, this should not be a problem in 2022 ( I hope)... and I hope our party activist pavement-pounders will be ready to make up for lost time, next year...

And I trust that we will be pushing turnout for the mid-term election in a way we have never done before... I will do what I can, personally...

[ChrisF1961]

208. True

Remember that republicans registered more new voters than democrats did in the weeks leading up to the election. As well as never Trump republicans who either voted for Biden or skipped the presidential race altogether but then voted straight republican for all down ballot races. As well as many of the congressional democrats who lost were first termers who only won in 18 because republican turn out was depressed that year and democrats energized.

There are a lot factors that contributed to democratic losses last year, including voter suppression in some states, but the blame it all on one slogan that was never endorsed or adopted by the Democratic Party or any or the candidates who lost is just overly simplistic and shortsighted.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

215. Jim Clyburn explained how defund the police hurt Democratic candidates

I do not watch this Hasan person. I enjoyed watching Rep. Cylburn educate this person

Link to tweet