This is a nonissue. Biden believes that the centrist voters that form his base think “defund the police” means “no police”. Biden himself might think that. The thing to look for is what kind of police reform he or his advisors seek, not whether they embrace some saying.
Moreover, police funding is mainly local. The federal government sets leadership through the FBI, through the bully pulpit of the president, and through judicial appointments, but enduring police reform is going to have to come from the communities.
Says someone who is clearly not impacted by the systemic violence and racism of policing in the US. I can assure you, it is very much an issue for a lot of people.
Pity we’re not seeing any pulpit-bullying from Biden, then. He may not be able to set policy for local jurisdictions w/r/t overhauling their policing, but he’s very pointedly not supporting or endorsing any efforts at the local level to do so, which just makes the struggle that much harder for those activists on the ground fighting for it.
I can basically guarantee that in the absence of any commitment to a fundamental overhaul of policing in this country, the Democratic establishment are just going to come out with the same old useless milquetoasty bullshit like banning chokeholds (which police will continue to use, see Eric Gardner) and more money for body cameras (which police will just turn off without penalty) without addressing systemic problems like military hardware pouring into local PDs and altering federal funding for police versus other social programs.
That’s not good enough. Tinkering incrementalism has gotten us nowhere for decades.
I didn’t say that police brutality is a nonissue, only blinkered people and fascists believe that. Biden’s reaction to the slogan is a nonissue. Of course getting the police under control is one of the most important, ongoing issues facing the country, has been forever. There is no need to misrepresent my post.
Just to be clear: it’s a non-issue that Biden can’t interpret a simple graph or explain its meaning to his base? “De-fund the police” is more than just an empty slogan, it’s a shift in budgetary priorities.
And is it also a non-issue that Biden doesn’t want to use “the bully pulpit of the president” to set national leadership on this central issue of police reform in local communities?
Because if you’re hoping that the number of people planning to vote for Biden instead of against his opponent will break 40%, that’s probably not the way to drum up enthusiasm for Senator “Shoot 'em in the leg”.
President Trump has been falsely claiming that Joe Biden wants to “DEFUND THE POLICE.” So the Biden campaign has now sought to take the issue off the table, issuing a new statement disavowing any support for that goal.
President Trump has been falsely claiming that Joe Biden wants to “DEFUND THE POLICE.” So the Biden campaign has now sought to take the issue off the table
Here’s a wild thought, Uncle Joe: tell people that Biff’s claim that you want to de-fund the police isn’t a false one, and then explain why – using a chart, if necessary. Show some bloody leadership.
But establishment Dems still haven’t learned after 20 years not to fight battles on your enemy’s terms or territory (or not to constantly run away from them).
Part of the problem is that most members of that party lost the advertising battle a long time ago. By advertising, I mean the way the GOP packages and promotes their candidates. After demonizing science, education, and independent thought, they rely on a steady stream of soundbites to avoid discussion of issues. They flood social media with crap, and get supporters to parrot slogans learned from campaign rallies, talk radio, or TV.
The enemy has successfully brainwashed a significant portion of the population. Neither candidate is great with speaking without a script. However, Biden should be better with something well written and a teleprompter. I wonder what would happen if Biden stayed off Twitter altogether and focused on TV appearances. Would 45 go for equal time, risking going in front of crowds that aren’t full of his followers or under his control (like WH press conferences)?
That’s the key with Biden. Unless he has a script in front of him, he needs to keep his mouth shut lest he show what an out-of-touch old man he really is. But it’s only half the battle, because either way he’s stuck somewhere in 1992 in terms of the policies and talking points he thinks will win (which is also why the sclerotic Dem establishment prefers him). Not a recipe for the Dem leadership needed in the 21st century, however you look at it. But this is what we’re stuck with.
not a good look here
It (Biden’s response) was, in fact, a nonissue.
The presumtive nominee’s cowardice and capitulation to a bogus GOP narrative is a non-issue, with zentrum inside-baseball publication Politico providing the “proof” because progressives didn’t revolt (pay no attention to their actually showing up at the polls). Thanks for continuing to clarify your view on how this is a “non-issue”.
Meanwhile, cities like Minneapolis are proceeding without Biden’s “leadership”.
I think it’s a non-issue because nobody expects anything from Biden. Yep, turns out the Democratic candidate is not going to help, is not going to offer any reason to vote for him except not being Trump, and everything will have to be done in spite of him. Everyone knew that already.
Biden is going to do whatever Biden is going to do. Hopefully he can be brought to embrace most of the principles implicit in “defund the police”. He was just avoiding what he percieved as a political trap implicit in the phrase.
Polls indicate that the overwhelming majority of Americans agree that race was an issue in George Floyd’s death, that police disproportionately target African-Americans, and that this reflects a serious structural problem with our policing nationwide. Biden is usually sensitive to this kind of polling, so I don’t expect him to do nothing.
On the other hand, had Trump’s taunts had an effect, Biden might have been pushed further in the direction of choosing a former police officer or prosecutor as his VP running mate. (Which he might do anyway.)
Fuck.
I voted early on Friday (outside of the ATL), and we had a 2 hour wait, there were only 6 voting machines, and the poll workers wore PPE and there was no issues with distancing. By the time we got there, there had already been over 2400 people who had voted that day, and the line was longer when we left than when we got there.
More from CNN and the AJC:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/09/politics/georgia-primary-election-delays/index.html
from the AJC:
Others had a better experience. Mother and daughter Angela and Lindsay Freeman said voting went smoothly at the Crosspointe Community Church precinct in Roswell. Few voters were in the precinct when they cast their ballot. The open space allowed people options in social distancing, Angela Freeman, a realtor, said.
I’ll give you one guess as to what part of Fulton Co. Roswell is in and the race of the women being quoted…
[ETA]
Another take from the Guardian:
For the billionth time: the low voter turnout of the American working class is not due to apathy on their part.
If you want people to subject themselves to this shit, you have to offer something more than “hey, look at the other guys” and “America is already great”.
